FAQs About Library's New Policy on R-Rated Material

A few years ago the library director made a rule that customers under age 18 could not check out any movies with an R rating or any that were unrated. Just this month we decided to reverse that decision and bring the rules for borrowing movies back in line with the rules for borrowing books, magazines, music or anything else we loan to our customers. The library places no age restrictions on the borrowing of any other materials and we firmly believe that families and individuals should make those choices for themselves.  Movie ratings will still appear clearly on cases to help families and individuals make viewing choices.

As the current library director I know that this change will be confusing to some customers and upsetting to others so I've tried to put together a brief FAQ to help explain the shift. Not everyone will agree with our decision but I hope this document helps explain our point of view.

• Aren’t you breaking the law by letting kids check out R rated movies?  There is no force of law behind MPAA ratings; ratings are given to movies specifically to give individuals and families more information that will help them choose appropriate movies.  You can read more about ratings and what they mean at mpaa.org or filmratings.com, and the MAM staff has a list of other websites that explain more about the ratings system and why specific movies have earned their ratings.  Ask at the desk and a member of the staff will be glad to help you
  
  
• I really don’t want my kids to check out R rated movies, why can’t you help me enforce that rule?  We support the rights of parents to set limits on what their children read, watch or listen to but we recognize that those limits are different for every family and are not ours to set or enforce. We offer families and individuals information to help make selections that are enriching, enjoyable and appropriate for them, we encourage families to use the library together and for parents to continue a dialogue with their children about the library materials they select.  Many of us here are parents ourselves and really do appreciate the challenges that parents face.
  
  
• Why are you changing the rule now? Since I came to work in Nashua a couple of years ago I've been tackling a number of projects and problems,  fixing this disparity was always on my "to-do" list but it didn't rise to the top until now. The borrowing restrictions violated basic library principles regarding intellectual freedom and I am glad we were able to finally lift them. If you'd like to read more about those basic library principals you can start here with "Libraries, an American Value"
  

Questions, comments and feedback are welcome in the comments or you can email me directly at Jennifer.Hinderer@nashualibrary.org