The Tyler Public Library on Wednesday October 4, 2023. (Michael Cavazos/News-Journal Photo)

1. How to challenge a book at the Tyler Public Library

Although he’s never attended before, concerned father Randell Gillaspy sat in Taylor Auditorium, where the Tyler Public Library holds board meetings every fourth Wednesday, to try to make sense of community chatter.

“I’ve heard the counter from both sides, and I just kind of want to see what’s going on in person,” Gillaspy said. “The opposition seems to think there’s inappropriate material in children’s books. The flip side of that is, I guess, freedom of speech.”

As book challenges make headlines nationally, some Tyler residents have made claims of salacious reading material available to minors they believe belongs in the library’s adult section. It’s a polarizing issue — one some believe is worth a continuous fight while others say it isn’t an issue at all.

“This is not a one-sided library. They’re going to provide books for the Christians, and they’re also going to provide books for everybody else,” said Erin Bailey, a local LGBTQ+ youth leader.

The library is divided into five sections. Books recommended for junior high readers and younger are in the juvenile section, books recommended for readers ages 14 and 15 are in the young adult section; and books recommended for readers 16 years and older are in the adult section. Books for adults on parenting topics are in the parenting section, and books for children on issues that need adult explanation, such as death and family dynamics, are in the family section.

The City of Tyler said arrangements are based on recommendations from professional organizations like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus. Any discrepancies result in staff members reading the book to determine the appropriate age range.

Library policy states providing access to a material does not endorse it.

“People are sort of saying, ‘I can’t believe that you would support this book,’” City Manager Edward Broussard said. “The book in our collection is not an endorsement of the book or material. The book being in the library indicates that this idea is present for people to read and share, agree with or disagree with, but it is not an endorsement by the City.”

In the young adult section for ages 14-plus, some books have scenes or material that could be considered sexual, Broussard said. However, there is no sexually explicit material in the children’s section. Context matters, because although there is some mature content, the narrative is for a younger demographic to learn a lesson, he said.

“When I ran for mayor, my slogan was ‘For All of Tyler,’ and when I think of the library, it’s the same slogan,” Mayor Don Warren said. “It’s for all of Tyler, and you see the community — it’s a diverse community. The library is the community.”

Books challenged

The Tyler Public Library reported 189,942 books in print with a total physical collection of 228,693 circulating items, including audio, video and other physical things, to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, which provides its accredited status.

There have been 11 requests to reconsider book placement in the library in 2023.

Some would like these books removed or relocated, while others have expressed the need for them to remain in their original sections, the City of Tyler said in a statement.

“Children, students, minors, everyone has a right to receive information,” City Attorney Deborah Pullman said. “The reason a book is kept in a library location is because that book provides something other than the prurient interest. There might be sexual content, but some other literary, art, social, political reason that the content is there.”

Pullman said the Supreme Court determined what is considered unprotected First Amendment speech and set the guidelines outlined in Tyler Public Library policy.

The Supreme Court ruled in Board of Education v. Pico that government officials may not remove books from school library shelves “simply because they dislike the idea contained in those books and seek by their removal to ‘prescribe’ what shall be orthodox.”

“I was raped. I talked to other rape survivors to ensure I’m not alone. We share stories, we read books, and that’s how we recover. That’s how we heal. Don’t take that away from these kids,” Bailey said.

The sexual content in the young adult books is not meant to arouse, Broussard explained. In describing something disturbing or confronting, like a rape scene, the idea of salaciousness or titillation isn’t present in the material.

“The books that they put forward are not meant to intrigue or be salacious in that way. There may be sexual content within some of the books. However, it’s definitely taken out of context,” City Librarian Ashley Taylor said.

Dirty Thirty

In the last few years, there has been a national and statewide push challenging LGBTQ+ and minority-centered books, Broussard said.

“The timing locally is about the same time as it is nationally,” Warren added.

Tyler is one of several peer libraries, like the Victoria Public Library, Taylor Public Library and Llano County Library, to experience the grassroots movement provocation.

“This has been kind of going on, so now it’s our turn,” Broussard said. “With that, the grassroots group started to put together a campaign about a set of books.”

The Tyler Public Library’s Dirty Thirty Substack was launched July 18 by Christin Bentley, Senate District 1 State Republican Executive Committeewoman, with a mission “to make the Tyler Public Library a safe place for children by removing sexually explicit, vulgar and unsuitable materials from the sections of the library that are intended for their use,” according to the substack page.

