In November, Conduit News interviewed a former board member of Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library after she won a FOIA complaint against the public library. The former board member, Amanda Escue, discovered that the library was placing sexually explicit materials in the children’s section. You can watch that interview here.
Now, citizens in Craighead County are asking that the board consider a policy that would move the sexually explicit material from the children’s section to other parts of the library. The board will consider the policy Monday, February 14.
Call to action!
Send an email to the library and ask them to support the policy proposal by Mark Nichols. You do not need to live in Craighead County to submit an email.
Please adopt the Sexually Graphic/Explicit Material Policy as proposed by Board Member Mark Nichols
You may also forward Mark’s plea and explanation for the need for this policy. See below:
“Many of you have been following the story with the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library. You have seen some of the sexually graphic books that are being provided to our youth. I have drafted a simple policy to move this material to the adult section. Here is a definition of the material that would be moved:
Sexually graphic/explicit material definition – Sexually graphic/explicit material includes detailed pictorial or text descriptions of explicit sexual acts including sexual intercourse, oral sex, or masturbation.
Exception to this policy – Material exclusively designed for sexual education shall be placed in a sex education section within the adult section of the library, or, in the alternative, within a young adult section within the adult section of the library.
Right now, there is NO area of the library (yes, not even the children’s section of the library) that is free of detailed pictorial or text descriptions of explicit sexual acts. That is a problem for parents who want their children to have a section where they can freely explore books without being exposed to harmful things or things they may not be ready for.
It is sad that there is a need to have this policy, but this is the situation we are currently in. You will hear the word censorship thrown around, but know that others do not have a First Amendment right to expose your child to sexually graphic material. Thus far I have received more feedback from people that want to keep this material in the youth sections. Is this a reflection of our community standards? The emails supporting this material have stated it is a vocal minority that has an issue with explicit material in the youth sections. Feedback from the community on this issue is critical. Ultimately, this is your library and your tax dollars being used to expose young children to graphic sexual material. If you think sexually graphic and explicit material should be relocated where parents can have a voice in what their kids are exposed to, let your voice be heard:
Board@libraryinjonesboro.org” — Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library Board Member Mark Nichols
