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 designee, who responds to the requester and forwards the item to a review committee consisting of the library director, members of the library leadership team (branch managers and relevant staff) and the collection development librarian. An appeal goes to the library committee, whose minutes will include the committee's decisions so the public can review them.

County attorneys and library staff emphasized the team's goal of producing a defensible, constitutionally compliant process. Commissioners amended the proposed policy to strike language that tied the policy explicitly to ALA statements after one commissioner argued those documents were ideological; county counsel said removing the reference would not create a legal hazard for the policy.

Speakers at the meeting repeatedly said the intent is to help parents identify material they may want to review, not to remove books or limit access by age. The sticker is intended to be a notice only — library staff said the policy will not create age-based restrictions or a separate restricted collection.

Commissioners also considered the library's required five-year strategic plan, which the library presented as the result of community forums and consultant work. The board approved the plan. Library staff explained that the entries on the library website reflect the strategic plan, and staff said removing specific language from the strategic plan would remove it as a guiding policy; conversely, the current draft presented to the board does not include a standalone diversity/equity/inclusion initiative, so those items would not carry forward in the new plan unless added later.

The board approved the policy (as amended) and the strategic plan by voice votes. Commissioners also modified the appeals/notification language to require written notice to the requester and all library committee members and to include challenged-item decisions in the library committee minutes that follow the decision.

Library leaders said they will train staff on the new process and the review committee membership will include branch leadership and collection staff so review decisions are informed by librarians with subject expertise.

The board discussion also touched on related operational options that could be considered later, such as shelving placement or signage (for example placing certain titles out of reach of very young children), but counsel advised that blanket removal of access or age-based restrictions raises constitutional questions in public libraries.

The vote concluded the item and the board moved on to other business.

Ending: The county will publish the approved policy and the index of stickered items; library staff said they will share implementation details and training plans with the commissioners and the public in upcoming minutes and materials.