small town libraries

[kingricefan]

I've actually seen this. I was mislead thinking if Malcolm McDowell was in it, it must be a good film. Wrong.

It was prodced by Bob G-something who was the owner of Penthouse magazine (or one like that). What he did was make a legitimate film (without all of the lewd scenes) with legitimate actors and then after that part of the film was done he filmed the sex scenes with unknown porn actors and inserted them into the film. His cast was NOT happy about that at all.......Good Lord, Helen Mirren is in it!!!

 

[Lord Tyrion]

This begs the question "Should there be an adult section in the library?".

What's going to go in that section? Books with too much swearing? There goes Huckleberry Finn. Books with too much violence? There goes Lord of the Flies, SK, A Game of Thrones, Red Dragon, Dexter... Books with too much sex? You can toss the romance section.

 

[mstay]

What's going to go in that section? Books with too much swearing? There goes Huckleberry Finn. Books with too much violence? There goes Lord of the Flies, SK, A Game of Thrones, Red Dragon, Dexter... Books with too much sex? You can toss the romance section.

Exactly! There in lies the problem with trying to censor the library.

 

[Aloysius Nell]

If libraries have limited funds, I think they have a responsibility to procure what will most benefit their community. I tend to think books first, but there are surely others who would feel differently.

Agree 100%. I love our library system. There are 4 libraries, and you can request any item be sent to your favorite one and held for you, but they have 4 distinct collections that are keyed to their clientele. The one on the poorest side of town has a large children's section and the best movie collection, because that is what their patrons want most. The area of town that was cutting edge in the 60s has lots of audio books and a very good genealogical section, because their patrons are older and interested in those things.

Any library should look at who they are serving and serve accordingly. Duh!

 

[Mr Nobody]

It did make our local paper. He told them he took it to make sure that the library board was aware that it was the "unrated" copy. Since he did this the way he did, instead of just talking to the librarian, he made it into a big deal and many more people called the library to reserve the movie for check-out. I'm not sure yet about the rating so that may or may not make a difference.

The movie did end up back at the library so that problem was solved. He didn't take the books, just the movie.

Like Mr Nobody said the balancing act is what's getting to me. I don't like being in the position of having to decide for the whole community. It has died down since the newspaper article, and nobody has officially filed a challenge to the movie, so maybe it will all just go away...

I agree that books are more important than movies. But people I've talked to love having movies available from our small library. So isn't anything that brings people to the library a good thing? It helps to keep us alive!

As I said, I don't envy you, but if I were in your shoes my first question would be one of demand. Regardless of whether I agreed with the notion or not, if film rental was helping to keep the library alive it would have to be adequately catered for. Of course the problem can then be that it becomes the driving force, which goes against what the library was for in the first place (and eventually streaming and other services will do away with the demand/need, so then what?)
The second question, but of equal weight, would be "wouldn't our resources be better spent on new books?"
Fortunately, these decisions wouldn't be mine - and aren't yours - to take alone, so that much would be a matter of personal opinion. Ditto with decisions regarding which items to carry - yours is but one voice among many, so you make your case and vote as you will. It's why boards exist in the first place, right, so that the will of an individual doesn't end up deciding for an entire community?
Glad to see the mayor saw sense in the end, btw. Just kick his wannabe-autocrat ass out of office come election time.

Books with too much sex? You can toss the romance section.

Is it just a Brit thing to find this funny?
(In the context of the full post - excellent point, Lord Tyrion.)

 

[GNTLGNT]

It was prodced by Bob G-something who was the owner of Penthouse magazine (or one like that). What he did was make a legitimate film (without all of the lewd scenes) with legitimate actors and then after that part of the film was done he filmed the sex scenes with unknown porn actors and inserted them into the film. His cast was NOT happy about that at all.......Good Lord, Helen Mirren is in it!!!

...I see what you did there.....

 

[Kurben]

I've actually seen this. I was mislead thinking if Malcolm McDowell was in it, it must be a good film. Wrong.

Very wrong........

 

[kingricefan]

...I see what you did there.....

TWSS!

 

[skimom2]

Agree 100%. I love our library system. There are 4 libraries, and you can request any item be sent to your favorite one and held for you, but they have 4 distinct collections that are keyed to their clientele. The one on the poorest side of town has a large children's section and the best movie collection, because that is what their patrons want most. The area of town that was cutting edge in the 60s has lots of audio books and a very good genealogical section, because their patrons are older and interested in those things.

Any library should look at who they are serving and serve accordingly. Duh!

I never thought about that--dividing by what patrons want. Now I wonder if our library system does that! We order from all branches, as well, but I never thought about how resources are divided.

 

[skimom2]

You guys are great! I'm glad to hear everyone's point of view.

It did make our local paper. He told them he took it to make sure that the library board was aware that it was the "unrated" copy. Since he did this the way he did, instead of just talking to the librarian, he made it into a big deal and many more people called the library to reserve the movie for check-out. I'm not sure yet about the rating so that may or may not make a difference.

The movie did end up back at the library so that problem was solved. He didn't take the books, just the movie.

Like Mr Nobody said the balancing act is what's getting to me. I don't like being in the position of having to decide for the whole community. It has died down since the newspaper article, and nobody has officially filed a challenge to the movie, so maybe it will all just go away...

I agree that books are more important than movies. But people I've talked to love having movies available from our small library. So isn't anything that brings people to the library a good thing? It helps to keep us alive!

Anyway, thanks for listening to my little problems and helping me think through the situation.

It's a heavy responsibility, Mstay. I lean toward Mr. Nobody's solution: if it's legal for the general public to own, it should be open for consideration. Aside from popular films, I know that we really appreciate the documentary and PBS/BBC series our library purchases. The cost for these items is often prohibitive for my family, but the information available is priceless. I love that our library invests in these items for the benefit of people like me who like to watch these things but can't always afford to buy them.

 

[GNTLGNT]

TWSS!

...LMAO.....

 

[not_nadine]

It was prodced by Bob G-something who was the owner of Penthouse magazine (or one like that). What he did was make a legitimate film (without all of the lewd scenes) with legitimate actors and then after that part of the film was done he filmed the sex scenes with unknown porn actors and inserted them into the film. His cast was NOT happy about that at all.......Good Lord, Helen Mirren is in it!!!

I did not know that!

 

[king family fan]

Our local library trys to order what its patrons ask for. Movies,books,ebooks.

 

[Blake]

I am the chairperson of our local library board. Recently the Mayor of our town came to the library after hours and took a movie out of the library and locked it up in his office safe.
It was 50 Shades of Gray and he didn't think it was something that should have been purchased for our library. He didn't approve of the content. The librarian purchased it because there had been multiple requests.
Now I personally am of a conservative nature and I feel this movie is not appropriate. BUT I feel that libraries are for everyone. Right? And the board is not in charge of what gets purchased for the library so I have no say in that anyway. I'm not really sure what to think about this whole situation.
I guess my questions are:
Should libraries even have movies available to check out? Are they only for books?
If a library only has a small(ish) amount of funds how do they decide what to spend money on and what not to?
And what are your thoughts on this whole situation? Please be kind.

Of course they should have DVD's to be lent out as this might be the only way elderley people and the unemployed get to see something. I personally wouldn't want my library to waste money on a crap movie like that one but some people who read the book might want a chance to see the movie. Some libraries seem to have more items than others and it depends on what they or the clientele they cater too. If they have a 'suggestion box' leave a message stating your disapproval of the movie.