Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, November 19, 1993                   TAG: 9311190234
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                                LENGTH: Medium

LIBRARY'S SEX BOOK UPSETS MOM

But the head of the library system said her staff does not screen what patrons choose, no matter what their age.

"Parents, and only the parents, can govern a child's reading," said Martha J. Sims, director of Virginia Beach Public Libraries.

Christine Jones discovered Saturday that her 13-year-old son had checked out "The Magic of Sex" from a bookmobile.

"The Magic of Sex" uses color photographs and drawings showing a man and woman engaged in various sex acts, including oral and anal sex.

"I was irate," said Jones. "It's disgusting. We're pretty open with our children. You can talk to kids about the birds and the bees, but you don't have to sit down and show them pictures of how to do it."

Jones said that in her neighborhood of Navy housing, the bookmobile's usual patrons are children. "Any librarian - no, any grown person with any common sense - wouldn't allow a child to check out this book," she said.

Sims disagreed.

"We cannot assume the role of parents," she said. "The library staff cannot even begin to interpret the values of every family in Virginia Beach."

She said the Virginia Beach library system adheres to the American Library Association's interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights, which says that all library areas must be accessible to all customers, including minors.

All books purchased by the system are reviewed and categorized for content and reading difficulty, but there is no "adults only" section. "The Magic of Sex" is in the general and personal hygiene section of the library.

Sims said the library gets about a dozen complaints a year, which sometimes result in reshelving a book in a more appropriate section. But items rarely are removed from circulation.

Jones said the library should have a separate adult section like video stores have. "It's all right to have the book in the bookmobile, but not where children can get hold of it," she said.