City Cleared to Reject Religious Monument

Public parks can keep out a monument offered by a small religious group even if they contain a privately donated monument to the Ten Commandments, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The decision was a relief to government agencies across the country, which had feared an adverse ruling could force them to accept almost any monument offered by any group.

Writing for the court, Justice Samuel Alito said the key was whether the monument was best compared to speeches, leaflets and other private expression that traditionally takes place in parks, or more akin to a painting or statue in a public museum.

Governments may not favor some views over others in a public forum like a park. But they may choose which works to display in a museum or which books to stock in a library, without a First Amendment obligation to give equal access to any donated material.

"may choose which works to display in a museum or which books to stock in a library"

Veeps

Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance. 973.099 K

Bill Kelter ; artist, Wayne Shellabarger. Marietta, Ga: Top Shelf ; London: Diamond, 2008.

A library question, and an answer

A young man came in today asking for material on the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (passed in 1890). He's an 11th grade student at Ramaz. A search on the OPAC returned very little material: the only book was a biography of Benjamin Harrison, during whose presidency the Act passed.

I looked at Economics books; the indexes (actually indices, but why quibble?) revealed little, but it was a start. Following, I went to books written by economists: Galbraith, Friedman, Thurow; not much. But I did get a lead: look at the trusts themselves: Carnegie (steel), Morgan (money), Rockefeller (oil). I suggested to the student that he look at the index of each book, and determine if the pages on the Act were relevant.

A satisfactory start: he left with books and ideas, and a lesson on using the index of a book as a research tool.

A satisfactory end: I did my job well, and provided information and a lesson to a patron. This is a time when being a librarian is satisfying and rewarding.