Public Comments Heard By Library Board On Reviewed Material

Ten comments and three letters were presented at the Livingston County Library Board meeting, concerning materials available at the youth library.  The comments ranged from limiting the material available, the need to remove the books that were reviewed by the board, and praising the board for keeping material that may help the youth to answer questions.

The meeting started with comments from the Library’s attorney, Adam Sommer.  He talked at length about the 1^st Amendment, Free Speech, and the Supreme Court’s definition of obscenity and how it relates to the books found in public libraries.

The speakers were allowed five minutes to provide their comments uninterrupted.

James Wetzel, who submitted the books for review, thanked the board for taking the time to review them, but feels they were wrong in their decision.

Cannot rest until they are removed from our libraries.

Julie Ashbrook spoke about how the books found in a private library are judged compared to a public library.

Don’t want the librarians to be the parents of the children,
parents should go to the library to monitor their child reading material

Jane Frizzle – a former school librarian in Iowa, who works locally as a tutor, says you can not agree with all of the materials offered in a collection, but they need to meet the standards stated in the library’s policy.  She recalled what a professor stated in school.

There should be something in your collection that offends everybody
Including yourself!

Parents and guardians do have a couple of options to limit what a child can borrow from the library.

1. They can register for an email notification of all material borrowed by the child.
2. They can opt to not allow the child to borrow any material in a specific collection. This would include the entire collection, not specific titles.