Supervisors give nod of support to Libraries and book choice
The Botetourt County Libraries received a strong nod of support from the Board of Supervisors during the July 17 evening meeting held at the Botetourt County Administration Building at Greenfield.
The Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution stating that, “in recent months, Ms. (Julie) Phillips and Botetourt County Library staff have come under personal attack by members of our community, in person, in local media and online, and whereas the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors has the utmost confidence in Ms. Phillips and her staff, and the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors will not allow Ms. Phillips or her staff to be persecuted for doing the job that they were tasked to do, and that job is to serve all citizens of Botetourt County.”
The resolution ended with a notation that the, “Board of Supervisors give our support of confidence to Botetourt County Library Director Julie Phillips and we have utmost respect for her and our library staff, and appreciate the job they do each and every day to support the citizens, visitors, and businesses of Botetourt County.”
Prior to passing the resolution, the Board heard from County Attorney Michael Lockaby about the Board’s responsibility for books under “reconsideration” in the library system at the request of several patrons who objected to the books’ content. The Supervisors for months have heard from citizens on both sides of the argument about the content of books in the county libraries. Some people objected to the content of books that they personally felt was obscene, while others defended the rights of everyone to read what they wanted.
Lockaby said that under state law, library policies rest with the Botetourt County Library Board of Trustees, which sets policies and rules. This includes policies for developing and retention of books in the library. Books cannot be censured based on viewpoints, Lockaby said, and used the example of a Library Board composed of one political party forcing the books of the other political party to be removed.
“The discretion to collect or not collect may not be exercised in a narrow partisan manner,” he said. Citing case law, he noted that, “in brief we hold that local library boards may not remove books from library shelves simply because they don’t like the ideas in those books.”
He also said he has reviewed numerous cases and has been unable to find any ruling on any of the books currently being challenged in the library system that finds the subject books to be obscene or fit the definition of obscenity or pornography.
He noted that removal of the books in question could cause legal action to follow, and the county likely would lose and taxpayers would have to bear the cost of the litigation.
Amsterdam District Supervisor Steve Clinton told the Board that he had purchased four of the books that had been mentioned in meetings and reviewed them himself. “I looked for something offensive, truly offensive, that didn’t meet the test that Mr. Lockerby identified, and there are some narratives in some of these books that I don’t agree with, but I could not for the life of me identify a reason that these books should be banned,” he said.
Clinton’s resolution cited a long list of accomplishments of the library and library staff, including multiple projects and community initiatives that serve the county as a whole.
The Board plans to review the issue again at its July 31 meeting, at which time it will review the book collection policies. The goal, Clinton said, was to put the issue to rest after allowing the public time these last few months to offer their opinions and insights.
— The Botetourt Bee
