Teton County Library draws fire for book on pot-growing

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Teton County Library draws fire for book on pot-growing

By The Associated Press Sunday, February 22, 2004

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) -- The county library is being criticized for carrying a how-to book on growing marijuana.

"I do not understand why, when so much of our county resources are devoted to dealing with the problem of substance abuse, you have chosen to spend tax dollars to purchase a how-to crime manual," Robert Gathercole said of the "Marijuana Grower's Handbook" in an e-mail to library Director Betsy Bernfield and the Teton County Commission.

He demanded an explanation and wondered if the library would also carry books on bomb-making, assassination, how to make methamphetamine and child pornography.

Bernfield said she will put the book on hold once the current borrower returns it.

"We take challenges very seriously," she said. "We try to purchase books that reach a broad spectrum of the community."

The book was written by Ed Rosenthal, who penned the "Ask Ed" column in High Times, a magazine which deals with marijuana and its cultivation. Rosenthal has frequently been arrested on pot cultivation charges.

Gathercole's complaint does not mark the first time people have reacted against a publicly owned book in the county. The school district banned "When Dad Killed Mom," an award-winning children's book on domestic violence, but the public library still has the book.

Former librarian Sueellen Carman said a library selects books based on criteria such as accuracy and authority. "A good library will have some books that people will take offense to," she said. "You need all kinds of ideas.

She said it is censorship if a library takes a book off its shelves that meets selection criteria.

The American Library Association's freedom to read statement says, "These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals."

Bernfeld said the library has established procedures for dealing with complaints. "We talk to the person about it to see if we can get to the bottom of the concern and if they still aren't satisfied we take it to the library board," she said.