[Chat] Balto Science Fiction Society

[Christine Gray]

Emil,

I don't read science fiction, but thank you for posting that message.

Btw, I do consider science fiction literature.

I assume the court will first have to define what literature is!!

Christine

-----Original Message-----
From: Chat-bounces at charlesvillage.info
[mailto:Chat-bounces at charlesvillage.info]On Behalf Of Emil Volcheck
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 12:21 AM
To: chat at charlesvillage.info
Subject: [Chat] Balto Science Fiction Society

Hello, Chat List folks!

This evening Kathleen and I stopped by the Baltimore Science
Fiction Society building to donate some old science fiction
books.  They own a building on East Baltimore Street that used
to be the Eldine (sp?) Cinema, back in the 1950s.

They have a small library of science fiction, including a collection
of Analog Magazine issues that goes back to about 1940.
They also sponsor the BaltiCon science fiction con that takes
place every Memorial Day weekend.

I learned that they are the subject of a case currently before
the State Court of Appeals.  State law provides that schools, libraries,
and literary societies (non-profits) are exempt from property tax.
The State challenged the BSFS property tax exemption in Tax Court
and lost.  The State appealed, and a Circuit Court judge overturned
the Tax Court decision.  The judge opined that science fiction does
not constitute literature, and that therefore the BSFS is not
a literary society.  The BSFS appealed to the Court of Special Appeals,
but they forwarded it directly to the Court of Appeals on account
of the seriousness of the matter.

Would you believe that the highest court in Maryland has to deliberate
on whether science fiction counts as literature?

The club president said that one good thing about science fiction
societies is that they tend to attract a lot of lawyers, so they're
getting all their counsel pro bono!

--Emil


--
Emil Volcheck
volcheck at acm.org
http://acm.org/~volcheck

_______________________________________________
Chat mailing list
Chat at charlesvillage.info
http://charlesvillage.info/mailman/listinfo/chat_charlesvillage.info