The Saline County Quorum Court voted on Monday to give County Judge Matt Brumley authority over the county library.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette writes that Monday’s measure prevents the county library board from hiring or firing library employees or regulating their salaries. The measure also subjects the library to an annual audit, and it effectively places the quorum court in charge of the library’s budget.
The move in Saline County comes after extensive controversy over the placement of inappropriate children’s books in the library’s catalog.
Family Council has heard repeatedly from people who are deeply troubled by obscene and inappropriate children’s books that some librarians have placed on the shelves of their local libraries.
For example, the Jonesboro public library has been at the center of multiple controversies over its decision to place books with sexually-explicit images in its children’s section and for failing to adopt a policy that separates sexual material from children’s content.
The library in Jonesboro went so far as to post on Facebook that it isn’t the library’s responsibility to protect kids from obscenity.
Following the controversy in Jonesboro, voters opted to cut the library’s millage in half last November.
Other public libraries in Arkansas have included graphic children’s books in their catalogs and failed to separate sexual material from children’s material as well.
Public libraries are supposed to be for everyone.
Families should be able to take their children to the library without worrying what their children might see.
Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize graphic novels that depict explicit images of minors engaged in sexual acts.
Hopefully, the Saline County Quorum Court’s vote this week will help ensure that library material in their community is appropriate for all ages.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
