Global Courant 2023-04-14 04:18:56
A Texas county library system is under threat amid an ongoing battle over banned books.
On Thursday, the Llano County Commissioners Court discussed whether the library system should “continue or cease operations” after previously removed books about race, health, gender and sexuality were put back on the shelves by order of the judge.
The county commissioners voted to remove the potential library closure from the agenda and said the libraries will remain open during the trial, ABC affiliate says reported KVUE.
The debate seemingly began in July 2021, when a community group began pushing for the removal of children’s books deemed “inappropriate” according to court documents.
These books include two children’s series, called the “Butt and Fart books” in the court order. The books “humourously depict bodily functions in cartoon format, because (critics) believed these books were obscene and promoted ‘grooming’ behavior.”
As the months passed, the book removal continued, targeting books that dealt with race, discrimination, gender, sexuality or sexual health, court documents show.
In December 2021, the Llano County Commissioners Court, an elected county governing body, voted to close the library for three days to check its shelves for “inappropriate” books, though “inappropriate” was not defined, court documents show.
The Commissioners Court also voted to suspend access to the library’s online resources and dissolve the existing library advisory board, according to court documents.
Instead, a new advisory board was established and members of the community group advocating for the book removal were appointed as per the court order.
In April 2022, several Llano County residents sued county officials and the library over the book ban, calling efforts to restrict books “censorship”.
“Banning books violates basic principles of the First Amendment and goes to the heart of our democracy,” the lawsuit reads.
On March 31, a federal judge ordered that the previously banned books be put back on shelves so they could be checked out and searched for in the library catalog. Now the County Commissioners Court, which is in part behind the move to remove books, will decide the fate of the library system.
A representative of the Commissioners Court’s public information office declined ABC News’ request for comment regarding the reasoning behind Thursday’s special meeting on the possible closure of the library, citing the ongoing litigation.
Record-breaking numbers of books have been banned across the country: About 1,269 demands were made in 2022 to censor library books and resources, according to the American Library Association. The organization says this is the highest number of attempted book bans since it began collecting data more than 20 years ago.
According to the ALA, the vast majority of efforts to ban books have targeted literature written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color.
Leila Green Little, one of the residents involved in the lawsuit to return the books, called herself a “third generation patron of the Llano County Library System.”
Little said when she decided Llano County was where she wanted to raise her kids, she got them Llano County Library cards.
“My grandmother used to come to this library, my mom used to come to this library system, and they’re both deceased now, so I feel a real connection with them when it comes to the library system,” she told ABC News. “My public library is where I’ve cried, where I’ve laughed, where. I’ve seen my kids grow up and learn, where I’ve studied.”
Little is also a member of the Llano County Library System Foundation, which provides support to the libraries through advocacy and grants, according to the foundation’s website.
She called the attempt to shut down the library system a “temper tantrum” from the local government.
“Libraries are extremely important to me,” she said. “I got involved in this preliminary injunction because I love my public library system and I need to make sure it serves the public.”
Little’s counsel, Emily Munoz, called the removal of books “censorship.”
“There is no one in Llano province who would benefit from closing the library,” said Munoz. “People will lose their jobs. People will lose places where they meet. They will lose the chance to read books, the ability to read books for free, a place to take their kids.”
