Manatee County leaders want to label public library books with LGBTQ, sexual content
After previewing a number of changes earlier this year, Manatee County’s conservative leaders have approved the first policy update for the public library system.
Led by Commissioner Amanda Ballard, board members adopted a plan to expand an advisory board that will help determine what content is available in public libraries. In the future, commissioners will also consider adding book genre labels and implementing parental consent forms for children below a certain age.
Ballard said she wants to label books that could be deemed controversial, such as LGBTQ stories, coming of age and young adult books. Consent forms would apply to kids under the age of 16 who want to check out books on certain topics, including human sexuality and gender identity.
In February, the Manatee County Commission held a public workshop meeting where commissioners laid out general ideas for how they would improve the library system, such as expanding the number of books from conservative authors.
Battling against accusations of censorship and fascism from several residents Tuesday, commissioners voted unanimously to begin expanding the existing library advisory board and allowing members to weigh in on what content is added to the library collection.
The modified advisory board would not have the ability to veto an acquisition made by library staff, said Ballard.
“If the board overwhelmingly doesn’t agree with purchasing items, the hope is that librarians would take that into consideration, but in accordance with free speech principles, the final decision would lie with library staff,” Ballard explained.
The move comes amid a nationwide culture war against children being exposed to sexual content through literature. Books that reference LGBTQ+ orientations also have been targeted.
“I am opposed to children being exposed to any type of sexually oriented materials,” Commissioner Vanessa Baugh wrote in an April 15 email to a resident. “Parents have more rights than any library regarding their children.”
On Wednesday, state leaders enacted a similar policy, prohibiting Florida’s middle school and high school teachers from “intentionally” teaching students about sexual orientation or gender identity. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law banning those subjects in elementary schools last year.
Genre labels in Manatee libraries?
While most board members had no problem throwing their support behind genre labels, the decision was met with some pushback from a colleague. Commissioner George Kruse disagreed, arguing that children are not exposed to sexual content in libraries.
“You don’t have random little kids wandering around pulling porn off of our shelves. That’s just not how our library works,” said Kruse, who noted that the library’s policy does not allow children under the age of 12 to be left unattended. “It sounds like we may have more of a parenting problem than a library problem.”
But other commissioners said they would have no trouble supporting the new policy.
“I do think we have a problem morally if we don’t contain adult sexual orientation books away from the youth. I mean, come on. Let kids be kids for heaven’s sake,” said Baugh.
Commissioner James Satcher compared the genre labels to movie ratings.
“It’s an additional system so that books can be classified if children have access to it, you can be sure as a parent that you’re OK with your child having access to that,” said Satcher.
Manatee officials did not take official action on adding genre labels to public library books. The topic is expected to come up for discussion at a future public meeting.
Parental consent for books
Ballard also proposed a parental consent form that would require parents to give prior authorization before a child under the age of 16 can rent a book in any of these sections: young adult fiction, adult fiction, human sexuality, sexual techniques, sexual orientation and sexual hygiene.
“Either a parent should be present with the child at the time of rental or the parent should sign a consent form allowing their child to access or rent those materials,” Ballard said.
Board members did not take official action on a parental consent form either, but several commissioners signaled their support for the idea.
“I definitely agree with what Commissioner Ballard stated and the things she wants to implement. I think it’s going to be a great thing,” said Commissioner Jason Bearden.
“I don’t want to ban any book,” added Commissioner Mike Rahn. “Libraries are a repository of knowledge that we all should be able to go to and all be able to use those facilities. My only concern about the libraries is access.”
Several residents spoke out against the proposed library changes.
“Growing up, I always had my head in a book. I was three or more grade levels ahead on my reading comprehension,” said Amanda Langworthy. “Limiting books based on age range can be discrimination on that portion of readers.”
“When you talk about parent’s rights, you mean only some parents — the close-minded parents that think like you do,” David Daniels wrote in an email to commissioners. “You are using child protection to hide censorship and fascism.”
Some said they favored the restrictions against child access to certain content, pointing to other age-based restrictions implemented by the government.
“There are age restrictions for children for driving, drinking and entering sex shops,” said Deanna Brinkley.
Manatee officials voted unanimously to expand the library advisory board. The County Attorney’s Office will present an updated ordinance to formalize the changes at an upcoming public meeting.
The board is also expected to discuss library genre labels and parental consent forms at a later date.
This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 5:50 AM.