“Every day, they would list a book they have a problem with and attack the library or me personally,” Taylor said. “However, most of the materials we’ve never heard them bring up.”

Citizens’ public comment

Tyler resident Jan Love has been attending city council and board meetings advocating for the relocation of books since October 2021. Love and the group will keep fighting for what they believe is right.

“We should have a seat at the table – quit pushing us out,” Love said. “We’re trying to protect our children. If an adult chooses to read that, that’s their business, but quit exposing our kids.”

One book submitted for reconsideration was All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. The book, labeled appropriate for children 14 and up by the publisher, was kept in the young adult section by the board but later relocated to the adult section by the city manager following an appeal.

“It’s not a book ban,” Love said. “We simply want the books put in the appropriate section.”

Love said “sexual explicit material does not need to be in the children’s section of the library.”

“I don’t think any adult would want their child exposed to that, whether it’s the public library or our schools,” Love said. “Children can’t process that, and somebody has to stand up for our kids.”

Those in favor of relocation routinely cite salacious material in the “children’s” section that is categorized in the young adult section available to readers aged 14 to 16 years and older.

“Moving the books around to appease everybody else, it’s a bully tactic,” Bailey said. “I don’t want to tell anybody what they can and cannot read.”

At the Sept. 13 Tyler City Council meeting, activists for the relocation of books in the library provided public comment with concerns that pornographic reading material is available for minors. Several speakers tried and were redirected by Warren to the agenda item: the appointment of library board members.

“After two years of this, your emotions get high, and your patience runs out,” Love said. “These are our kids and grandkids. We’re not going to stop. We’re not going to go away. We’re not going to shut up.”

Legal guardians’ responsibility

“Everybody’s quick to place the blame on everybody else in the community to raise their kids. I have an 8-year-old. I don’t let her watch things I don’t want her to watch. I don’t let her read things I don’t want her to read,” Bailey said.

This controversy stems from a lack of parenting, Gillaspy said. The role of a library is to provide literature unmasked. Whether fiction or nonfiction, it’s an author’s art, knowledge or research and should be provided to people freely, he added.

“I’ve been to libraries my whole life as a kid, young adult in college and here in my adult life, and there’s nothing malicious here,” Gillapsy said. “It’s a building full of books. You have free will to see what you want to read or learn about.”

All patrons under age 18 need a parent’s signature before procuring a library card. A third-party service restricts children under 18 from filing an online application by verifying the age and address requirements.

The library requires that a parent, legal guardian or other responsible party be present to supervise children ages 12 and younger.

Library staff will not limit children to books in the children’s section. In addition, library staff are not responsible for determining whether materials used by children and teens are “age appropriate,” according to the city.

Taylor said parents or guardians are responsible for monitoring their children’s and teens’ use of library resources and determining whether to place restrictions.

“We’re not the parent(s), and we can’t be the parents for every single child in the city or within our library,” Taylor said. “It’s still a parent’s or guardian’s responsibility to oversee what their child is doing, what their child is reading.”

Library patrons ages 12 and older don’t need parental supervision, but while applying for their child’s library card, parents can set restrictions that limit the content the child can access.

“Parents still can check the box and are not allowed to check out materials in certain sections. They can always restrict their child’s access to books,” Franklin said.

Pullman added that legally, “All we can do is put limitations on paper. It’s up to the parent to use them.”

Gillaspy has brought his three children to the library for many years and has never encountered anything he was uncomfortable with.

“Experiences are part of life,” Gillaspy said. “If you’re sheltered and you’re only shown one corner of the room, you don’t know how to anticipate the other three corners.”

Results

“It should be fair, and it’s not fair,” Love said.

There was concern the library didn’t feature enough conservative and Republican perspectives in the juvenile section, Broussard said. Another allegation said the periodicals leaned left.

“We’re not for removing books at the library, but we are for adding books. We’re all good about adding ideas if you don’t feel your ideas represented; then tell us what that idea is, and let us look at and see what we can find that we can put in the library to represent that idea,” Broussard said. “It was about adding, not subtracting.”

Upon receiving these comments, Deputy City Manager Stephanie Franklin said multiple reports were done to determine if the library’s collection was balanced.

There were two different reports, one was for periodicals, conducted by a committee assigned by a collections associate who is no longer employed at the library, committee members represented different ages and political affiliations. The other report was to determine fair and balanced political views in the juvenile collection through the integrated library system.

The library takes having a fair and balanced collection seriously, Taylor said.

