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Sumner County library board hears lengthy public comments, plans work session to revise collections policy
Summary
At a Sumner County Public Library Board meeting, dozens of speakers urged either tighter controls or broader access to materials for minors; after debate about legal risk and operational fixes, the board agreed to request director input and schedule a focused May work session to rewrite the collection policy and consider a formal parental/resource shelf.
Sumner County 's Public Library Board spent its meeting on a contentious public-comment period and a lengthier internal discussion over a proposed update to the system's collection development policy, with speakers sharply divided over how to protect minors while avoiding unconstitutional viewpoint restrictions.
Dozens of residents urged the board to keep sexually explicit or otherwise age-inappropriate material out of children's sections. "I'm not asking that books be banned," said Brian Gillespie, a resident, "I'm just asking that inappropriate books be [placed] in the adult section." Other commenters invoked legal and moral arguments: a speaker who identified as Chrisby pointed to the policy's existing language that prohibits "sex acts, sexually explicit or graphic materials" from children's and young-adult areas without parental…
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