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TO: PARMLY BILLINGS LIBRARY BOARD FROM: BILL COCHRAN, LIBRARY DIRECTOR JIM PETERS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR RE: STATEMENT OF CONCERN ABOUT AND TANGO MAKES THREE MEETING DATE: JANUARY 8, 2008 Attached is a “Statement of Concern About Library Resources” submitted by Emily Deichl. STATEMENT REQUEST Ms. Deichl checked out the book And Tango Makes Three and “read the first six pages with my son. I stopped then completed the book later by myself.” The subject matter was a “complete surprise” to her and she does “not think it is appropriate to have literature promoting homosexual lifestyles in the children’s section.” She indicates that there is “no indication on the cover that the subject matter is about a controversial subject”, though she did find that a search of “homosexual fiction” in the Library catalog turned up this title. She asks that staff “move this title out of the children’s section to a more appropriate location” and “put a notice/warning indicating subject matter.” BACKGROUND And Tango Makes Three, published in 2005, is the true story of two male “chinstrap” penguins at the Central Park Zoo who, in 1999, became a “couple” and wanted to hatch an egg like the other penguin couples at the zoo. After trying several times to hatch rocks, the penguins were helped by one of the zoo keepers who found an egg which was in need of nurturing and, after the penguins tended to and hatched the egg, the chick became known as Tango and the three became a family. This book was well-received when it was published in 2005 and was an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book in 2006. School Library Journal praised the book as a “joyful story about the meaning of family life” that “is a must for any library.” A review in Booklist states that “it’s naïve to expect this will be read only as a zoo anecdote”, but goes on to say that “those who share this with children will find themselves returning to it again and again—not for the entrée it might offer to matters of human sexuality, but for the two irresistible birds at its center and for the celebration of patient, loving fathers who ‘knew just what to do’.” ---PAGE BREAK--- This book was added to the collection in 2006 and has circulated 25 times since. It would have been purchased based on the positive reviews, and added to the Easy Reader collection because it is a book with illustrations and a minimum of text like others in this collection. A search of the Montana Library Network reveals that 27 school, public and academic libraries in the state own this book. Of the ten libraries which list the call numbers for the book, nine have the book in an easy reader or picture book area similar to ours, including Big Horn County Library, Bitterroot Public Library, Bozeman Public Library and the Drummond School Community Library. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Ms. Deichl’s first request is that the book be removed to a more appropriate location in the Library. Staff recommends that the book remain in the children’s Easy Reader section where it is now placed since both the format of the book, as well as the fact that most parents will read this book to their children if they choose to do so, lends itself to this collection. Ms. Deichl’s second request is that a “notice/warning” be placed on the book indicating the subject matter. Staff does not place any kind of warning on library materials that reveal the subject matter of a book, but does leave any publisher/distributor produced labels on. The subject matter of the book can be found by looking in the catalog, as Ms. Deichl notes, or by looking at the subject tracings on the inside cover of the book.