The Abilene Public Library board voted Monday to create a standing three-member committee to review books recommended for the library’s formal “reconsideration” process, deemed questionable by individual readers.
The board also recommended that a decision on a book recommended for reconsideration, “Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships and Being a Human,” be sent to Abilene City Manager Robert Hanna.
The board also voted to recommend to Hanna that the system’s single copy of the book, which contains graphic depictions of human sexuality, be relocated from the Mall of Abilene branch of the Abilene Public Library to the downtown branch, shelved in that collection’s adult materials.
Those materials are located in the basement of the main library, on a different floor than the children’s section.
Hanna will make a final determination about the book’s place in the collection, or whether to remove it.
In previous comments, Hanna has said he does not think the book, which had been shelved in the adult section at the mall library but was reportedly found on an endcap where minors could access it, should be in the city’s collection.
The library recently pledged to create a library card for teens and children that would restrict access to the system’s juvenile collection, while the Abilene City Council recently adopted a parental use policy, which says that the library system cannot act in the place of a parent.
The library system also plans to add search filters for online materials.
Handling the load
Board president Clint Buck said the standing committee is designed to deal with a growing number of requests that books in the library’s collection to go through reconsideration.
The requests come after a recent wave of concerns from a group of parents, grandparents and others about sexually-explicit materials potentially being available to minors, especially in the library’s collection for juveniles.
Buck said after the meeting the committee will prevent the library from having to create a committee for separate request.
“The way our bylaws read is that every time we receive a request, we have to a have a special meeting so we can name the special committee for review,” Buck said. “As we’re receiving more and more, this seems like a more efficient way and expedited way to address those concerns as we receive them instead of having to call a special meeting every time we receive a request.”
The review committee will bring its recommendations to the library board, which will then send a recommendation to the city’s manager’s office, he said.
The composition of the three-member board, drawn from library board members, as well as details such as how long members would serve on the standing committee, is yet to be determined.
It drew questions from those attending Monday’s meeting.
More voices needed?
Speaking on the committee creation, Ryan Goodwin, who frequently has commented on library and other issues, said he and others believe there needs to be a larger committee, perhaps up to seven, rather than just a small group drawn from a handful of library board members to handle reconsiderations.
“For one person to have a third of the say? I really think there needs to be more of a broader committee,” Goodwin said.
At the most recent council meeting, the library system pledged to create methodologies for residents to know books planned for purchase, giving sufficient time for comment to the library board about whether certain books should be included in upcoming orders.
At the same meeting, it was indicated by speakers that a list of more than 350 books considered questionable had been identified for potential reconsideration.
Goodwin recommended the board acquire outside help from residents, should its task become too taxing for its volunteer members, also mentioning that the group of parents and others concerned about library materials had no specific groups of people in mind when making lists.
“This isn’t an LGBTQ kind of thing,” he said. “We’re back … on the right subject. This is about sexually explicit books.”
Let’s move it?
Much discussion remained about “Let’s Talk About It,” which has been the focal point of much of the recent movement to remove or reshelve certain items.
Those who spoke against retaining the book emphasized they are not interested in banning literature, though they don’t want the it to remain in the library.
“We’re asking for what the (reconsideration) process tells us we need to do,” two-time City Council candidate Charles Byrn said. “… We’re asking for this book to be taken off the shelves. That’s what we’re asking for, and I want to make sure people understand.”
Byrn declined comment to the Reporter-News when asked his opinion on the board’s decision.
Other speakers said the book’s graphic novel-style illustrations were targeted to children, which they said were akin to pornography.
Many of those who have spoken about the volume have indicated a desire to move books dealing with sexuality to a special section, where they can be accessed only by adults and not checked out by minors.
Diverse voices
James Sargent, another May council candidate, said he and his wife foster children, and emphasized that if they ever exposed them to pornography, he and she would be investigated by authorities and the children removed from their home.
“This is not a gender issue, it’s just sexually explicit material,” he said, adding some foster children have dealt with sexual trauma in their past − and that exposure to such material could reopen those wounds.
Those who spoke in favor of the book said it was dangerous to let a small group choose to remove materials from library shelves, some calling the request one based in fear.
Others said the book’s focus on consent and human relationships contained a positive message, while others stated a citizen committee proposed by some to choose which books are or aren’t in the library collection could easily become a book-banning body.
“If a book is taken off the shelf, it seems to me to be banned,” said retired librarian Jane Bering, adding it is important to keep he library “open and free” for readers, including those with little to no resources.
Speaker Alec Pitts said removing books from the collection was a mistake.
“Banning any book in a free, democratic country is a slippery slope to a very, very bad place, as we’ve seen in history,” he said. “Whether the books are things that people would agree with, or maybe don’t think their children should be reading, no one person has the right to speak for every child and every parent in the country.”
Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
