Sumner County trustees pause vote on sweeping collection-policy rewrite after large public outcry

The Sumner County Library Board of Trustees on May 14, 2025, opened lengthy public comment and discussion on a proposed rewrite of its Collection and Development Policy, then voted to table the measure and send it back to committee for further review.

The discussion drew more than a dozen public speakers, multiple written submissions, and repeated requests for clarity about how the draft would change access to materials, how challenges would be handled and what statutory authority the board relied on. The board’s chair said the changes were prompted by books challenged at branches and by recent state guidance; opponents said the draft removed protections for diverse viewpoints and risked legal challenges.

The draft would make multiple substantive changes to how materials are selected and reviewed. It removes wording about striving to “provide a balanced collection” and replaces references to “factually correct materials.” It adds a new section the chair read into the record that, in part, states: “There shall be no materials in the collection of the libraries of Summer County subjecting, introducing, condoning, or encouraging a minor to identify with or live as a purported identity inconsistent with his or her biological [sex] assigned at birth as described in act 2023 PC 1.” The board also discussed a proposed process giving library directors responsibility to proactively implement age-appropriateness steps (for example, separate catalogs or monitored areas) and requiring directors to report challenges in writing.

Residents and library users said the changes would narrow access and put decisions in the hands of the board rather than trained librarians. “I read through this 19-page document in its entirety,” said Brooklyn White, a Gallatin resident and library card holder, adding concern about removal of language requiring “multiple viewpoints” and the deletion of the phrase “constitutionally protected.” “I just want to caution the board about making sweeping changes and additions to long‑standing policies.”

Jesse McKinney, who said he had emailed board members and the law director, objected to a titled section in the draft he called “Transgender and Gender Confusing Materials.” “If you restrict minors’ access to this information, it violates the First Amendment, plain and simple,” McKinney said. Several other speakers—teachers, school librarians and volunteers—said the proposed edits would remove language that helps ensure a range of viewpoints and would create a new, board‑centric removal process with unclear appeal rights.

Board members debated the provenance of some draft language and whether references to national library groups should remain. The chair said the county is not a member of the American Library Association and noted a 2023 memo from the Tennessee Secretary of State cited by board members in drafting the changes. Several board members urged caution and asked that the draft be refined in committee to avoid surprises to the public.

After public comment and internal discussion, a majority supported tabling the draft and returning it to the policies and bylaws committee for more work. The board directed staff and committee members to circulate proposed edits to the full board and agreed that further legal review and clearer cross‑references to Tennessee law and to the board’s 2023 policy work were needed before any final vote.

The board did not adopt the draft during the May 14 meeting. The chair said directors should continue to follow existing procedures until the committee develops a revised draft for another public meeting.

What’s next: Committee review and revised draft. Board members asked that committee changes be circulated to trustees and posted for public review before the next substantive hearing on collection policy.