Report: “South Carolina Libraries Will Need Parents Permission Before Letting Children See Sexual Material”

From The State:

The conference committee finalizing the state’s spending plan starting July 1, adopted a Senate proposal to require county libraries to certify they are not offering any books or materials that “appeal to the sexual interest of children under the age of 17 in children’s, youth or teen book sections of libraries.” The material will only be made available if the child’s parent gives explicit consent.

The proviso was proposed by state Sens. Josh Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg, Billy Garrett, R-Greenwood, and Rex Rice, R-Pickens, during the upper chamber’s budget debate in April. But the proviso wasn’t included in the House budget, which forced Thursday’s vote in a six-member conference committee between the House and Senate.

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Angela Craig, the president of the South Carolina Library Association who also serves as executive director of the Charleston County Public Library, said libraries also have processes for people to bring up concerns about whether a book or other materials are in an appropriate section of the library. A patron may bring up a concern and the book would be reviewed by a committee to have it moved. 

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Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries