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TO: PARMLY BILLINGS LIBRARY BOARD FROM: BILL COCHRAN, LIBRARY DIRECTOR JIM PETERS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR RE: STATEMENT OF CONCERN REGARDING THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE MEETING DATE: SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 Attached is a copy of a “Statement of Concern About Library Resources” submitted by Lisa DuBeau. STATEMENT REQUEST Ms. DuBeau states that she checked out the book when she was in the Teen Pit with her 12 year old daughter and “read all of this book.” She has included a page to the form she submitted outlining her concerns about references to sexuality and violence in the book and says that she “did not mention all of the parts of this book that I felt were inappropriate, I just hit the highlights.” She feels that “it did not seem at all like a book that would be interesting to a teen” and feels that it should be moved to adult fiction section of the Library. BACKGROUND The Time Traveler’s Wife was published in 2003 and the Teen Pit copy was added in 2005. The Library has two copies in the adult collection, a Book Club Kit and one copy in the Teen Pit. The copy in the Teen Pit has circulated 22 times, though there is no way to know whether teens or adults are checking this copy out. Supporting Ms. Du Beau’s request to remove the Teen Pit copy and maintain all copies in Adult Fiction is that in the course of a relatively broad search of public libraries in Montana and even in metropolitan public libraries throughout the country which own copies of the book, we found only that some branches of the New York Public Library shelved any copies in their Young Adult or Teen areas. On the other hand, of the 85 libraries in Montana which own the book, 23 are school libraries, including two of the public high schools in Billings, clearly supporting that many educational professionals have determined that the book is appropriate for teens. This is also supported by the title’s recommendation to teens by the Young Adult Library Services Association and the American Bookseller’s Association. ---PAGE BREAK--- STAFF RECOMMENDATION This is one of the closest calls presented to the Library in our memory. There is reasonable evidence supporting either approving Ms. Du Beau’s request to limit the title to the Adult Fiction collection, where it would still be available to teens, or denying her request and keeping one copy in the Teen Pit. Staff recommends keeping one copy in the Teen Pit, where it will more easily come to the attention of interested teens, based upon its availability at local high school libraries, but we encourage a thorough discussion of the decision by the Board. .