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KING WILLIAM A group of King William County citizens is calling on the Pamunkey Regional Library system to restrict childrens access to books the group considers explicit, saying they will seek to defund the entire system if the library does not comply.

The system runs libraries in the counties of Hanover, Goochland, King and Queen and King William and the town of West Point.

At the March 27 meeting of the King William Board of Supervisors, library Director Tom Shepley said restricting access to books was contrary to First Amendment rights.

During public comments, resident Sharon Landrum spoke of the brokenness of Pamunkey Regional Library system and called for a labeling and sequestering policy for sexually explicit material for children.

She questioned the countys annual contribution of more than $600,000 in fiscal year 2024 to the library system.

Another resident, Elaine Daniel, spoke of Me, Earl and The Dying Girl, a young-adult novel available in the library. She spoke of the rise in mental illness among teens and said the books characters are neurotic and nihilistic and focused on destruction.

Banned books are visible at the Central Library, a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library system, in New York City on Thursday, July 7, 2022. The books are banned in several public schools and libraries in the U.S., but young people can read digital versions from anywhere through the library. The Brooklyn Public Library offers free membership to anyone in the U.S. aged 13 to 21 who wants to check out and read books digitally in response to the nationwide wave of book censorship and restrictions. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey) (Ted Shaffrey/AP)

The novel, by Jesse Andrews, was released in 2012 and tells the story of two troubled teenage boys who become friends with a girl who has terminal cancer. It has faced frequent challenges in recent years from people who disapprove of the story.

Why would we offer such a book as this? We dont want to ban it but we dont want to buy books that have no good purpose, Landrum said.

Rose Marie Berberich spoke of a sex scene between minors in Looking for Alaska by John Green, a coming-of-age novel she branded obscene.

We as a public library system must hold ourselves to a standard of decency and appropriateness for all. This book should be labeled and placed in a separate area in the library due to the profanity and sexually explicit theme, said Berberich.

She called for the supervisors to defund the Pamunkey Regional Library until changes are made.

Resident Rose Bloomfield referred to Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo as pornographic literature. The novel won the National Book Award in 2021 for Young Peoples Literature, the first time a young adult book featuring an LGBT woman as the main character won a National Book Award.

This book is for young adults this should not be put on any kind of shelving that doesnt have a disclaimer, doesnt have a red x in front of it, she said.

Bloomfield, referencing Lady Chatterleys Lover by D.H. Lawrence, said most of the world banned such books at the time.

I dont know how we strayed so far from the banning but Id like to see it come back again, she said.

Lady Chatterleys Lover, about an upper-class woman who has an affair with a working-class man, was banned in the United States in 1929 but the ban was lifted in 1959. Bans in Europe were also overturned and Penguin Books won a landmark obscenity trial in the United Kingdom in 1960.

Shepley acknowledged that the library system has faced calls at board of trustees and other meetings to create a ratings system for books. He said no system exists at present.

Weve got over 200,000 books, he said.

The problem for us as a public library with that is the standard for making that determination in the United States with the First Amendment really rests with you, or I, or any other reader.

Shepley said, while he could determine whether a book was suitable for his children, he would struggle to make a determination for another child.

You know you children better than I do and youre the one responsible for them, he said.

Supervisor Stewart Garber asked if books that were the subject of complaints remained on the shelves. Shepley confirmed they are still in the libraries.

We are talking about young children. Well below the age. I dont even know whether the First Amendment applies to them but but theres a right and wrong here, said Garber.

Shepley said the library does have a formal reconsideration process after complaints but the books would likely stay. He said five books have been the subject of specific complaints, and that moving them could be considered a First Amendment issue.

Many of these have been on the shelves for years, but you are hearing people complain about them now, Shepley said. He said a public library is part of the government and it does not have the right to censor materials. Shepley suggested parents control their childrens access to materials they check out on a library card.

The folks that we are hearing from are trying to limit access to other people and thats where it becomes censorship, Shepley said.

No action on the issue was taken at the March 27 meeting. Supervisor Travis Moskalski, referring to it as a very highly charged issue, said it requires more consideration.

David Macaulay, davidmacaulayva@gmail.com

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King William group pushes to censor books in public library, calls on board to defund library system - Daily Press