Report From Llano County: “Texas Library May Face Elimination Weeks After Banned Books Return”
UPDATE April 13 (11:45pm Eastern)
Llano County Libraries To Remain Open, Residents React (via KVUE)
Zoya Farzampour told KVUE she homeschools all three of her children, and considers the libraries a lifeline for her family.
“Ask any homeschooler, or we’re a part of the Texas small country homeschoolers, and thousands of members all over the Texas Hill country. And when we whenever we have new parents coming in, how do I homeschool my children? What is one of your number one resources? I’m looking for people, for my kids to be around as they are learning at home. We tell them, libraries are your number one friend,” said Farzampour.
Read the Complete Report (about 580 words) & View Video Report
UPDATE April 13 (6:05pm Eastern)
A small-town Texas library system threatened with extinction was spared Thursday after the Llano County commissioners said they would abide by a federal judge’s order to restore the books they banned rather than shut the system down.
Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham, who is the head of the county commission, made the announcement after county leaders heard from more than a dozen residents at an emergency meeting.
“The library will remain open while we try this in the courts, rather than through the news media,” said Cunningham, who noted that the county has already spent more than $100,000 on legal costs.
Outside the county building, loud cheers could be heard as jubilant opponents of shutting the century-old system celebrated.
Read the Complete Article (1360 words)
UPDATE April 13 (5:45pm Eastern)
Llano County Libraries to Remain Open (via DailyTrib.com)
UPDATE April 13 (5:35pm Eastern)
Niki Griswold (@nikigriswold) Reporting From Llano, Texas Tweets: “BREAKING: Court Decides To Remove The Agenda Item, Meaning The Libraries Will Stay Open. Cunningham Says This Issue Will Be Tried “In The Courts, Not Through Social Media Or The News Media”
UPDATE April 13
Coverage of Public Comments Made at Meeting (via Niki Griswold, Austin American-Statesman)
UPDATE April 12
Lawsuit Will Go on Even if Llano County Libraries Close, Attorney Say (via DailyTrib.com)
From the Article:
Closing the three libraries in the Llano County Library System will not affect the Little v. Llano County lawsuit, which will move forward, according to an attorney for the plaintiffs. Also, Llano County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Don Moss and Library Advisory Board Vice-chairman Bonnie Wallace still will have to appear before the court as ordered by a U.S. District judge on April 27 or face possible sanctions.
“We will continue to see a permanent injunction against censoring books in case they ever reopen the library,” said Katherine Chiarello of Wittliff Cutter law firm in Austin, when asked about what would happen if the libraries were closed.
Llano County commissioners are meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 13, to discuss that possibility. According to the agenda, they will meet in executive session to also discuss “action regarding the continued employment and/or status of the Llano County Library System employees and the feasibility of the use of the library premises by the public.”
Read the Complete Article (730 words)
From the Statement:
…Kasey Meehan, program director, Freedom to Read project at PEN America, issued the following statement:
“The proposal to close the Llano library system is not only an end-run to avoid complying with the District Court’s decision; it’s a vindictive response to the situation that is deeply undemocratic. Public libraries are not meant to serve particular ideological factions; they are meant to serve diverse communities, providing access to a wide range of knowledge and ideas. Closing the library system would be a violation of the core tenets of a free and open society. It would send an alarming message that county officials should have the power to pick and choose what books people can read, and to shutter a public institution if they get any pushback. PEN America strongly opposes closing the Llano County Library System, a move that would deny access to thousands of books and diminish the freedom to read for Llano County’s 21,000 residents.”
Read the Complete Statement (456 words)
UPDATE April 11:
Additional Coverage From NBC News:
Leila Green Little, one of the seven local residents who successfully sued the county for banning the books, fired off an email Monday urging county residents to attend the special meeting and give the commissioners an earful.
“We may not get another opportunity to save our library system and, more importantly, the public servants who work there,” Little wrote.
In the message, Little also included a screenshot of a text message that Bonnie Wallace, who is vice chairman of the Llano County Library Advisory Board, sent to one of her supporters. It was obtained by the seven residents as part of the discovery for the civil suit they filed against the county on April 25, 2022.
It read, in part, “the judge has said, if we lose the injunction, he will CLOSE the library because he WILL NOT put the porn back in the kid’s section!”
Read the Complete Article (about 690 words)
—-End Updates–
From Newsweek:
Texas officials will meet on Thursday to decide the fate of the Llano County Library System, as the three public branches face closure after a federal judge ordered 12 banned books returned to the shelves this month.
[Clip]
A judge on April 1 ordered not only must the books return to library shelves but also be available in the library system’s catalogue. When overruling the county’s ban, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman, based in Austin, Texas, ruled reinstatement of the banned books within 24 hours.
“Defendants shall return all print books that were removed because of their viewpoint or content,” Pitman wrote.
According to the library board, the books were pulled from shelves because they encouraged “child grooming” and contained cartoon nudity.
Learn More, Read the Complete Article (about 550 words)
Additional Coverage From KXAN:
According to the notice, this action item will include discussion and action regarding the continued employment and/or status of library employees and the “feasibility of the use of the library premises by the public.”
The meeting will take place at 3 p.m. at the Llano County JP#4 Courtroom in Llano, the notice said.
Learn More, Read the Complete Article (235 words)
See Also: More Coverage From PW &From Local Media, DailyTrib.com
Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
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