Officials in Llano County, Texas, have voted not to close the county’s library system after a federal judge last month ruled that dozens of books containing sexual and racial content be returned to shelves after they were banned.
The Llano County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to remove an item from their agenda during an April 13 meeting considering whether or not to “continue or cease operations of the current physical Llano County Library System pending further guidance from the Federal Courts.”
“For those of you who don’t understand what just happened, we approved to remove the agenda item. The library will remain open,” said Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham following the unanimous vote on Thursday.
It is unclear why the item was removed from the agenda but Cunningham noted, “We will try this in the courts, not through social media or news media.”
Concerns Over Content of Books
The judge also ordered that officials update library catalogs to show that the books are available to check out, and that county officials not remove any more books while a lawsuit on the matter is pending.County and library officials pulled the books from the library system in 2021 after some community members complained about their content.
The books were on topics such as transgender teenagers, LGBT, and critical race theory, which opponents argue teaches that America is fundamentally racist.
Other books allegedly depicted sexual activity, nudity, and pornographic content, and encouraged child grooming, according to officials.
Among the books removed were “Caste: The Origins of our Discontent” by Isabel Wilkerson, “They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, and “It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, Gender and Sexual Health” by Robie H. Harris.
Costly Lawsuit
They argued that doing so violated the library members’ First Amendment right to “access and receive ideas by restricting access to certain books based on their messages and content.”Additionally, they claimed the decision violated their Fourteenth Amendment right to due process because the removal of the books happened without prior notice or opportunity to appeal.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit further claimed that county officials had embarked on a “censorship campaign” that “targeted” books that conflicted with their “subjective opinions, as well as their political and religious views.”
They further accused the Commissioners Court of voting in December 2021 to dissolve the existing library board and to create a new one, named the “Library Advisory Board,” which included residents who advocated for the removal of certain books deemed inappropriate for young readers.
According to their lawsuit, the new board then instituted a policy that all new books must be presented to and approved by the board before purchasing them, and banned staff librarians and the public from attending the board’s meetings.
Judge Pitman ultimately agreed with the plaintiffs in his preliminary order last month and ordered the books be returned to shelves.
The commissioners and members of the library board have appealed the federal judge’s ruling, however Judge Cunningham expressed concern over the ongoing litigation, which he said has cost the county more than $100,000.
He added that if the litigation continues, it may impact the county’s ability to operate the library system, which has a budget of $450,000.
