Texas: “Llano County Libraries Case Has Lawyers and Publishers Worried About Existing Legal Precedents”

From The Texas Tribune:

For decades, public libraries across the country — and their staffs — have operated under a modern understanding of court rulings that say books and other materials cannot be removed simply because government officials do not like the ideas they contain.

But as the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers a case over library books in Llano County allegedly plucked from shelves for that reason, some library advocates and legal experts are hoping that precedent is upheld.

In interviews, lawyers say that regardless of the ruling to come and any potential broader implications it may bring, they already see an erosion of the respect for libraries and what they represent.

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“We have individuals who are trying to tell us what they believe librarianship is without listening to librarians about what librarianship is all about,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, about the Llano case. “I do believe that it’s an effort to either limit the role of libraries in society or take them away altogether, and I think that that’s a tragedy for everyone involved.”

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Filed under: Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Interviews, Libraries, News, Public Libraries