Llano County libraries will remain open amid ongoing lawsuit over certain banned books

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Llano County’s three public libraries will remain open despite an ongoing push by some residents to close the facilities if certain books they claim are sexually explicit remain available for check out, county officials decided.

Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham convened the Commissioners Court on Thursday to hear public testimony on whether to close the public library system amid an ongoing federal lawsuit against the county over it removing 17 books from its public libraries.

A federal district judge in Austin issued a preliminary injunction in the case at the end of March, ordering the county to replace the books it had removed from libraries and prohibiting officials from taking away any other books while the court case is pending.

The lawsuit is part of an ongoing legal, political and cultural battle over what books children should have access to in public and school libraries, especially content that touches on race, LGBTQ+ issues and sexuality.

More: Federal district judge orders Llano County to return banned books to its libraries

Llano resident Emily Decker protests outside a Llano County Commissioners Court meeting Thursday. The Commissioners Court met to consider closing the Llano County library system rather than comply with a judge's order to return several banned books to the libraries. "Books. That's why we're here. Books," Decker said.
Llano resident Emily Decker protests outside a Llano County Commissioners Court meeting Thursday. The Commissioners Court met to consider closing the Llano County library system rather than comply with a judge's order to return several banned books to the libraries. "Books. That's why we're here. Books," Decker said.

Thursday’s meeting drew dozens of residents from both sides of the issue, many of whom were turned away by law enforcement officers citing a lack of space in the hearing room. Some residents stood by the road with signs, with one reading, “Save our libraries!”

Michael McDavid, 60, who held a sign that read “We love our library,” has lived in Llano County for 35 years, and he told the American-Statesman that closing the library system would cripple the community.

“Our little library is our community center,” McDavid said. “That's where everything goes on, from internet access to exercise classes, books, DVDs, and without our library we're kind of a rudderless community.”

As Cunningham, who is a defendant in the lawsuit, convened Thursday’s meeting, he informed those in attendance that due to the number of people who signed up to speak on the matter, each person would be limited to two minutes, and only 30 minutes of public testimony would be allowed. Cunningham said that anyone who didn’t get to speak in the meeting would have their comments included in the record.

Llano Assistant Police Chief Matt Lincoln calls the names of community members to testify at Thursday's Llano County Commissioners Court meeting. So many people showed up for the meeting that officers cited a lack of space in the hearing room.
Llano Assistant Police Chief Matt Lincoln calls the names of community members to testify at Thursday's Llano County Commissioners Court meeting. So many people showed up for the meeting that officers cited a lack of space in the hearing room.

One of Llano County’s four commissioners, Jerry Don Moss, is also listed as a defendant in the suit.

Fifteen people addressed the Commissioners Court during public testimony Thursday, with more than half vehemently against closing the county's libraries.

More: Texas House bill would ban some books from school libraries. Here's what's proposed.

Many said they are current or former teachers, and they advocated for all the resources libraries make available, including books, computers, printers and air conditioning.

"Libraries are such an important part of any community,” retired teacher Tracy Gomez told the commissioners. “When you have a library, it shows that you care about offering a public service, that you want to make a safe space for children and adults, a place for them to gather, a place for them to meet, a place for them to go and find information. As a child, the library was a safe space for me. ... I hope you do the right thing and keep our libraries open."

Lee Nelms said she moved to Llano in 2007 for the area's quality of life, and she argued that the services a community offers, including a public library, make up its quality of life.

"Does Llano, Texas, want to be known as the town that closed the public library? That would begin the death knell for a vibrant community,” Nelms said. “I urge the commission and this community to enthusiastically support our public library."

Several speakers who addressed the commissioners, however, read explicit passages from select books, including "A Court of Silver Flames" by Sarah J. Maas and "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" by Jesse Andrews, both of which were not included on the list of 17 books in the Llano County library lawsuit.

Pflugerville librarian: You can't ban their books and read yours too

Joanie Castleman, who attended the meeting but did not testify before the commissioners, is among those who believe inappropriate material is still available at the libraries, outside of the books at the center of the lawsuit.

Castleman told the Statesman that the explicit book passages some residents read in Thursday’s meeting wouldn’t be allowed to be published in a newspaper, yet they're available at libraries for children to check out.

