Thursday, May 19, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.
Donna Calhoon didn't expect the DVD that her 7-year-old grandson checked out from the Sunrise Library would contain sexually explicit material or scenes of extreme violence.
But on April 30, when she walked in on her grandson Anthony Sutton watching the animated film "Crying Freeman: Complete Collection" with several of her young children, Calhoon saw images she wasn't expecting flashing on the television screen -- such as a fully naked woman.
"My children aren't sheltered, but I was shocked that Anthony could check it out," she said. "It showed positions ... it's the stuff and the sounds."
The DVD the 7-year-old checked out from the public library with his own library card states on the back cover that it contains extreme animated violence and adult situations, and is recommended for viewers 17 years old or older.
One reviewer on Amazon.com wrote that "'Crying Freeman' is definitely not for the squeamish or prudish," and includes "violence, violence against women, rape, torture, ethnic stereotypes, extensive nudity, explicit sexual situations."
Only after Calhoon discovered the children watching the movie did she find a nickel-sized restriction that stated the film was for viewers 17 and older.
"By no means would I have let them check this out," Calhoon, 41, said. She admitted that she didn't monitor the boy's choice when he chose "Crying Freeman" at Sunrise Library, 5400 Harris Ave., on April 28 even though she was with him.
Calhoon said she is the boy's legal guardian.
She said the illustrated cover of "Crying Freeman: Complete Collection" displays an animated scene that is similar to popular children's animated television programs and movies, and it was therefore hard to detect the actual content of the film.
She mainly objected to a 7-year-old -- or any young child -- having free access to DVDs that depicted what she described as graphic sex and violence.
Calhoon contacted an at the Sunrise Library branch and at the Clark County Library on April 30. While the two employees were reportedly helpful and offered her a form reporting objectionable material, the library employees told her there was nothing they could do to police children's choices, she said.
According to library officials, any child under the age of 14 must have a parent or guardian sign for a library card, and it is ultimately up to the parent or guardian to monitor and police what a child in their care watches, reads or listens to.
"We don't take the place of the parent," said Robb Morss, acting deputy director for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District.
He said that because each family's values are different, the library system expects parents or guardians to decide what is appropriate for their children rather than have library workers act as enforcers.
The policy allows children under the age of 17 to check out a DVD that is rated "R" by the Motion Picture Association of America even though that youth wouldn't have access to that movie in a theater unless accompanied by an adult, he said.
He said that the library provides parents with a pamphlet explaining that parents are ultimately responsible for what their child checks out, and he encouraged parents and guardians to be aware of their children's choices.
Also, children under 10 are not allowed in a public library without a parent or guardian, he said.
When a library patron finds library material objectionable, Morss said, the patron can fill out a "request for re-consideration" form, a form that allows a library customer to list what he or she finds objectionable about certain material. The library administration or the collection development staff will often review the material to check if it is acceptable, he said.
In the past 12 months, Morss estimated, the library received 12 "requests for reconsideration," but he said that he couldn't recall a single incident in which a book, film or audio recording was pulled from the shelf.
"We maybe might move a book from the teen section to the adult section" if the book is judged to have more mature content, he said.
In the past, the library moved several titles after parents or guardians complained. For example, the library moved a book about the puppet characters Punch and Judy from the children's picture book section to the children's non-fiction section because a parent complained of violence depicted in the book, he said.
Although the library doesn't prohibit children from accessing any books or other materials at the library, he said the library places filters on computers to prevent youths from viewing explicit material on the Internet on computers in children's sections of the library. Parents must sign a release form allowing children to work on unfiltered computers, he said.
Elaine Sanchez, the Library Board chairwoman, said it is important for parents or guardians to monitor what their children check out from the library. Diligent monitoring would prevent incidents like the "Crying Freeman: Complete Collection" incident from taking place, she said.
"I'm a parent and I have two kids, and I understand the importance of guiding their choices," Sanchez said.
When the situation was described to her, Sanchez said that Calhoon may have thought the film was a cartoon appropriate for children because of the illustration on the cover, and that the clerk at the library likely thought that a parent or guardian would have approved of the material if he or she was standing in line with their child.
"We do expect parents to be involved," she said.
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