Chapter Twelve #2
Before I can point him out, the chairperson says, “Welcome, everyone! I hope you’re enjoying the lovely weather. It’s so nice that spring has finally sprung. Thank you for joining us here today.”
While she introduces the members of the board, I discreetly point Declan out to Joy. We look at the back of his head. His hair is thinning at the crown.
“This consultation was arranged in response to an influx of community concerns relating to our collection development and program planning policies. Rhonda Wheeler, library CEO, is here to briefly present those policies to us. Following that, we’ll open the floor for public comments.”
The projector in the room flashes and is now displaying a slide titled COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT it involves consulting legal, the public, and our various governance bodies. ”
The slide changes. It now says SELECTION CRITERIA.
“We have criteria we use to evaluate the material in our collection. We consider community demand and relevance to our community’s needs.
We also consider quality, including literary merit, accuracy, authority, and currency.
In addition, we consider availability and, of course, budget.
More detail about our criteria can be found on the library website. ”
The slide changes. It now says PROCEDURES. Rhonda’s voice booms, “We have a number of procedures that support our policies. Today we’re following the one established to address challenges and complaints. The first step in this procedure is to reaffirm our principles.”
Next slide. It says PRINCIPLES.
I notice Declan tilt his head while he reads the slide.
Rhonda speaks, as if she were pledging allegiance, “We believe in equitable access to information. We believe in providing inclusive, welcoming, and accessible services that embrace diversity. We defend intellectual freedom. We are committed to community development, lifelong learning, and literacy.” She pauses, then says, “Thank you.”
As she turns around to sit back down, Robert, a member of the board, stands up. “Thanks a bunch, Rhonda. All right, so the content that’s been challenged recently has been brought to the board and documented. The list of the challenged material is now displayed on the screen.”
It’s a long list. Among the contested books, I see:
The Bluest Eye
Gender Queer
The Hate U Give
All Boys Aren’t Blue
This Book Is Gay
And Tango Makes Three
The Family Book
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Robert looks back down at his paper. “A reconsideration committee was formed. We assessed the material using our selection criteria, which Rhonda just shared. We’ve now reached this stage of the process: public participation.
We’re here to solicit input from you, the public.
I’d like to welcome you to come up to the podium.
” He gestures to his right. “Please come up and share your thoughts and opinions. They’ll be put on record and used to support our final decision.
We have the next forty minutes. Try to share your thoughts as succinctly as possible to save time for others. Thanks all.”
He sits down, and Declan immediately stands up. I watch him walk over with assured determination. As he marches toward the microphone, I try to picture him as a little boy. I wonder what he was like when he was a kid. I wonder how his parents treated him.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Declan Turner. I’m a local reporter, as well as a concerned father and citizen.”
Declan is not a good-looking man. He has a gaunt face and deep-set eyes.
He’s very thin, and his clothes don’t fit well.
He has poor posture, always slouched. I wonder if he was picked on as a kid.
I wonder if he had many friends. The people who came here today with him seem to respect him.
I think he’s made friends through organizing this group.
He continues, “I hope I speak for the majority of the people here today when I say we need to protect our kids from sexual deviants. At this time, I firmly believe opportunists and predators are drawn to our library because of the books and events we promote.”
I tilt my head while I watch him speak. I wonder why he believes that.
Does he really think that’s true? I have no doubt that there are predators in every community and know they’re drawn to public spaces where there are vulnerable people.
Parks. Schools. Churches. Libraries. I don’t believe, however, that predators are drawn especially to the library because of our books or events.
I don’t buy that picture books about gender, racism, or lesbian moms are luring in pedophiles.
He says, “Recently, I reported on an incident in our library that involved a man watching pornography on the public computers. I was told this was allowed by the librarian on duty. I’ve also been made aware of concerning events hosted by our library that promote sexual deviancy and gender ideology. ”
I wonder if he realizes that the people who watch porn in the library tend to be people experiencing homelessness and mental health problems. They generally don’t have access to their own devices or the internet.
They don’t have housing. They often struggle with addiction, lack social awareness, and struggle with compulsive behaviors.
I wouldn’t classify them all as opportunists or predators; they’re mostly marginalized people who lack access to resources and support.
“There are books on our shelves dealing in topics that are absolutely inappropriate for kids, including sexually explicit content, offensive language, critical race theory, and many other disturbed and immoral ideologies.”
I squint. Why does he consider critical race theory disturbed and immoral? It’s a framework that examines systemic racism and studies how racism is woven into the fabric of society. What’s his issue with that? Maybe he doesn’t know what it means. Did someone tell him it means something else?
Or maybe he does know what it means, but I don’t understand why he would oppose it.
Is he threatened as a white person by the idea that our social institutions favor us?
He doesn’t seem to be excessively wealthy, and he didn’t go to college.
I’m sure he’s struggled in his life. Maybe he doesn’t like the idea that the world is easier for him in some ways, because it still feels hard.
I try to picture him as a six-year-old boy. I imagine he was smaller than most boys his age. I don’t know, of course, but he’s not tall, and he’s very thin. I imagine he was a little, sickly-looking kid. Maybe he got bullied.
“What is the educational purpose of these books?” he asks.
“And how do drag queen story times help our kids graduate high school? I know the answers. This isn’t educational.
This is indoctrination. There are deep-rooted issues in our libraries that require our immediate attention for the well-being of our children.
I strongly believe we need to reassess the books we keep on our shelves, the behavior we allow in our tax-funded buildings, and the events that we host. Libraries should be child-friendly, educational spaces. Period. Thank you.”
He steps away from the podium to a smattering of applause.
Joy whispers, “What a piece of work.”
I watch him walk back to his chair. I find it strange when people say libraries should center children.
We have children’s sections. Does he think the entire library should be for kids?
What about seniors? Parents? Mature students?
New immigrants? People looking for jobs?
Genealogists? Adults with disabilities? Artists?
Entrepreneurs? Reading groups? People experiencing homelessness?
People looking for legal aid? Victims of domestic abuse? What about everyone else?
A line formed behind Declan while he was speaking.
A woman in a blazer takes the mic. “Hi. I’m Paula West. I share the concerns raised by Mr. Turner.
Also, I’d like to point out that a lot of what Ms. Wheeler said earlier was peppered with buzzwords like ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion.’ I want to ask, does diversity and inclusion also embrace incestuous relationships?
Or books that promote pedophilia? Where’s the line?
This is virtue signaling. Who are we being inclusive of exactly?
I’m a taxpayer and a member of this community.
I don’t feel the library is being inclusive of me, my family, or of anyone in our community who has traditional values.
I believe we need to have better moral standards for our library, and that one of our objectives should be to protect the innocence of our children.
I urge the board to reconsider the books and programs our library offers and to uphold the traditional, moral principles of our community. ”