To the editor:

The Kansas Library Assn. is responding to the issue of “censorship” raised by recent news reports about distribution of CDs to libraries.

David Twiddy, AP writer, created “sound bites” for his story (Aug. 7) by doing what reporters do: omit information and take quotes out of context.

Attorneys general in ALL the states involved in the lawsuit were allowed to select titles and artists from a list of CDs. The CDs were items sitting in music industry warehouses — old and unwanted. Libraries were not going to be allowed to directly select items; that was never part of the court settlement.

Kline’s office targeted items that “promoted drug use, violence against women and cop killing.” CDs were boxed and shipped directly from warehouses to state libraries across the nation. Kansas’ shipment came from a warehouse in Kentucky to the Talking Books division of the state library in Emporia. Employees there opened the boxes and distributed them among the seven regional library systems and four urban libraries.

The Kansas Library Assn. leadership — like its members — would have much preferred a cash settlement from the record companies, which would have allowed each library to select the materials most needed in their collections and by their communities. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the settlement that was arranged. It is our hope that in future cases the Attorney General’s Office will work with the library association to ensure that together we can obtain the best materials for Kansas libraries.

Patti Butcher,

KLA president,

Lawrence