Florida Mom Steals Library Books - Won't Give 'em Back

In Longwood, Florida an irate mother is censoring the local library.

Longwood parent Tina Harden was so disturbed by references to sex and drugs and foul language in the world of fictional teenager Jenny Humphrey that she is ignoring overdue notices and phone calls from her neighborhood library and its bill collector.

Harden refuses to return several books connected to the Gossip Girl series that detail Humphrey's life, even though she's had them since 2008.

"If I turn them in, they will be put back into circulation and they'll be available for more young girls to read," said the mother of three, who keeps the four books hidden in a closet. "Some material is inappropriate for minors."

Apparently her kids don't have access to television or the internet.

"If we denied access to this particular title, it would be censoring," said Jane Peterson, the county's library services manager.

That's not good enough for Harden, who said that as a taxpayer she should have a say in which books land on the libraries' shelves. "They're supposed to be public servants," she said.

The libraries have multiple copies of the novels in the series. If her library privileges hadn't been revoked, Harden said she would try to check them all out.

She owes about $85 in fines.

Ms. Harden believes that as a taxpayer she should have a say in what books are on the shelves of the library. Apparently she also feels she should be able to steal from the library.

I wonder how the other taxpayers of Longwood feel about Ms. Harden's vast sense of entitlement?