Reports show an impartial representation of Democratic and Republican viewpoints in the juvenile section and sparked conversations on balancing LBGTQ+ and critical race theory content and opposing stances.

“It ultimately turned out that we were dead even on representation,” Taylor said. “There was the same accusation when it came to our magazine collection of physical magazines. They said that we had a very liberal collection. So we did a thorough review of each magazine and newspaper that we had, and it ended up with the same information.”

The reports not only showed fair and balanced representation but showed that political magazines are less of an interest to patrons than magazines on health, cooking or skills like knitting, Taylor added.

This ongoing issue resulted in the relocation of some books, improved policies and resources, new methods to make it easier for parents to restrict a child’s library card, and a review of what’s circulating and pertinent to public interest.

“This has been going on for quite a while, and some of the questions about the policies and stuff they’ve been brought forward,” Broussard said. “We have reviewed those, the Library Board has taken them up, and changes have been made.”

How to get involved

Attending civic meetings is one way to be involved and make informed choices. Tyler’s Library Advisory Board meets monthly at 3:30 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday at the Taylor Auditorium of the library at 201 . The city council meets at 9 a.m. the second and fourth Wednesday of each month on the second floor of city hall at 212 N. Bonner Ave.

Another way is to be an active parent or to formally challenge books in the library.

An official challenging system is in place for community members under the Collection Development Policy. Requests must be made in writing through a Citizen’s Request for Reconsideration of Material form on Page 22 of the policy.

Within 30 days, the city librarian will send a written response notifying complainants of the Library’s Collection Development Committee’s decision on the request.

The committee consists of seven library employees ages 19 to 65, not including the city librarian. The members of the committee are chosen to represent different sexes, ages, ethnicities and backgrounds.

If the complainant is dissatisfied, the request can be forwarded to the Library Board to review the request within 90 days.

If the requester disagrees with the decision, they can appeal one final time to the city manager.

Eleven books have been formally challenged this year. Before, only one book had been challenged in the almost 10 years Franklin has overseen the library.

Six books were relocated from the young adult section to the adult section; one book was relocated from the juvenile area to the family section; and four books have remained in the young adult section, one of which was appealed and is pending action.

An additional book was requested for removal, but there is no process to remove books due to conflicts with First Amendment rights, according to the city.

Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah Mass was relocated to the adult section.

Sold by Patricia McCormik remains in young adult (YA).

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky was relocated to the adult Spanish section.

People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins remains in YA.

Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah Mass was relocated to the adult section.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Mass was relocated to the adult section.

All Boys Aren’t Blue by Georgre Johnson was relocated to the adult section.

Empire of Storms by Sarah Mass was relocated to the adult section.

Out of Darkness by Ahsley Hope Perez was relocated to the adult section.

It’s Perfectly Normal by Robbie Harris and Michael Emberly was relocated to the family section.

Breathless by Jennifer Nevin remains in YA.

Is the City of Tyler a member of the American Library Association (ALA)? One library employee is a member of the ALA, but the City of Tyler is not a member, and it doesn’t not have any decision power over the Tyler Public Library. The library doesn’t receive any guidance or recommendation from ALA.

How does the staff decide what books to purchase? Tyler Public Library has a Collection Development Committee in charge of purchasing material. Each year, the group assesses circulation numbers by genre and section to allocate the purchasing budget to genres that circulate best. They review and compare this list with the National Best Sellers list, requests they have received from patrons, and recommendations from local agencies and organizations to determine what is needed.

Who determines what ages are considered “Young Adults”? Young adults (YA) is not an age range, but a genre that was first introduced in the ’40s. This genre usually covers coming of age stories. At Tyler Public Library, this area is recommended for readers age 14 and up.

How are board members chosen? Library Board members are appointed by the Tyler City Council by application from the public. The only requirement is the member must be a city resident. 

Are there sexually explicit books available in the children’s section of the library? There are no sexually explicit books available in the juvenile section for readers ages 0 to 14. However, in the young adult section for ages 14 plus, some books have scenes or material that could be considered sexual.

Does the City of Tyler relocate or remove books from the public library? Six books were relocated from the young adult section to the adult section after a Citizen’s Request for Reconsideration of Material forms was submitted, one book was relocated from the juvenile area to the family section, and four books have remained in the young adult section, one of which was appealed and is pending action. An additional book was requested for removal, but there is no process to remove books due to conflicts with First Amendment rights. The city believes the idea of remove or relocating books is not productive, and note that case law reflects public libraries have less desertion to limit access than school or priate libraries.