Matanuska-Susitna Borough official keeps three challenged books on shelves, LCAC sets monthly review order

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Community Development Director Jillian Morrissey announced a final administrative decision to keep three books challenged by residents in borough library collections but to reshelve those titles to the adult section.

Morrissey said she based the decision on the MSB Library's Collection Development Policy, the LCAC meeting recordings and scorecards, circulation statistics and legal counsel. "These final decisions have been made following comprehensive legal counsel with careful consideration of the dispositions provided by the Citizens Advisory Group," Morrissey read into the record. She added, "the books ... shall remain in borough libraries and will be reshelved to the adult collection."

The decision applies to three titles specifically identified in Morrissey’s memo as The Haters, Damsel, and Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation. Morrissey described circulation data for the titles, noting Damsel was first acquired in 2018 and is available at three libraries with a consistent checkout rate, while the other two titles also showed continued, if limited, usage. She also said none of the three had been reviewed by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District's LCAC, and that the MSBSD had removed one title from its review list earlier because catalog records showed zero copies.

Morrissey described the policy framework she used, reading from the borough's guidance: "The purpose of the MSB Library's Material Selection Guidance is to provide MSB Library staff members and inform the MSB Library Board, MSB Library Citizen Advisory Committee, and the public about the principles upon which the selections are based." She said the borough retains the evaluation questions on LCAC scorecards to preserve consistency for future reviews even when some questions may be less relevant to the specific titles under review.

After announcing the final decisions, Morrissey told the committee the Community Development Department is leading a borough library strategic planning process and described related outreach and a parent/guardian survey that opened April 8 and was scheduled to close May 8. She also said the Borough Library Board will assume new responsibilities beginning Aug. 12, 2025, to review batch procurement materials.

The Library Citizen Advisory Committee (LCAC) then addressed its own agenda item on materials submitted for reconsideration. Staff stated there are six books in the LCAC queue; three of those had been reviewed by the school district LCAC and returned to local libraries or removed from MSBSD circulation. Committee members voted to review the six items in list order, taking one book per month. The motion to proceed "in order" was moved and seconded and approved by voice vote.

Public comment at the meeting showed sharply divided views. Several residents urged that removing books from libraries limits students’ access and defended intellectual freedom. Mary Robinson read from the Fairbanks News-Miner editorial board: "Attempts to remove books because some find them objectionable ultimately limit opportunities for all students." Other speakers urged restrictions on materials they called obscene or harmful to minors and cited legal standards. Jackie GoForth referenced the U.S. Supreme Court's Miller v. California (1973) obscenity test and an Alaska statute and said parents should determine what their children read, adding, "Parents have the right to decide what level of [material] their children read." Several commenters urged more parental notifications when items are checked out.

Committee members and staff discussed logistics for the upcoming reviews: whether to schedule one or two books per month, whether to defer titles already reviewed by the school district, and how to prioritize. The LCAC settled on one book per month beginning with item No. 1 on the packet, and members asked staff to prepare materials and page counts to help reviewers. Recreation and Library Services Manager Hugh Leslie said the committee should provide a priority order so staff can have books ready for review.

The meeting also included routine procedural votes to approve the agenda, the previous month's minutes and the proposed meeting schedule for June–November 2025; those procedural motions were adopted by voice vote.

The administrative decision to reshelve the three titles to adult collections is an executive action by the Community Development Director under the borough's policies; it was not a committee vote. The LCAC's vote was procedural and concerns the order and cadence of future reconsideration reviews. The borough staff noted the LCAC's advisory dispositions were not adopted wholesale in the Morrissey decision, but that the concerns raised by some LCAC members and members of the public have been recorded and will inform the strategic planning process and future procedures.

Members of the public and several committee members asked staff to explore clearer notification options for parents, such as checkout email notices, and to provide clearer placement and account controls for minors. Staff said they will collect more information and present details to the committee in future meetings.

The LCAC meeting adjourned after the committee approved its schedule and the review order.