Wylie library advisory board reviews collection policy after council complaint; approves leadership and routine minutes

WYILE, Texas — The Wylie Library Advisory Board on July 28 reviewed the Smith Public Library’s collection development policy and the library’s process for handling concerns about materials after a member of the public raised multiple items at a July 8 Wylie City Council meeting.

Assistant Library Director Lisa Galletta, who led the briefing, told the board the current collection development policy was approved by the Library Advisory Board on June 27, 2023, and described how staff evaluate and place materials. “The library’s varied collection is available to all,” Galletta said, adding that staff rely on professional journal reviews such as School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus when deciding whether items belong in juvenile, teen or adult collections.

Galletta said the complaint that prompted the briefing — presented at the July 8 City Council meeting by a minor — included multiple juvenile titles and will be followed up by staff. She said library staff and the family are meeting the day after the board session to discuss the family's concerns. “We do not act en loco parentis,” Galletta said, explaining the library does not take the place of parents when it comes to deciding what is appropriate for their children.

Under the library’s formal process, a Wylie resident who holds a library card in good standing for six months may submit a written…