Council to consider resolution protecting minors from obscene library materials
The Abilene City Council on Thursday will consider a resolution providing policy direction concerning "obscene material and performance and harmful materials for minors" at the Abilene Public Library.
The proposed resolution "unequivocally directs staff to protect minors from obscenity and harmful materials" in accordance with provisions of the Texas Penal Code.
According to city documents, the resolution before the council would prohibit "display, promotion or availability of obscene material or performance and any harmful material at or within the Abilene Public Library" by:
Making it the policy of the city of Abilene that the city manager, nor any employee of the city, may allow or authorize display, promotion of any obscene material or performance at or within the Abilene Public Library.
Making it policy that the city manager, or any city employee, may allow or authorize the display, promotion or availability of any harmful materials to minors at or within the library.
Directing the city manager to remove any obscene material from the library.
Directing the city manager to remove any harmful material that is displayed, promoted or made available to minors from the library.
Directing the city manager to "cease any obscene performance" at the library.
Defining terms
As defined by the Texas Penal Code, "obscene" refers to materials or performance that an average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that, taken as a whole, "appeals to the prurient interest in sex," depicting or describing "patently offense representations or descriptions of ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including sexual intercourse, sodomy and sexual beastiality."
It includes "patently offensive representations or descriptions of masturbation, excretory functions, sadism, masochism, lewd exhibition of the genitals, the male or female genital organs in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal, covered male genitals in a discernably turgid state or a device designed and marketed as useful primarily for stimulation of the human genital organs," and when "taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political and scientific value."
Further:
"Material" is defined as "anything tangible that is capable of being used or adapted to arouse interest, whether through the medium of reading, observation, sound or in any other manner, but does not include an actual three-dimensional obscene device."
"Performance" means "a play, motion picture, dance or other exhibition performed before an audience."
"Patently offensive" means "so offensive on its face as to affront current community standards of decency."
"Minor" is defined as a person younger than 18 years of age, while "harmful material" is defined as items whose dominant theme, taken as a whole "appears to the prurient interest of a minor in sex, nudity or excretion;" is "patently offensive to the prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for minors;" and is "utterly without redeeming social value for minors."
The city manager has directed the library's director to review the collection development policy in light of the resolution and to recommend changes to the document for consideration and adoption by the library board and the council, according to city documents.
That work is "currently ongoing and should be completed early in the new year."
'Empowering parents'
The council also will be updated on library staff's implementation of previous council direction concerning changes to library practices and procedures "empowering parents to make decisions for their children and to provide measures and controls to safeguard minors."
This includes a children's catalog, which searches titles only classified as juvenile and owned by any Abilene Public Library location. Online-based Hoopla and Overdrive titles will not appear in the catalog.
Large buttons such as Animals, Arts and Crafts, Cooking, "Fun Stuff," Holidays, etc. link to basic subject keywords. Patrons will be able to access accounts or place holds on materials.
Adult-age library patrons will be able to comment on juvenile and young adult books on order by logging into a special site, with comments received by library administration and shared with the city's library advisory board for consideration.
The library advisory board will make recommendations on young adult and juvenile book orders at their own meetings. Those recommendations will then go to the director of library services, who will make a final decision on items ordered.
Restricted cards
In addition to the above measures, restricted-access juvenile cards are available.
Non-residents will need to pay $10, the current fee previously approved for those who do not live in the city.
Parents or legal guardians may request these restricted-access juvenile cards for their children by signing up in person at any library location.
The cards impose the following restrictions:
Only juvenile materials may be checked out (no young adult materials.)
No holds are allowed from other Abilene Library Consortium libraries.
No interlibrary loan is available.
No access to digital materials, such as those on Hoopa or Overdrive.
No internet access at library computer lab locations.
Reconsidered materials
According to documents shared with the council, the library received 30 reconsideration requests from patrons for materials between Aug. 21 and Oct. 1.
Those 30 recommendations came from six people, with four reconsideration requests duplicating other petitioners.
The review committee presented its recommendations Nov. 7, at the library board's regular meeting.
The board did not take action on the committee recommendation at that meeting, which are to be considered at the board's next meeting.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Council to consider anti-obscenity resolution for library materials
