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Library controversy and renovation plans prompt sharply divided public comments at Lynchburg council meeting
Summary
Public commenters urged both creation of community oversight of youth materials and support for a library renovation; speakers on both sides invoked child safety, intellectual freedom, patron counts and building repair needs.
Public comment at the April 8 Lynchburg City Council meeting included sharply divergent appeals over materials in the children’s section of the Lynchburg Public Library and broad support for the library’s capital improvement plan (CIP).
Jamie Plank, a resident of Ward 4, asked the council to "establish a board to allow community oversight of books the library selects and promotes for the children of our city," saying she wanted parental safeguards such as designated shelving, parental supervision, or removal of certain titles from the children's section. Plank argued materials promoting "gender fluidity" and "homosexual…
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