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Residents say Clay County leads U.S. in book removals; speakers call for policy fixes
Summary
Speakers at public comment accused the district of excessive book removals and urged changes; one resident said he reviewed nearly 100 challenged titles and that removals are being reviewed by state officials.
Multiple residents used the public‑comment period to criticize Clay County—s library removals and to urge the board to change policies they say enable widespread book challenges.
"Clay County has the most banned books out of every county in America," Sylvia McCraney said, telling the board she did not intend to come monthly but would continue to press students, parents and teachers to protest the removals. She told the board it should push back against state laws that allow book removal and urged officials to uphold free‑speech principles.
Bruce Friedman, who said he reviewed the content of 99 titles over the past month, brought an example—Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman—and described his objection as "other" content he considered age‑inappropriate, along with profanity and violence. Friedman said about 700 books had already been removed at one point and that his cumulative challenges covered less than 2% of district holdings; he said some matters have been discussed with the attorney general and the state commissioner of education.
Speakers asked the board to revisit rubrics, guidelines and appeal procedures. No board vote or policy change was taken at the meeting; speakers said they would continue to press for revisions to the district—s review and removal procedures.
