The Columbia County Library Board’s Jan. 23 meeting marched on despite being without a quorum on Thursday morning, with several board members out of office as a result of this week’s snowfall.
Members present were Board Chair Dr. Sandra Carraway, Treasurer Windy Bedingfield and new member David Davis.
Without all members in attendance, no motions or votes were able to be made; However, the meeting ultimately carried on as per usual, and the topic of censorship – which has been resounding since reshelving guidelines were implemented – was revived.
Books on the move
Keisha Evans kicked off her first meeting as the newest Columbia County Library Manager by listing off eight books she has reviewed following reshelving requests.
These books have either been reshelved or have stayed in their initial location in accordance with the new guidelines along with Evans’ inspection.
“Téo’s Tutu” by Maryann Jacob Marcias will remain in the picture book section, as well as “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Evans said that she found no profanity, no violence, no sexual content or sexuality in either book, all criteria for reshelving titles.
“Drama” by Raina Telgemeier has moved from the juvenile section to the middle ground section, which contains books for preteen readers. Evans said that it was moved because although it contains no profanity, no violence, no sexual content or sexuality, she believes it is more suited for an age range of 10-14.
“The Other Boy” by H.G. Hennessey has moved from the juvenile section to the young adult section. Evans said she found moderate profanity and violence and mild sexual content in this book, as well as some “drug material.”
“Gracefully Grayson” by Ami Polonsky has moved from the middle ground section to the young adult section. Although Evans found no profanity or content of a sexual nature, it had mild violence, and overall she felt it was suitable for 6th graders and above.
“Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe was located in the graphic novel biography section, but was moved by Evans to the adult section. The book was reshelved for moderate profanity and moderate sexual content.
“Flamer” by Mike Curato was located in the graphic novel young adult section and was moved by Evans to the adult section. Evans said the book was reshelved for containing moderate profanity, violence and sexual content.
“Ryan and Avery” by David Levithan which Evans decided will not move and will remain in the young adult section. Evans said her review of this book found mild profanity, violence and sexual content. “The book is dealing with adolescents’ issues and the level of violence is similar to that of PG-13,” she said.
“Sex is unavoidable:” teen talks body education
Fifteen-year-old Catherine Cook took a vocal stance opposing the guidelines during public participation, highlighting books containing medical depictions of human genitalia, which were previously moved to adult sections under the guidelines.
“Being able to communicate what’s going on with your body is crucial. These books being moved are scientific and written by people whose job it is to explain complicated topics to children,” said Cook. “Sex is unavoidable. You will find it everywhere in life. The only thing you can control is how your kid is exposed, not when.”
This concern was addressed by Dr. Carraway, who admitted that the moving of these textbooks was a rash move on the librarians’ part.
“Clearly some of those books got moved, and [for] the wrong reasons,” she said.
Evans added that she has moved most of those titles back to their original shelves, and is in the process of reviewing several others.
“I do believe those books were moved in a haste,” said Evans. “However, as of last week, they have been placed back in the children’s sections.”
More library board news
Thursday’s meeting included the introduction of two new board members, David Davis who was present and Pat Goodwin who was not at the meeting.
A change in the board meeting date and time is being considered. While nothing could be voted on at this meeting, it is planned to be decided on in February; a speculated new date will be the second Wednesday of each month, possibly within the time frame of 10:30-11:30 a.m.
