Greenville library publishes youth books with transgender themes
The Greenville County Library Board of Directors voted Monday to move books featuring transgender themes or characters from the youth section to the adult section.
The new policy is a revision of the collection development and maintenance guidelines. The board voted 8-3 to move books depicting a character who has undergone or is transitioning from “a gender that corresponds to their biological sex to another gender” from the youth section for ages 13-17 to the adult section.
This includes books with illustrations or themes that “celebrate, depict or affirm gender transition, whether social or physical.”
Allan Hill, chair of the library committee, said the overhaul would allow the library to have “truth in advertising” and wanted the books in the young adult section to be “safe so you can give them to your children to read”.
“When they come to the library and are in the area designated for them, we believe there should be nothing there that is not safe for them to access,” Hill said.
After the same committee voted in February to move children’s books with transgender themes to the parents’ section, books with transgender characters or themes are no longer accessible to children under 17 unless they have an unrestricted access library card, which must be signed by the parent or guardian.
Marcia Moston, chair of the library committee, said the policy change proposal is “consistent” with House Bill 4624, a law passed in the state earlier this year that prohibits anyone under 18 from undergoing sex-reassignment surgery or any form of puberty blockers or hormone therapy. The bill does not include any reference to libraries or library books.
“Since there is a law, why should we promote or provide material that violates the law?” Moston said.
More: Greenville Library committee votes to remove transgender-themed books from youth section
At the committee meeting, Gene Beckner said the new policy appears to be consistent with a provision in South Carolina’s state budget that requires county libraries, before receiving state funds, to certify to the state library that they do not offer books or materials in children’s, young adult or teen book sections that “will attract the prurient interest of children under 17 years of age and will be made available only with the express consent of parents.”
Beverly James, executive director of the Greenville County Library System, confirmed that Moston’s policy has nothing to do with the new clause. The state library has asked the attorney general for his opinion on the clause, which has not yet been made public.
Board members Hill, Moston, Buckner, Kristen Odom, Tommy Hughes, James Hoard, Stephanie Cunningham and Elizabeth Collins voted in favor of the revision. Brian Aufmuth, Joe Poore and Kenneth Baxter voted against.
Poore wanted to send the directive back to the committee and described it in its current form as “obviously discriminatory”.
“I think our policies already address things like explicit sexuality, and I think someone altering their genitals falls under explicit sexuality. So I think we’ve already addressed the issue in that regard. So yes, I think we have an obligation in that regard,” Poore said. “I’m saying I have a problem with not allowing books in a certain area of the library because someone is portrayed in a certain way in the book.”
Aufmuth made a motion to ask the director to hire a First Amendment attorney to review the new policy and determine whether it violates free speech rights, since board members would not confirm whether the board had sought legal advice before passing the measure. The motion was denied.
The culture war continues to affect the library
The policies adopted this year are not the only time the board has been criticized for censorship. In October, the board voted to remove all of the library’s themed exhibits unless they were “paid holidays observed by both the Greenville County government and the Greenville County Library Board.” The move came after the library removed exhibits labeled “Read with Pride” or “All Y’all / It Takes a Village to Make a Library” with book titles such as “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” by Tennessee Williams.
The ACLU defines censorship as “the suppression of content or ideas.” It says banning a book is not the only form of censorship. Moving a book to a “less accessible section” or requiring parental permission to read it are also examples of soft censorship.
“Basically, 3% of our population is gay and lesbian, 97% is straight, and we’re not going to let 3% change our family values,” Beth Wadsworth, a Greenville County resident, told the panel during Monday’s public hearing. “Our children are not for sale. We’re going to fight for them, protect them, and do whatever it takes to prevent them from seeing these inappropriate books.”
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom found that the number of book challenges has reached the highest level ever documented by the ALA.
“We are not at all surprised that the board decided to restrict access to these books. We are not surprised that they declined the opportunity to consult with an attorney invoking the First Amendment. We are not surprised to hear their transphobic paranoia voiced loudly in a public meeting,” Stephen Shelato, a representative of the Freedom in Libraries advocacy group, said in a statement. “We are surprised that Greenville voters skipped the Republican primary in June, missing their only chance to protect a public library for all. This library board does not represent the people.”
Board members are selected by the Greenville County Council, which voted last year to re-elect the same board members except one of 53 candidates.
Savannah Moss covers politics for the Greenville News. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her @Savmoss.
