Distribution of Playboy in libraries (was RE: Boston...)

[Judith Falzon]

> 
> This same question came up in PUBLIB about a month or two ago and I
> advocated (to substantial disagreement) that there is no such law.  Since
> then I have done a little more research and still maintain that there is no
> such law - at least not in Texas.  The laws - federal & state - deal with
> possession. display, or distribution of obscene material and Playboy is not
> obscene by any valid legal definition or ruling to date.  

** Here in Ohio, as of last September, I believe, there *is* a portion
in the Ohio Revised Statute dealing with materials "harmful to minors."
That material is described in Chapter 29, if I'm remembering right, and 
deals with material that is not obscene but objectionable and possibly
pornographic (bodily functions, sexual material, violence, torture,
profanity, etc).
 
The law does exempt libraries *if* material was accessed for 
educational, informational purposes).  BUT, just recently, things here
in Ohio have heated up, and local interpretations have cast a pall
over our protection from prosecution for violating "harmful to
minors" statute. BTW, the statute deals not with just images but
with descriptions, so theoretically anyway, we can be in trouble
if a person under 18 years old pulls a book off the shelf or a
magazine or video. In practice, however most of the controversy
centers around Internet access and sometimes video access.

Judy Falzon
Technology Coordinator
Sandusky Library
Sandusky, OH

jfalzon at capaccess.org