Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Library Content Review topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public demands review of youth materials as supervisors approve library donations and promise a policy review
Summary
After multiple public speakers urged removal or restriction of sexually explicit books from children’s sections, the board approved small library donations and said staff will develop a process to restrict access and protect minors while balancing First Amendment concerns.
Public commenters at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors’ March 26 meeting urged the county to review and restrict sexually explicit material in children’s sections of publicly funded libraries and schools. The board separately approved two small donations for the Library District but did not enact an immediate content-removal policy.
Several speakers named titles and described pages they said included explicit sexual content for minors. Don Adams told the board that materials in publicly funded institutions are subject to state criminal law if knowingly made available to minors. “Take action now, audit the content, update the access policies, and remove these materials from children's sections,” he said, citing state law.
Leslie Shepherd, a public commenter, cited specific pages in the book It Is Perfectly Normal and a separate title, This Book Is Gay, and said she had previously alerted library staff and the board. Marissa Hamilton said she had emailed the supervisors with a list of roughly 282 titles she believes to be inappropriate for children and asked the board to review and act.
Speakers invoked Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3507, a criminal statute cited by commenters that they said prohibits knowingly furnishing harmful material to minors.
Board members responded that they had heard public concern and were taking steps. Supervisor Mark Stewart said county staff and supervisors met earlier in the week and were working on a plan intended to protect minors without banning books: staff would explore placing certain titles where they could only be checked out with parental permission or moved to adult sections. Supervisor Debbie Lesko said she planned to convene a small group with staff to identify which libraries and titles were at issue and to confirm whether contested titles remain in children’s sections. Supervisor Brophy McGee said she intended to work with colleagues to revise library policies consistent with state statutes while protecting First Amendment considerations.
County staff and legal advisers told the board the issue raised complex legal questions and that policy changes must be done carefully to avoid unconstitutional content regulation. No immediate removals or formal policy changes were voted on during the meeting.
The board did approve agenda items 64 and 65 — donations for library programming (10 single-day park-use passes for the winter reading program) — by unanimous voice vote. Supervisors said the donation vote was separate from the policy discussion.
Public speakers pressed for faster action and suggested tools such as a parental oversight committee, staff training, and independent legal review. Some urged criminal referrals; others asked for administrative audits. Supervisors said they would continue to develop a process and asked members of the public to deliver specific lists of locations and titles to staff for follow-up.
