Officials still waiting for results from ‘book investigations’
Library Board meets Thursday in Briceville
The controversy over certain “questionable” books in the Anderson County library system has prompted two separate investigations and at this time it is uncertain what action, if any, will be taken or by whom.
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and Jay Yeager, the county’s law director, have initiated two separate investigations. Results of both investigations are still pending.
“While the Anderson County library system has a procedure for how to address questionable content, there is no clear guidance regarding how to proceed if one perceives a violation of obscenity statutes has occurred,” Frank wrote in a letter to Sheriff Russell Barker dated March 22. She included a packet of quotations and illustrations from library books that Commissioner Anthony Allen claimed to be obscene. The mayor requested the sheriff to investigate the material for obscenity violations. In addition to Frank’s signature the letter was signed by commissioners Allen, Shain Vowell, Denise Palmer, and Tim Isbel.
Yeager’s office has asked the attorney general to issue a legal opinion on the books in question.
Joshua Anderson, chairman of the library board, also made an inquiry to the attorney general about the books in question. In his reply Anderson said the attorney general discussed obscenity laws in general but did not comment on the specific books in question.
Anderson said the next library board meeting, which will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 13, at Briceville Library, the board will probably tweak procedures dealing with questionable books.
After the public forum held by the library board on March 27, The Courier News received reports from citizens that threats were made at the meeting and that people had to be escorted to their cars. Clinton Police Chief Vaughn Becker, who was at the forum, said that was not the case. He said there were no threats of violence. Becker said that as a matter of routine his men escorted library board members to their cars. However, he said that was a routine procedure that is also done for referees after every ball game. He said that no board member requested an escort and no board member reported being threatened. The Courier News also received a report that police entered the The Clinton Library and seized a book. Clinton Police Lieutenant Carl Bailey said that was not the case. He said no one from his department had seized a book from the library.
At the last commission meeting, the last library board meeting and the special library board public forum held on March 27 speakers expressed a range of opinions on the suitability of certain books in the library. Speakers ranged from those having conservative Christian views to those supporting the LGBT movement. On one extreme people objected to books they did not agree with being in the library and on the other extreme were those who totally supported having books in the library some would call questionable. In between were those who did not like the questionable books but felt that others who thought differently should have access to them.
Some felt the questionable books should be kept out of the children’s section.
Some felt that it should be the parents’ responsibility to monitor what their own children read but should not regulate what other people’s children read. Some complained of their tax money being spent on books they found objectionable.
Others said that their tax money is already being spent for other things they do not agree with.