Alamance County approves library 'parental guidance' sticker policy and five-year strategic plan after heated debate

Alamance County commissioners on Monday approved a policy allowing a uniform "parental guidance" sticker to be placed on library materials that have been challenged, and they adopted a five-year strategic plan for the Alamance County Public Library system.

Supporters and critics traded extended remarks during public comment and the agenda discussion. The board voted to adopt the sticker policy as amended to remove explicit references to the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights and to add a requirement that decisions be communicated in writing to library committee members and appear in committee minutes.

Library officials told the board the sticker will be small, uniform and viewpoint-neutral; it will indicate that a title has received a content review and direct patrons to a short index entry describing the reasons for any challenge. The review process begins with the library director or the director's…