Providing ‘age-inappropriate’ material could get librarians jailed under proposal

Public library employees in Missouri could face a fine or jail time for providing “age-inappropriate sexual material” under a bill proposed by a state lawmaker.

The bill, known as the “Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act,” has drawn criticism by library and freedom-of-speech groups since it was introduced last month by state Rep. Ben Baker, a Republican.

The bill proposes that libraries create a parental review panel that would evaluate whether content provided by the library is “age-inappropriate sexual material.” The panels would be made up of five residents who are not library employees.

Under the bill, libraries could lose state funding for failing to comply, and a library employee who “willfully neglects or refuses to perform any duty” of the legislation could face a misdemeanor charge and, if convicted, be fined up to $500 and sentenced up to a year in jail.

“What inspired this bill is becoming aware of what is taking place at our publicly funded libraries with events like Drag Queen Story Hour, and materials that have a clear agenda of grooming our children for the LGBTQ community with adult themes and content that fit the description of an objectionable sexual nature,” Baker said Monday.

In recent years, drag performers have entertained children by reading books at libraries and community centers. The events have faced some backlash: In June, state Rep. Larry Householder of Ohio condemned drag queen story time in a letter to the Ohio Library Council. “I can also assure you the taxpayers aren’t interested in seeing their hard-earned dollars being used to teach teenage boys how to become drag queens,” he wrote.

The draft of the Missouri bill does not specifically address drag queen events.

Baker cited Alice on Her Way, Rainbow Boys and The Dragtivity Book as examples of books with “explicit themes and activities that should never be promoted as children’s books.”

He noted that if the parental board found content, such as books, media or events sponsored by the library, to not be age appropriate for minors, it would be made inaccessible to them but not removed from the library.

He said parents could still check out the materials and provide them to their child if they wished.

“This would not ban books or censor literature,” he added. “It would simply give an opportunity for the community to weigh in on what should be available to children in a taxpayer-funded space.”

Lawmakers in Colorado and Maine have unsuccessfully sought to pass similar bills that would give parents more control over materials in public libraries and schools. Baker has found support for the bill. “Baker will only be successful if we all rally behind him and lend our voices — and our votes — to preserving family values,” author and speaker Elizabeth Johnston wrote on her website Activist Mommy.

But library and freedom-ofspeech groups have voiced concerns about the proposal. “This is the first time we have ever seen a bill that proposes a body elected from a community meeting that would be able to override the decisions of an appointed library board or duly elected library board,” Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said Sunday.