Residents Ask Library To Restrict Videotapes Library Says It’S Parents’ Role To Decide What Kids Can See

Movies such as “Braveheart,” “Shakespeare in Love,” “Total Recall” and “Deer Hunter” shouldn’t be available for children to check out at the public library, some Post Falls residents say.

Last week, the library’s five-member board denied resident Pat Kilpatrick’s request to ban children’s access to R-rated movies.

Kilpatrick said the decision “undermines the integrity” of Post Falls.

“My concern has been that the community is trying to maintain standards,” Kilpatrick said, who also is asking local churches for help in changing the library’s policy.

“In essence, the taxpayers are paying for these movies,” Kilpatrick said. “It’s nuts.”

The library board’s attempts at a compromise last week didn’t satisfy Kilpatrick. Tonight, he hopes to address City Council members at their meeting. Although he is not on the council agenda, Kilpatrick has rallied others to go to the meeting and speak when citizen’s comments are allowed.

Though the City Council members can’t override any of the library board’s decisions, the city gives the library money and the council appoints library board members.

The library board isn’t helping the community because it’s forgoing standards that video stores and movie theaters adhere to, according to the Motion Picture Association’s policies, Kilpatrick said. Restrictions for R-rated movies say that anyone under 17 must have an accompanying parent or guardian. Restricted movies at the library should be just that - restricted to adults, Kilpatrick said.

Resident Dee Lawless said all R-rated movies should be banned from the library entirely. Lawless is a member of Immaculate Conception Church, which included in its Sunday bulletin a notice about tonight’s meeting and asked for the congregation’s help in voicing concerns at City Hall.

“I simply do not understand the thinking of those five adults on the board,” she said. “That’s totally nonsensical.”

But no other libraries in the area have policies prohibiting kids under 18 from borrowing R-rated films.

Sandpoint Library has more than 7,000 videos - including movies rated PG and R - for anyone to check out, said Wayne Gunter, director. Sandpoint’s library serves more than 34,000 residents, but only gets one or two complaints a year about its policies, Gunter said.

Library materials, whether an R-rated movie, an audio cassette with questionable content or simply access to the Internet, are legal documents that library officials believe should be available to the public, Gunter said.

Discretion is the parents’ responsibility, and the library board has “stood firm” behind that belief, he said.

There are few complaints at Coeur d’Alene Public Library, because the library simply doesn’t have R-rated videotapes, said David Townsend, public relations and volunteer coordinator.

Coeur d’Alene’s library doesn’t purchase videotapes, and the only videos available are donated, Townsend explained. The library has about 500 videos, and 75 percent of them are non-fiction. A majority of the rest are family-oriented pieces, Townsend said.

Post Falls’ library has more than 700 videos, and only 26 of them are R-rated, said Rebecca Melton, assistant director. The R-rated videotapes are ordered or donated, depending on the subject. The R-rated ones include “Stand By Me,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and “Last of the Mohicans.” Library officials budget $5,000 a year for audio-visual equipment that includes videos, compact discs and audio cassettes.

So far, the library has received no complaints from concerned parents about the situation, Melton said.

A policy of marking every movie “Restricted” could draw even more attention to them, said Michele Veale, the Post Falls board’s president. And should a staff member miss the warning and accidently distribute the movie to a child, the library would be liable, she said. It’s a risk the library doesn’t need to take. And parents ultimately should make the decision.

“But where does it stop?” Veale said. “A year ago it was the Internet, today it’s R-rated videos, tomorrow it’s a particular author.”

Kilpatrick has an 11-year-old grandson. He looked into the library’s policy several months ago after he listened to Dr. Laura Schlessinger on the radio, something he usually does every afternoon. She suggested that listeners look into their libraries to see what kids could rent without their parents’ permission.

Only a few complaints out of the 17,000 library card holders is a minimal concern, Veale said. Despite the availability of “Lethal Weapon,” the library’s R-rated video selection hardly appeals to teenagers. The films that do have already aired on television, Veale said.

“We’re not there to try and limit what those people have access to,” Veale said.

“It’s just not what we do.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: AT A GLANCE Library policy

The Post Falls Library Board recently voted to accept the following procedures concerning R-rated videos:

The board will re-examine its video collection and circulation policies as part of the review of the Collection Development Document. The board will work with staff to better define what is added to the collection and why.

A full list of R-rated videos will be kept current and made available on request.

Published reviews of the films and videotapes, providing content information, subject matter and recommended audiences will be available.

A parent who wants help from the library staff to prevent their children from accessing videos may request it in writing to the board. This would result in a total denial of video privileges. The library will not attempt to solely prohibit the circulation of R-rated videos.