Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 15, 1994 TAG: 9403150110
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The illustrated children's book portrays a small child being raised by two homosexual men. It has been a lightning rod for criticism from conservative Christians and was in the middle of a library controversy in Northern Virginia last year.
McNerlin, mother of 3-year-old Ruthi, believes the book contradicts community standards by portraying homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. Moreover, sodomy is against the law in Virginia, and the book therefore condones illegality, McNerlin believes.
Because it is targeted at preschoolers, "Daddy's Roommate" should be removed from the library, or at the very least, held behind the front counter, she said Monday.
The Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library Board is to consider her complaint at its 7:30 p.m. meeting Wednesday in the main library at 125 Sheltman St. in Christiansburg.
Interim Library Director Ida Comparin first reviewed and denied McNerlin's request. She cited the board's support for the American Library Association's "Library Bill of Rights" and its adoption of a more detailed "Freedom to Read" statement.
The board endorsed the four-page, anti-censorship document in October 1992. It includes a pledge "to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those which are unorthodox or unpopular with the majority."
McNerlin is the first person to appeal a decision on a complaint to the library board, Comparin said. And as far as she's aware, "We have never had a book removed."
McNerlin spoke to the library board last month with about 20 supporters on hand. A board subcommittee on censorship has been reviewing the matter.
Though her husband, George, is the general manager of WPIN, a new Christian radio station based in Blacksburg, McNerlin said religious beliefs are "not really the point" in her objection to "Daddy's Roommate."
"I'm really trying to stay more with the point of law," she said. "We're a government by the people, and we still do have a voice."
Comparin said the book, written by Michael Willhoite, remains in circulation at the Blacksburg and Floyd branches and the Christiansburg headquarters pending any board decision. The library system accepted the book as a gift from the publisher and has been carrying it for 13 months, she said.
Library Board Chairwoman Nancy Hurst said Friday she had heard of four complaints about the book. "We've also had a lot of people who've spoken to us and applauded our having it, saying they're glad we aren't shying away from sticky situations," Hurst said.
The book, and a similar book, "Heather Has Two Mommies," were the focus of a controversy in Prince William County last year. The library board there rejected donations of the books from a local interest group after more than 150 people signed petitions objecting to them.
Publicity about McNerlin's complaint - first raised in a letter to the editor in Friday's Roanoke Times & World-News - comes at a crucial time for the library system.
For one, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is trying to decide whether to commit to selling voter-approved bonds to finance the renovation and expansion of the Blacksburg branch. Second, the library board will hire a new director this spring after the former director's two-year tenure ended last year with her being firing and filing a lawsuit against the county, which she later dropped.
Finally, the Board of Supervisors will vote this year on two spots on the nine-member Library Board. The county is accepting applications until Monday to fill out the 15 months remaining in the term of a member who has resigned. Another board member's four-year term expires in June, but he is eligible for reappointment.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***