Borough Manager Suspends Library Book Challenges After "Shouting Contest" and "Name-Calling"

Last week, Mat-Su Borough Manager Mike Brown announced that the borough’s Challenged Materials Review Committee for libraries would be put on hold after its January meeting.

In his weekly post on the Mat-Su Borough website, Borough Manager Mike Brown announced that he was suspending the challenged materials review process for libraries. Brown says the decision came as a result of some of the behavior exhibited at the last meeting of the committee that oversees the challenge process.

“It somewhat devolved into a shouting contest, some outbursts, some name-calling. So we kind of took a step back and said, ‘This is not the kind of public meeting that we want to be facilitating.’”

Brown says he does not intend for the suspension to be a long-term one. Rather, he hopes to use the time to review the current process and allow for tempers to cool.

“At this point, I think it might actually be helpful for everyone to step back, maybe allow some of the emotions to subside a bit and figure out what our expectation is—or make it more clear what our expectations are for how these meetings will be conducted.”

Currently, the process is set up so that a library patron may challenge a book that they believe should not be on library shelves. That patron then has the opportunity to address the Challenged Materials Review Committee, which is made up of two librarians, two members of the Library Advisory Board, and the borough’s Parks, Recreation, and Library Services Manager.  The meetings currently do not allow for public testimony, as Brown explains.

“There isn’t an agenda item for audience participation. I think that is some of the frustration, but, understanding how the process was designed, it was never meant to be this larger public meeting where folks could come in and provide input on a specific material that was being challenged. It was allowing for a patron to challenge that.”

The challenge review process for borough libraries is distinct from the process of the school district. Brown says the borough is watching what unfolds with regard to school libraries, including the lawsuit regarding removing materials from school bookshelves. In the case of borough libraries, Brown says books remain on the shelves while the challenge process goes forward.  In addition, he says that public libraries operate differently than school libraries, with more of the decision-making power in the hands of parents.

“We did make some adjustments to the Young Adult labeling system just to kind of reaffirm that message that parents have that oversight. We’re not trying to infer that material is or is not appropriate for a child of any age. It really is up to the parent to be part of that process.

Brown says there is not currently a timeframe for when new challenges to library materials will be permitted. He plans to address the Mat-Su Borough Assembly regarding his decision at its February 6^th meeting.