A Huntington Beach city council member is raising concerns over children’s library books that she believes are obscene and should not be accessible to young people.
Gracey Van Der Mark, Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem, says there are several books in circulation at the library that are too sexually explicit for children and teenagers.
“We’re just trying to start a dialogue with our city staff, our librarians, our city attorney to what it is we can do to protect our children without violating anyone’s freedom of speech,” Van Der Mark said.
She believes there should be new rules put in place to restrict children’s and teens’ access to inappropriate books.
“So for example, if there’s a book that has sexually explicit content, should we put a label on it so the parents know what is in there? Should we put it in a different section? Should we require an ID to show that you’re an adult to check it out? We’re looking for solutions right now,” she said.
Critics including other city council members believe her proposal is unnecessary and could set a dangerous precedent.
“It sets a dangerous precedent, it’s effectively book banning in my view,” said city council member, Dan Kalmick. “We have paid librarians who are educated in library sciences who make these determinations. Our libraries are a treasure of information and all of our books should be available and parents should parent their kids. If you go into our library, know that there is material that is not age appropriate for all ages that take part in our library. It’s up to the parents to decide what their kids should and shouldn’t see.”
City council members are holding a meeting Tuesday to discuss the controversy and it is expected to last for several hours.
