Huntington Beach approves rules for children’s book review board

The Huntington Beach City Council this week further outlined how a community library board would review books for sexual content to be either removed from the children’s section or not purchased at all.

The council, in October, ordered for the board to be created, which critics called a book-banning system. The planned 21-member board will have the power to review children’s books in circulation, move them to a restricted section of the library and block the library from purchasing new books that the board by majority vote deems inappropriate.

Opponents of the ordinance said it would hamper the library’s ability to get new books fast and could lead to young adult literature that has sexual references of any kind being restricted.

The council’s conservative majority passed the ordinance with more details about the board with a 4-3 vote on Tuesday, March 19.

The board will meet at least twice a year and will be subject to the state open meetings law. The city’s community and library services department head will submit a list of new children’s books intended for purchase 45 days ahead of meetings, and any board member may pull a book for review.

Books under review cannot be purchased by the library until approved by the board. The board’s decisions aren’t appealable, but books can be reviewed again one year after the board’s decision.

Books not selected for review will be automatically approved after 90 days.

Councilmember Pat Burns said he envisions the committee “seeing about six books, maybe, a year, once it gets really going.”

“There are certain books that really through our guidelines … we are asking them to not be put in there,” Burns said. “I don’t think that’s a big, difficult reach to say be a little more diligent and please respect the guidance we give.”

Each councilmember will be able to appoint three representatives to the board. The appointees will serve the same term as the councilmember who appointed them.

Councilmembers who voted against the ordinance said the review board would break the library. Councilmember Natalie Moser said the objectives are too broad and would potentially relocate many books to restricted areas or prevent their purchase.

The ordinance defines children as anyone under 18 years old. The ordinance doesn’t differentiate between books for children and young adult literature, Moser said.

“This is going to hamstring our ability to stock our children’s library,” Councilmember Dan Kalmick said. “I think we just added a huge layer of bureaucracy.”

The council’s October decision on libraries also mandated that the city library move books containing sexual content away from the children’s section. Librarians in February began moving books to a “youth-restricted” bookshelf on the fourth floor. On Wednesday, the shelf had only a few books on it available for checkout.

Connor Hyland, a city attorney, said that the goal of the ordinance was to try to be as least restrictive as possible while still complying with the council’s direction from last October by keeping books a part of the library’s catalog.

“We want to make sure that they’re still findable, and ultimately that if a parent decides if the book is right for a child it is accessible to them,” Hyland said.

Allison Lee, a managing director for the nonprofit PEN America’s Los Angeles office, which advocates for access to books, denounced the council moving ahead with creating the board.

“Huntington Beach has voted to create a censorship committee for its libraries,” Lee said in a statement. “There is little to prevent ideology from guiding their review of children’s books, instead of relying on the professional expertise of librarians. This sets a dangerous precedent for a public library, which should be guided by professionals who understand the First Amendment right to access information and ideas, not run by a committee designed to advance arbitrary censorship.

Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, the main proponent when the changes were first discussed last year, said the board will bring parents into the decision-making process in city libraries.

Source: Orange County Register