ACLU investigates whether library board violated First Amendment by moving books
GILLETTE — The American Civil Liberties Union is investigating whether the relocation of books in the Campbell County Public Library is a violation of the First Amendment.
Janna Farley, the communications director for the ACLU of Wyoming, said the organization is in the information gathering stage right now on whether the library board violated the First Amendment by moving books from the children’s or teen sections to the recently created “new adult” section.
At the beginning of April, the ACLU submitted a public records request to Campbell County that spans nearly three years.
The records request is extensive, asking for emails, voicemails, text messages and other forms of communication between library employees and library board members from July 1, 2021, to April 4, 2024, on a number of topics, particularly anything regarding the movement of books to the new adult section.
The deadline for the county to fulfill the request is June 4.
For the last few years, people who have taken issue with the content of some of the books in the children’s and teen areas of the library have suggested moving those books to a different part of the library.
This idea received a lot of pushback, especially from former library director Terri Lesley. The argument was that moving books was akin to censorship.
“If you’re moving the books to where somebody can’t find it, you’re censoring that book, you’re violating the kid’s constitutional right to information,” said library board member Charlie Anderson.
No books were moved until this spring, when the new adult section of the library was created. Located on the first floor next to the magazine section, it has two bookcases with a total of 12 rows of shelving.
Library director John Jackson had moved a couple of dozen books to the new adult section while in the process of reviewing them to decide whether they should go back to their original locations.
At a library board meeting in March, Anderson asked Jackson why he decided to move the books without reviewing them. Jackson said it wasn’t his decision to move them.
“It was your decision, it was absolutely your decision,” Anderson said.
“No, not really, it was not my decision,” Jackson said.
“I don’t think we voted to have you do that, the new rules don’t say that,” Anderson said.
“They’re there, I moved them, and it wasn’t my decision,” Jackson replied.
At the April library board meeting, board chair Chuck Butler said he takes “full blame” for moving the books, and that he asked Jackson to move the books while they were in the process of being reviewed. He added that in speaking with attorneys afterward, he thought the best thing to do would be to return the books to their respective sections until they’ve been reviewed.
Butler told the News Record that he would not comment any more on the issue.
“There’s all kinds of lawsuits, so I’m keeping my comments to myself,” Butler said. “We’ve got the ACLU’s FOIA request, and of course Terri’s got her lawsuit, so I’m keeping my mouth shut.”
Lesley has filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the library board and the Campbell County Commission, alleging that her employers discriminated and retaliated against her because of her support of the LGBTQ community.
So far, Jackson has reviewed 13 books. Five of them have been moved to the new adult section:
“This Book is Gay,” by Juno Dawson
“Identical” by Ellen Hopkins
“Be Amazing: A History of Pride” by Desmond Napoles
“Sex Plus” by Laci Green
“Sex Is A Funny Word” by Cory Silverberg
Seven books will remain in their original locations:
“Trans Mission: My Quest for a Beard” by Alex Bertie
Mary Wears What She Wants” by Keith Negley
“Music from Another World” by Robin Talley
“A Quick Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities” by Mandy G. and Jules Zuckerberg
“The Babysitters’ Coven” by Kate Williams
“Jack (Not Jackie)” by Erica Silverman
“Meena” by Sine van Mol
And one book, “The Handmaid’s Tale: A Graphic Novel,” was moved from the teen room to the adult graphic novel section. The seven other Wyoming libraries that carry this book do not have it housed in the young adult section.
The relocation of these books can be challenged by library users. The library board shot down a challenge by Doug Lesley, husband of former library director Terri Lesley, on “Identical.” At its next meeting, it will hear a challenge on “Desmond is Amazing.”
Butler said he thought the challenge process for these moved books has been fair and balanced.
“Honestly, that’s what we’ve been trying to do all along, is have balance of some sort,” he said. “That’s all we can do, is hope for the best.”
Anderson said the ACLU will likely compare Campbell County’s situation to that in the case of Sund v. City of Wichita Falls, in which two children’s books on LGBT issues were moved to the adult section by a city in Texas.
The city then passed a resolution saying that residents could remove a book from the children’s section by gathering 300 signatures of library card holders. The court determined this was a violation of one’s constitutional right to receive information.
Proponents of moving the books have claimed that the case has no authority in Wyoming because it took place in Texas. Anderson said it has been approved and cited by judges in Wyoming’s judicial districts, and it’s the only law so far regarding this issue.
“If you’re moving non-obscene books from locations where the intended audience can’t get them, that’s a violation of the First Amendment,” Anderson said.
Obscenity has a much lower degree of protection, he said, but “when the board put together the new rules, they took out the word ‘obscenity.’
“So the new rules don’t even say we can move obscene books,” he said. “I think the board just got this one wrong.”
Butler said the library policy seems to be holding up and is doing its job.
“I can’t comment on a whole lot of things, but we’re trying to maintain a balance or get to a balance,” he said.
He did say he was surprised that the controversy and public outcry around the library has continued as long as it has.
“I was kind of hoping things would calm down,” he said.
This story was published on April 30, 2024.