Proudly Serving the Hulet and Devils Tower Community
Proudly Serving the Hulet and Devils Tower Community
GILLETTE — The Campbell County Public Library Board passed an amended collection development policy Thursday night on a 3-2 vote.
The vote comes after months of work, dozens of public comments and some help from the Florida nonprofit Liberty Counsel.
Board members Charlie Anderson and Darcie Lyon voted against the policy, while board chair Sage Bear and board members Chelsie Collier and Charles Butler voted for it.
Collier called the policy a “safety net” for children who don’t have “invested parents” protecting them, and that it would provide “protection for future generations.”
Anderson said most of the changes to the policy were not better or even as good as what was already in place. He thought the board should hold off on voting on the policy until it gets an opinion from the county attorney’s office that the “new rules pass constitutional muster.” His motion to postpone the vote died without a second motion.
The policy strikes out all references to the American Library Association. This includes the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement, both of which are from the ALA. In September, the library board voted to have no connection to the ALA.
Lyon said while she supports removing the ALA from the policy, she also worried about the slippery slope the board would be going down if it passes this policy, especially with some of its vague language.
One example is the definition of what is sexual content.
“Does it start with kissing? Does it start with oral sex, does it start with just touching each other?” she asked.
Lyon said it’s on the parents and the community to help children, and she “can’t get past the idea” of the library saying someone can’t read a certain book, “because I think we have the right to read whatever we want.”
Bear and Anderson argued over whether the Child Internet Protection Act, which is included in the amended policy, applies to books. Anderson said it does not, and that it won’t hold up in court. Bear said she’s been told by lawyers that it does apply, and “if it comes to adjudication then that’s what we’ll do.”
Anderson made a motion to remove the Child Internet Protection Act from the policy, but this also failed after no one seconded it.
The policy puts the ultimate responsibility for selecting materials with the library director. The draft proposes adding that the director is “acting on the authority of the Library Board and subject to standards set forth by the Board” when selecting materials.
One of the Liberty Counsel’s recommendations that made it into the draft is a new policy titled “Protecting Children from Harmful, Sexually Explicit Material in Areas Designated for Minors.”
The policy reads that the library “takes seriously its obligation to not include obscene sexually explicit or graphic materials” in the children’s and young adult sections that “would be harmful to minors or impede their development.”
It also requires the library director to report to the library board at least once every six months regarding compliance to this policy.
