Nampa library restores 'Joy of Sex' books

Two books with graphic sexual illustrations were restored to Nampa Public Library shelves Monday in response to a threatened lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU sent the Nampa Library Board a letter last week saying it would sue unless the board reversed its June decision to permanently banish "The Joy of Gay Sex" and "The New Joy of Sex" to the library director's office, where only those who specifically requested the books could see them. In response, the five-member library board held a special meeting Friday and unanimously voted to put the books back on the shelves, library Community Relations Coordinator Dan Black said.

It was a change in policy, if not a change of heart, for the board, which split 3-2 on the issue twice this year: first removing the books from the shelves pending further consideration, then a June 2 decision to make that move permanent.

The board agreed Friday to reverse itself "as a matter of fiscal responsibility," board member Kim Keller said. The unanimous vote came after Nampa City Attorney Terry White told the board it could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight a First Amendment lawsuit.

"The ACLU of Idaho commends the Nampa Public Library Board of Trustees for making information freely accessible and for respecting the First Amendment rights of its patrons, " staff attorney Lea Cooper said in a joint announcement of the library board's decision.

Friday's decision also reverses the board's June vote, also 3-2, to amend library policy to restrict minors' access to any future library acquisitions that have graphic sexual illustrations that meet the definition of "harmful to minors" under state law, Black said.

Nampan Randy Jackson began campaigning to remove the two books from Nampa's library after a friend's teenager saw the book "The Joy of Gay Sex" on a library table in late 2005. The board unanimously rejected his first attempt. But as board membership changed, the majority dwindled, and this spring Jackson's third try won narrow approval, with longtime members Rosie Delgadillo Reilly and Barry Myers dissenting.

"We felt it was a fair compromise, because it kept the books in the library but not where kids could reach them," Jackson said Monday night. He said he is disappointed in the board's latest vote but respects the decision to avoid a costly legal battle.

Kristin Rodine: 377-6447