A hundred and fifty challenged books will soon return to shelves after St. Tammany Parish library officials voted unanimously this week to rescind a new policy.
For nearly a year, challenged titles have only been available by request after people complained that minors were being exposed to inappropriate content on sexuality, gender identity and sexual orientation.
A group of community members — many of whom do not have school-age children — began pressuring St. Tammany Parish library officials last year to remove books deemed inappropriate for minors. That prompted a controversial policy that pulled more than 150 titles from shelves.
St. Tammany Parish Library Director Kelly LaRocca said of the remaining (non-digital) books on the list still under review — 11 children's books, 70 teen novels, and 47 adult books — all will now return to their respective bookshelves.
“I'm completely in favor of going back to a process that has worked for decades,” board member Bill McHugh said.
Reversing the policy comes after a new state law, Act 436, spells out parents’ right “to guide and direct the reading, listening, and viewing choices of their minor children.”
“That's all we've asked. Leave books on the shelves. Let parents parent,” Mandeville resident Kim Turner said.
Keeping the books behind the circulation desk has been criticized by groups who say it prevents browsing and is a form of censorship.
A letter sent to LaRocca from Tulane Law Clinic argues it's a violation of the First Amendment because of the “unreasonable number of challenges,” a majority of which have been filed by one person, and the time it takes staff to carefully review each book.
“Only works that meet the legal definition of obscenity may actually be removed. This has been the law of the land for a long time,” the letter reads.
Most of the speakers at the recent board meeting were in favor of the change, but the move raised questions for some.
“I just want to protect the children. That’s my goal. I’m just hoping they’ll be put in the right section,” Gary Lacoste of Abita Springs said.
LaRocca responded, saying she’s read nearly all of the children’s books and none contain sexually explicit content. And the library card system already prevents children from checking out certain books.
She added that access to books, as interpreted by law, pertains to what is checked out, not a book’s physical location in the library.
Challenged materials will remain classified as such, according to the board's resolution, but they'll be returned to their original shelves within 30 days.
St. Tammany is one of many local library systems across the country that have been challenged to ban books by a growing national movement of right-wing and religious interest groups.