The Librarydude!

I do not like censorship, I doubt any librarian or library worker would be in favour of censoring materials. I try not to withhold material from our collection because I happen not to agree with it or because I personally do not like it.

However...

I am a bit unsure of the decision of our library having a copy of the French film Romance, in its collection. This is not because I have a problem with the film itself (although I do think it is slightly overrated), but because of the fact that this film, described as a serious portrait of a young woman who embarks on a harrowing sexual and psychological odyssey because her self-absorbed boyfriend refuses to make love to her, has been rated R by the Office Of Film And Literature Classification. This is what I have a problem with. An R rating on a film in Australia means it cannot be loaned or supplied to anyone under 18 years of age. (I believe that in South Australia, it is also illegal to allow a minor to view the film). Why would we have material that we cannot supply to a portion of our clients? And not only our "Junior" clients, but many of our "Adults" will be affected by this, due to the fact that a client is classed as an "adult" in our policy when they are 16 years or older.

If it were not illegal to supply material to minors, I would have no problem with this. I would of course advise parents and guardians about the film, though I'm not sure how I'd delicately warn them of the realistic fellatio and anal sex scenes, but I'd feel better about it than now, where I have to legally withold material from a certain group.

I am legally obliged to censor.