“Please do not insult me and others like me by passing this reprehensible proposal that segregates us and equates us with child abuse, drug abuse, and family violence,” Rev. Dr. E. Scott James, who said he is gay, asked commission members before they okayed the guidelines in a 12–1 vote. Four commissioners were absent.
“Our commission, while divided, voted to retain the materials in the children’s area and not limit access,” library Executive Director Donna Morris told American Libraries. The titles in the parenting collection will be limited to the reading-level categories of easy, easy-reader, and tween, and selected by staff members based on their judgment of which subjects “would indicate that guardians might want to control the time and manner at which children are introduced to a topic,” the revised library policy states. She went on to say that commissioners are hopeful that the new section will be “a positive collection for parents and children.”
Posted February 17, 2006; revised February 21, 2006.