Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Library Materials topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board asks staff to review flagged library books after trustees raise content concerns
Summary
Trustees asked administrators to review several library and classroom books after board members and researchers flagged explicit or graphic content. Staff will examine titles including 'Incarceron' and return a recommendation at the next meeting.
Board members raised concerns about multiple library and classroom titles during monthly vendor and invoice review, asked staff to examine flagged books and requested a recommendation at the July meeting.
A board member said she found material she judged to be explicit and asked the district to remove a title from the collection pending review. She said one title raised concerns about graphic violence and sexual content and moved to pull it from circulation. The transcript record contains the motion language: "I would like to make a motion that we pull in car surround from our library." The board asked staff to review that title and several others named at the meeting.
Administrators said the district uses multiple vetting services and vendors when acquiring materials and that librarians screen purchases using an established process (the transcript mentions Common Sense Media and other vendor review services). Miles (district staff) and Marty (administration) said they and library staff would review the flagged titles and return a recommendation at the next board meeting.
Board members provided a short list of additional titles they wanted reviewed: Nightshade; 5 Survive; Heist Royale: The Thieves' Gambit; and Incarceron (spelled in the meeting transcript as "in car surround" in the motion). The board asked that staff review those titles against district policy and the district's approved vendor vetting services and report back by the next monthly meeting.
Until staff completes the review, the board directed that administrators make the titles available for trustee inspection. Staff agreed to provide the book or make it viewable for trustees and to prepare a formal recommendation before the start of the school year.
No immediate broader policy change was adopted at the meeting; the board discussed whether to expand approved vetting services and asked staff to return with recommendations if policy changes are needed.
