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SIMPLIFYING THE PROCESS Part of the aim of the incoming new Community Standards Review Committee is to simplify the book review process.
Since 2016, the Helen Hall Library board, which has been responsible for reviewing books agged as o ensive, has reviewed only three books. BOOK REVIEWS
Request reviewed by Helen Hall Library board of trustees
OLD PROCESS 13 -page packet 11 pages of background information 2 pages for residents to ll out NEW PROCESS 1 -page form Digital tracking system so request is not lost or neglected
1 chairperson 1 vice chairperson 1 secretary 1 Galveston County Library System liaison
8 person committee
4 trustees
“Sex is a Funny Word: A Book About Bodies,Feelings and You” by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth
SEX IS A FUNNY WORD
GENDER QUEER
“Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe
Request reviewed by Community Standards Review Committee 7 person committee 3 Helen Hall Library board of trustees members 3 residents with a bachelor’s degree in
Book added to Helen Hall Library: Dec. 3, 2019 Review request received: April 7, 2022 Book checked out: 8 times as of April 7, 2022 Request: remove the book from the library or move it to the adults section Reason for request: requisitioner claimed the book is “toxic, manipulative, exploitive and inappropriate” Library’s recommendation: while moving material away from the intended audience is a form of censorship, the book should be moved to the adult collection of graphic novels Board decision: book moved from the teen section to the adult collection of graphic novels
Book added to Helen Hall Library: Jan. 19. 2016 Review request received: Nov. 30, 2021 Book checked out: 53 times as of Nov. 30, 2021 Request: remove the book from the library Reason for request: requisitioner claimed the book’s theme is misinformation and pornography and not appropriate for children
1 chairperson to break any ties
childhood education or at least two years as a public or private K-12 educator
SOURCES: HELEN HALL LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES, LEAGUE CITY CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY IMPACT
the books in question to be b nned t his request when the bo rd lre dy h d orm l process to consider ction on such books. “Th t’s not wh t he w nted to he r,” G rci s id. Furthermore, there is “no evidence” the public submitted book ch llenges th t went un ddressed, she s id. In November 2021, the bo rd reviewed request to remove “Sex is Funny Word” rom the libr ry nd opted to move it rom the children’s section to the p renting section. In April 2022, the bo rd reviewed nother controversi l book, “Gender Queer,” nd moved it rom the teen section to the dult section. In the end, Hicks decided to bring resolution be ore council prohibit- ing the city rom spending t x doll rs on “obscene” m teri l intended or minors t the libr ry. Topics consid- ered obscene under the resolution, which p ssed Dec. 6, include pedo- phili ; incest; r pe; bond ge; nd sex, nudity nd sexu l pre erence in books with n intended udience o those less th n 10 ye rs old. “Gender ideology” nd “ideologue hum n sexu lity” were origin lly p rt o the list o topics considered obscene but were removed be ore pprov l. M ny residents opposed this res- olution, cl iming it w s n ttempt t restricting children rom re d- ing books bout LGBTQ topics. The ght continued over council’s Febru- ry vote on the proposed new book review committee. J y Cunningh m, president o the CCISD bo rd o trustees, s id the bo rd voted un nimously in l te Feb- ru ry or new policy th t, simil r to
Le gue City’s, will llow p rents to ch llenge school libr ry books. Addi- tion lly, cert in books will be kept out o re ch o element ry students nd be ccessible only with p rent permis- sion, Cunningh m s id. Cunningh m s id the district h s not received blowb ck over this decision, likely due to the ct th t school libr r- ies re not v il ble to nyone, unlike public libr ries. “I would s y th t’s the di erence,” Cunningh m s id. “The public libr ry is just th t: It’s public.” However, Sw nson s id the lli- nce opposes CCISD’s new policy nd would h ve protested the decision h d members been w re o it, which M ny who publicly spoke g inst the ordin nce, including Sw nson, s id the resolution indic ted the intention o the new committee is to help resi- dents b n books with LGBTQ themes. Sw nson dmitted the resolution th t p ssed w s n improvement over wh t w s origin lly proposed. “But it’s still book b n,” she s id, s ying reshelving books rom sections or their intended udience is orm o censorship. “It’s upsetting.” Hicks dis greed with the term “book b n.” “We h ven’t b nned one single book rom Le gue City. Not one,” he s id. “Th t w s never the intent.” Hicks s id the resolution w s not t rgeted t LGBTQ books. He s id he would eel the s me w y bout the books in question i they covered het- erosexu l sex. “There’s pl ce nd time or they were not. New committee
Library’s recommendation: keep the book at the library
Board decision: book moved from children’s section to family literacy section nearby
ESCAPE FROM DETROIT
“Escape from Detroit : The Collapse of America’s Black Metropolis” by Paul Kersey
more stringent policy concerning school libr ries be ore council p ssed its ordin nce. “It’s bout sexu l topics … nd obscenity,” Hicks s id. Early be innin s Hicks’ ide or new committee beg n in ll 2021 when he received resident compl ints bout cert in books v il ble in the libr ry. In November 2021 em il to City M n ger John B umg rtner, Hicks requested one o the books, “Sex is Funny Word,” be removed rom the libr ry, c lling it “indoctrin ting nd smut.” Hicks s id he ttempted to work with the Helen H ll Libr ry bo rd o trustees bout his concerns but w s “kind o blown o .” He told residents to ll out p cket or the bo rd to o- ci lly consider reshelving or removing the books in question, but residents s id they received no response when they did, Hicks s id. “I don’t know where the b ll w s dropped,” he s id. Kyrsten G rci , Helen H ll Libr ry bo rd secret ry, s id Hicks expected
Review request received: summer 2016 Request: reconsider the book’s placement in the library Library’s recommendation: remove the book from the library due to its bias and lack of facts to support the author’s opinion Board decision: book removed from the library
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“We’re citizens upset bout wh t City Council is trying to do, nd we eel th t it is government overre ch nd th t it’s becoming big government, nd we don’t pprove o th t,” Sw nson s id t the protest. Me nwhile, Council Member Jus- tin Hicks, who brought the ordin nce be ore council, s id it is not book b n but n ttempt to protect chil- dren. He lso s id the Cle r Creek ISD bo rd o trustees p ssed n even
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