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Florida Commission Considers Buying Only Edifying DVDsThe Hillsborough County (Fla.) Commission voted 6–1 April 6 to consider modifying the acquisition policy of the Tampa–Hillsborough County Public Library System regarding the types of DVDs it collects. The policy currently says that the library should strike a balance between acquiring “popular, high-demand materials [and] those of long-lasting, educational, cultural, or literary significance.”The controversy began when commissioner Ronda Storms became concerned after reading that more people than ever are borrowing movies from their public libraries. “I believe in the power of reading and the power of literature, not the power of TV,” she said in the April 6 Tampa Tribune. “We need to work very hard to get children to become lifelong readers. That’s what we need to spend money on.” Noting that he borrows BBC-produced mysteries, library trustee William Scheuerle countered, “One of the functions for a library is entertainment. That would mean popular fiction. I don’t know if we should have a distinction between popular books and popular DVDs.” “Money can’t be used as an excuse for censorship,” agreed former commissioner Jan Platt in the April 10 Tribune. The library system’s DVD budget is currently $559,000, of which $400,000 is earmarked for children’s titles and educational offerings. Posted April 15, 2005. |
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