by Robert Riehemann

About the author: Robert Riehemann is an adjunct faculty member in the mathematics department at Thomas More College in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

Recall your childhood. Imagine trying to check out a book from your local library on the big bang or evolution. Suppose that you were told that a parent would have to check it out for you because it was from the adult section. (Say it was The Eyewitness Visual Dictionary of the Universe by Dorling Kindersley Limited or Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki.) It might even be necessary to read from these books to complete a science homework assignment. Would your rights as a child and library patron have been violated? Not according to the Attorney General of the State of Alabama, Jimmy Evans...