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 concern that must include the title, the reason for objection and the complainant’s contact information. Anonymous complaints are not accepted, Galletta said. Staff review the item and the relevant professional reviews; if the patron remains unsatisfied, the complainant may request that the advisory board review the matter. The board may accept the staff review or convene a three-member review committee (three board members chosen from the advisory board and three staff members) to read or view the material and make a recommendation.

Galletta told the board the review committee judges an item “as a whole” rather than on selected passages, that challenged items remain available while under review, and that items determined by staff or the board to remain in the collection are not eligible for reevaluation for five years. She said the five-year limit follows guidance from the Texas State Library and is intended to reduce repeated challenges.

The board also received updates on the library’s fiscal-year 2026 budget planning. Galletta said the library cut several digital subscriptions this year as costs rose; she named Creativebug as removed from the library’s lineup and said the library sought, but did not receive, an increase to its TechShare budget line. She reported the library asked the city to carry forward money for shelving that will arrive after the fiscal-year cutoff; the exact carryover amount mentioned in the presentation was not specified clearly in the meeting packet.

On interlibrary loan, Galletta said staff requested $4,500 to maintain a courier-based interlibrary loan service if state-level grant support does not continue. She described the interlibrary loan funding as covered through the current fiscal year but at risk afterward because a federal grant that formerly subsidized statewide service (administered through the Texas State Library) is no longer available.

Board business: the board approved the June 23 meeting minutes, installed board leadership and adjourned. The meeting record shows unanimous votes on routine items with one board member absent (Brian). A motion to approve minutes passed 6–0; the chair and vice chair nominations also passed 6–0.

The meeting included a staff spotlight on Galletta, who described her 18 years in public libraries and her role overseeing circulation, technical services and statistical reporting. Board members asked several procedural questions about how minors obtain cards and how parents may review children’s checkouts; Galletta said children’s cards must be issued to a minor only with a parent or legal guardian signature and that parents can view their child’s account online or by phone.

The board did not take final action on any collection removals at the July 28 meeting; Galletta said staff are meeting with the family that raised the earlier complaint and that a formal board review could follow only if the family submits the required written concern and asks for board review.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve minutes (06/23/2025): motion made at the meeting; outcome — approved, vote 6–0, 1 absent (Brian). Motion text in record: “I make a motion to approve the 06/23/2025 meeting minutes.”

- Nomination and vote for board chair: nomination and vote held during the meeting; outcome — approved 6–0, 1 absent. (Transcript does not specify the mover/second by name.)

- Nomination and vote for board vice chair (Tasha Kimball nominated): outcome — approved 6–0, 1 absent. (Second recorded; mover name not specified in transcript.)

What matters now

Library staff will meet with the family that raised the July 8 complaint to discuss specific concerns and the library’s review process. If that family files a formal written concern that requests board review, the advisory board could consider a staff report and, if requested, form a review committee and make a recommendation at a future regular meeting. Separately, the library’s FY26 budget decisions about databases and the interlibrary loan service will be finalized by the City Council during its August budget hearings and the September public meeting where the council is scheduled to adopt the budget.

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