“I'd like to see the library closed if they're going to leave those books in the library,” Castleman said. “It's not about banning books or burning them. It's about protecting our children.”

Rhonda Schneider, who testified at Thursday’s meeting, said she "is in favor of closing the libraries temporarily until we find a solution to the pornographic filth."

Several speakers acknowledged they don’t want kids to have access to pornography or other inappropriate material, but they said there are more effective ways to protect children from that content rather than the “nuclear option” of shutting down the library system. They said censorship should be left to parents.

"You have the decision to do the right thing. Keep the libraries open, keep the information available to all,” said Suzette Baker, a former head librarian and military veteran who lives in Llano County. “This is not a communist nation. This is not a Nazi nation. You do not get to pick our reading material. It is ours."

Grumet: Tales from the Banned Book Shelf inside the Texas Capitol

Jeff Scoggins expressed concern about the potential “domino effect” a decision to close the Llano libraries could have elsewhere.

“This is going to spread to other counties,” he said. “It's going to set a precedent. It's just going to do irreparable damage to the entire United States library system. It starts at places like this.

“I want to bring up the point that you all work for us. We are your constituents, you are public servants, and I believe that the large majority of Llano County wants to keep this library," Scoggins said. "I think we are afraid that a very loud squeaky-wheel minority group in this town, this county, are driving this issue. For y'all’s sake I would not want you all to be associated with this decision, because it would be in the history books. And then secondly, next election season, you're going to have competition. … There's enough anger here.”

After hearing public testimony Thursday, the Commissioners Court went into executive session to privately discuss the possible library closure. When it returned to open session, Cunningham read a two-page statement, condemning the ongoing litigation and its cost to the county, but also acknowledging the division the debate has brought to the community.

“This has been a very contentious situation. This is not what Llano County is about, ladies and gentlemen; we're better than this,” Cunningham said.

The Commissioners Court ultimately decided to remove shuttering the library system from consideration.

“The library will remain open,” Cunningham said. “We will try this in the courts, not through social media or the news media.”

Outside, as library supporters heard the news over a livestream, cheers rang out.

Texas Senate bill would ban ‘sexually explicit’ books in school libraries

The Texas Senate on Thursday, with an 18-12 vote, approved Senate Bill 13, which targets school library materials some consider sexually explicit.

The bill by Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, would require school districts to create a library advisory committee to hear complaints about and oversee procurement of library books and other items.

Those parent-run committees would make recommendations to the school board about which books, if any, to remove from campus libraries due to sexually explicit material.

More: Texas Senate bills seek to restrict drag shows. Here's what's being proposed.

When Paxton first heard complaints about sexually explicit material available in school libraries, she initially didn't believe it, she said.

"Then parents brought examples of some of this material to my office," Paxton said. "I cannot unsee what I saw, but more importantly, a child cannot unsee sexually explicit materials."

During a committee hearing about the bill last month, some worried it was an attack on content related to LGBTQ+ issues.

During Thursday's hearing, Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, said the bill was a slight against the professionalism of teachers and librarians, whom senators are working this session to support.

"Then we pass a bill like this that said we don't trust them, that we want oversight over them, and we want to make sure that there are no reading materials in our library that would be objectionable," Eckhardt said.

List of books Llano County must return to its libraries includes:

  • "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson.

  • "They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.

  • "Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen" by Jazz Jennings.

  • "Spinning" by Tillie Walden.

  • "In the Night Kitchen" by Maurice Sendak.

  • "It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health" by Robbie H. Harris.

  • "My Butt is So Noisy!" "I Broke My Butt!" and "I Need a New Butt!" by Dawn McMillan.

  • "Larry the Farting Leprechaun," "Gary the Goose and His Gas on the Loose," "Freddie the Farting Snowman" and "Harvey the Heart Has Too Many Farts" by Jane Bexley.

  • "Shine" by Lauren Myracle.

  • "Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale" by Lauren Myracle.

  • "Gabi, a Girl in Pieces" by Isabel Quintero.

  • "Freakboy" by Kristin Elizabeth Clark.

American-Statesman K-12 reporter Keri Heath contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Llano County libraries will stay open amid lawsuit over banned books