At the conclusion of a Dec. 10 meeting filled with passionate speeches from community members, the Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library Board voted 5-3 in favor of implementing new reshelving guidelines in the Columbia County libraries.
These guidelines are seeing books reshelved based on age-appropriateness, after going into effect in early September.
Although these guidelines were implemented with the goal of protecting youth from unnecessary violence, sexual content and profanity, there has been an ongoing debate as to whether the guidelines could be considered a form of soft censorship.
Around 40 books have been moved to other sections since the passing of the guidelines, including “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green and “Forever” by Judy Blume, all of which have been transferred to adult shelves.
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Tuesday’s regional board meeting, which lasted for nearly two hours, brought forward 19 individuals who shared their opinions both for and against the guidelines, with slightly more community members showing up to speak in favor of them.
Argument against sexual content
Priscilla Bence took the floor as the meeting’s first public speaker, and she expressed her concerns regarding children’s exposure to sexual content in books.
“There are many of us who woke up during COVID and realized we’ve been sleeping during the last two decades as far as books are concerned in school libraries and public libraries,” said Bence.
“We want our kids to learn and be entertained and enjoy learning. But most people want guidelines so that children feel safe to explore in the area of their age appropriateness.”
Priscilla bence, in favor of guidelines
Bence pushed her point by reading excerpts from “Flash Fire” by TJ Klune, a book that she claimed was moved from the young adult section to the adult section under the guidelines; the multiple passages Bence read before the board contained mature sexual content of a homosexual nature.
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“We want our kids to learn and be entertained and enjoy learning. But most people want guidelines so that children feel safe to explore in the area of their age appropriateness,” Bence.
Debate over reshelving
Speakers shared their thoughts on the reshelving of children’s and young adult books to more mature sections, and the consequences that could follow – namely, the possibility that these books would be checked out significantly less or not at all, leading to their removal from circulation.
“The people who are pushing [the guidelines], they’re not, they’re not idiots, they know how libraries work,” said Bradley Roemer, who was speaking out against the guidelines.
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“Even though they’re saying this is not a book ban…people know that if you move a child’s book, a young adult’s book, a teen book to the adult section, those kids aren’t gonna be wandering there, they’re not gonna to see it, they’re not gonna look at it. Those books aren’t gonna be checked out and eventually, for lack of use, those books are gonna be removed from the library,” Roemer said.
Alternatively, speakers Betty Surrency and Anna Muza likened the reshelving of books to other age-based restrictions, including the legal driving, voting, smoking and drinking ages.
“These are all guard rails for age-based protection,” said Muza. “And I think the guidelines at Columbia County are very apropos.”
“These age requirements were put in place as guardrails to protect children and young adults from making life changing decisions without the watchful input and consent of parents and guardians,” said Surrency.
Maura Jabaley echoed the sentiment shared by other guideline supporters that reshelving is not comparable to banning books.
“We’re not promoting banning books, we’re talking about reshelving…that’s what we’re talking about there today,” she said.
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Kaitlyn Giddens noted that having children’s and young adult books in adult sections could lead to young readers stumbling across more inappropriate content while seeking out those books.
She added that she believes that children can be shielded from content in books, but not in real life.
“Children are hearing profanities, learning about sex every day from their classmates. The back of a school bus is far more detrimental to a child’s morals than a trip to the library,” Giddens said.
American Civil Liberties Union on LBGTQ+ themes, Book Looks
Before the start of the meeting, the board was presented a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Georgia, expressing opposition to the reshelving guidelines and urging the library board to reject them.
This letter, which is available for viewing below, says that the guidelines approved by the Columbia County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 3 “have created an environment where books with LGBTQ+ related content are disproportionately flagged for review, relocation, or removal.”
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The letter further states that out of 59 books which have been flagged for review since the implementation of the guidelines, at least 22 were flagged using booklooks.org for including “alternate sexualities.”
Karen Parham, who has actively been advocating for the rejection of the guidelines, spoke on Tuesday morning, also focusing on the use of Book Looks as an age-appropriateness screening tool.
Parham has previously been vocal about Book Looks, which is affiliated with Moms for Liberty, an organization which has been designated by The Southern Poverty Law Center as an extremist group.
She claimed that “Tiger Eyes” by Judy Blume was reshelved for references to alcohol, despite the library’s guidelines not mentioning drugs or alcohol as book transfer criteria.
She noted, however, that Book Looks mentions drugs and alcohol in its report of the 1981 novel.
“So, were the librarians directed to use the guidelines, or Book Looks?” said Parham.
Reclassification controversy
Ashley Keller said that she believes the continued use of these guidelines will open the door to “more book bans and censorship” within the library.
“Let’s all remember that the people who banned books are never on the right side of history,” said Keller.
Ashley Sirer further discussed this idea:“If you vote to adopt these guidelines, you open the floodgates for any person to recommend a book for reclassification, for removal…what happens when someone recommends we remove the Bible because it has stories about murder, prostitutes, even sexual themes? What happens when someone removes “Pride and Prejudice” for its themes of premarital sex?”
“Let’s all remember that the people who banned books are never on the right side of history.”
Ashley keller, opposed to guidelines
Maner announces resignation
Following the vote in favor of the guidelines, it was announced that Mary Lin Maner, Regional Director of the Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library Board, is resigning effective Jan. 5.
Maner has worked with the library for 12 years.
