In FL, Debate Over PL Board
Marion County commissioners try to intervene in book selection
by Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 06/15/2004
After months of wrangling over who has authority to review book selection, Marion County, FL, commissioners voted May 18 by a 3–2 margin to maintain the Marion County Public Library Advisory Board and the method for choosing new members. According to the Ocala Star-Banner, the two in the minority wanted to cut the membership from ten to five, which they said would enhance accountability.
The commissioners rejected a motion to remove the advisory board's policymaking authority, including challenges to book selection, but said they would reconsider the issue at a later meeting. The commissioners earlier this year considered but rejected the notion of cutting the book budget to prevent purchase of books they deem objectionable.
The conflict emanates from a debate over Linda Jaivin's sexually explicit novel, Eat Me, which was removed from the library last year by library system director Julie Sieg after protests, then reinstated by the advisory board following a 7–3 vote last December. Library board member Patricia Strait was even charged May 5 with assault and battery after confronting a fellow Republican, Pat Sasso, for not supporting the commission's effort to reform the board.
Several protesters at a meeting carried placards reading "No Porn for Kids," even though the novel at issue is in the adult collection. According to the newspaper, several criticized the American Library Association, whose policies the advisory board has incorporated, as a supporter of pornography and gay books.
