Opinion: Current Reconsiderations Update
After the Holidays, and the hiring of a new Columbia County Library Manager because the previous one quit after the guidelines were adopted, library staff has started the process of recategorizing books again. The County is no longer using the Mom’s For Liberty database, BookLooks to screen the books so that is a small victory. (This process was paused at the end of September after Julie Walker, the State Librarian of Georgia, notified Columbia County that the Regional Board is responsible for the collection development policies of the Regional system. The Regional Board voted in favor of the guidelines just for Columbia County on 12/10/2024.) Under the new guidelines, Easy/Children are ages 0-8 (includes board books and picture books), Juvenile is ages 8-11, Middle Ground is ages 11-14, and Teen (formerly Young Adult 12-18) is now ages 14-18. Graphic novels were not specifically addressed in the guidelines.
They started with the books under Reconsideration (aka “challenged”) with mixed results and I will focus on those books today. Most of the Human Body section has been shifted back to the Juvenile section, but I will wait to discuss that section until decisions have been made on all of the books. The disposition of the following books under Reconsideration was reported at the January county meeting, according to the new library manager:
Teo’s Tutu: no profanity, no violence, no sexual content or sexuality; remain in Easy/Children
And Tango Makes Three: no profanity, no violence, no sexual content or sexuality; remain in Easy/Children
Drama: no profanity, no violence, no sexual content or sexuality; move from Children’s graphic novel to Middle Ground
The Other Boy: moderate profanity, moderate violence, mild sexual content; move from Middle Ground to Teen
Gracefully Grayson: no profanity, mild violence, no sexual content; move from Middle Ground to Teen
Gender Queer: moderate profanity, no violence, moderate sexual content; move from Graphic Novels to Adult Biographies
Flamer: moderate profanity, moderate violence, moderate sexual content; move from Graphic Novels to Adult Fiction
Ryan and Avery: mild profanity, mild violence, mild sexual content; remain in Teen
Let's address the Graphic Novels first, because those moves are concerning. Drama was located in Children’s Graphic Novels which is for all graphic novels in the upstairs children’s sections (Easy to Middle Ground). Drama is super-popular and all 3 copies are always checked out, so I always have to laugh that this book is somehow controversial. Anyway, I don’t necessarily disagree with it’s categorization in Middle Ground, however why is it pulled from Children’s Graphic Novels unless all of the Middle Ground graphic novels will also be re-shelved? The other 2 Graphic Novels were both located in the combined YA/Adult Graphic Novels section located downstairs near the Young Adult/Teen room. It was decided to move Gender Queer, which was already considered an Adult Graphic Novel, to the Adult Biographies. Flamer was considered YA but it was also moved from Graphic Novels to Adult Fiction. I sent an email to the new manager asking if the Graphic Novels Sections would now be removed and the books interspersed throughout the library, as the guidelines do not specifically address graphic novels. I was advised that only those 3 books will be recategorized. Oh, so we’re leaving all of the other Adult books in the combined YA/Adult Graphic Novel section and all of Middle Ground graphic novels in the Children’s Graphic Novels except these 3 challenged LGBTQ books?
The 2 books from Middle Ground that were challenged, The Other Boy and Gracefully Grayson, both have main characters that are transgender Middle Schoolers. Both books are recommended for that age group by professional sources such as School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews. In the case of Gracefully Grayson, the new manager said that according to the guidelines it would stay in Middle Ground but she felt like it should go to Teen. The author is a Middle School teacher and I’m pretty sure she meant for the book to be written for Middle School readers. I feel like with this move, the Manager might be putting her own bias on the books and that she feels like maybe books with a transgender character shouldn’t be discussed until age 14? Maybe not though. Maybe she’s just trying to seem “middle of the road.” I would caution though that when a group of people are hell-bent on changing the public library to reflect their own religious/political views in order to violate people’s First Amendment rights, and using all of their political power in order to achieve that, where is the ethical middle? I would also caution our new library manager that our local power structure will throw her under the bus in a heartbeat, just like they did and continue to do to the previous Director. As Maya Angelou once said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
I also found out today that the book I turned in a Reconsideration Form for in late September, The Bone Spindle, is moving back to Teen, where it belongs. It was stated at the September county library meeting that it would move to Adult, along with a handful of other LGBTQ titles that were challenged at the same time, due to the guidelines. However, this book has no sexual content and really no profanity. The Book, Ryan and Avery was also recommended to remain in Teen. These are small victories, but at the end of the day, the guidelines that were passed are still unconstitutional because of their inherent bias and broad generalities.
I’m sure appeals to the Advisory Board will be requested in the coming days by people who wanted all of these books moved to adult. How will the County Board weigh-in on these issues with 3 new board members? At the end of the day though, in my opinion, these guidelines are still unconstitutional, so even moving one book that shouldn’t be moved is the wrong answer.