The Garfield County Public Library District (GCPLD) will not relocate books that some members of the public consider unsuitable for children to read, library staff said at the board of trustees meeting on June 5. However, the board will consider a new library card at its July meeting that would restrict materials that minors could check out.
Under Colorado state law and federal law, it is unconstitutional for libraries to look at a user’s age to determine whether they can check out books, GCPLD Executive Director Jamie LaRue said. The library district’s legal counsel also weighed in and told the board that relocating the books behind a glass case or other barrier would not be legal.
“Our attorney has advised us that to adopt this process, to put something in a locked case under locked key, to require that adults now have to present an ID for things that they used to get without it, is in fact a violation of the First Amendment,” LaRue said. “It is the belief of counsel and it is also my belief that it is a violation of state law and federal law.”
For over a year, a group of Garfield County residents including Trish O’Grady of Rifle and John Lepkowski of Silt have circulated requests and a petition to remove or relocate a manga book series called “Prison School,” claiming that it is inappropriate reading material for anyone under the age of 18. Other community members including May Gray of New Castle have objected to the petition, arguing that everyone should be able to access books that they connect with.
On June 5, the board heard from multiple members of the public with varying opinions and then discussed the issue for nearly an hour, resulting in high emotions from everyone in the room as the board scrambled to reach a compromise.
“Both sides here I think have a very good point, and I wish that there was a common ground. I don’t know that there ever could be,” board member Tony Hershey said. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to restrict children’s access to certain materials. That’s not banning books. That’s not preventing me from coming in and looking at anything I want to look at or someone online looking at things.”
Hershey proposed a new library card for minors that would restrict the items they could check out. Board members debated what that would entail. Board member Myrna Fletchall pointed out that a child might not check something out because they didn’t want their parents to see it at home but might read it at the library anyway. She also said that parents could decide whether they trust their children enough to let them look at anything or to sign their kids up for the new card and restrict their access.
“We don’t expect staff to walk around and say, ‘What are you looking at?’” Hershey said.
The board agreed that librarians should not be responsible for policing what individual children are allowed to access in a public library, and that parents should have the majority of the say over what their kids read.
LaRue maintained that the First Amendment provides freedom of information to everyone, including children. He said that any person should be able to access the information that they are looking for. He also said that most children want to read books that are appropriate for their age group, and that he has never personally seen a child choose to read a book with explicit content in any of the county’s libraries.
The board approved a motion to discuss and vote on the new card at the next meeting. LaRue will present options and information at that time with details about what could be restricted under the new card and what the design might look like.
Board member Stephanie Hirsch said that she was in favor of the motion, but that she wanted to keep discussing the issue in the future because there was more to it.
“But it’s a step forward,” Fletchall conceded.
The board’s next meeting will take place on July 10 at the Glenwood Springs Library at 2pm.