The Texas county of Llano faces the threat of library shutdowns amid the ongoing legal battle over book bans. The county commissioners have arranged a meeting to decide whether to continue running the libraries or shut them down.
This comes after a federal judge declared that the commissioners breached the constitution by prohibiting books, mainly intended for children, that touched on topics such as gender, race, bigotry, and teenage sexuality.
The judge instructed the county to return the books to circulation, and now the county is grappling with the decision of whether to comply with the ruling or risk facing further legal consequences.
Facing Library Shutdown Due To Unauthorized Book Ban
According to the Associated Press, after receiving feedback from both supporters and opponents of a potential closure, the Llano County Commissioners Court has decided to withdraw the idea of shutting down the libraries from its agenda. This move ensures that the county's three public libraries will remain open.
Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham, who presides over the commissioners court and is one of the defendants in the lawsuit filed by library patrons, emphasized that any decisions regarding the libraries would be made through the legal system rather than through social or news media.
The situation in Llano County is a reflection of the broader trend across the U.S. in recent years, with numerous attempts to ban books as part of the ongoing cultural battles.
One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Leila Green Little, urged county residents to attend a special meeting and express their opinions to the commissioners.
The banned books in Llano County included titles such as "Spinning" by Tillie Walden, "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson, and "They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.
The county also removed three books from Dawn McMillan's "I Need a New Butt!" series, as well as Robie H. Harris' "It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health" and Maurice Sendak's "In the Night Kitchen."
These decisions were later found to be in violation of the constitution, and the books were ordered to be reinstated.
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Llano County Residents Appealed To Bring Back the Books
As per ABC, the controversy started in July 2021 when a community group began advocating for the removal of certain children's books that they considered inappropriate.
Over time, the book removals continued and extended to titles that dealt with topics like race, gender, sexuality, and discrimination.
In December 2021, the Llano County Commissioners Court, which is the elected governing body of the county, voted to shut down the library for three days to inspect the shelves for "inappropriate" books. However, they did not provide a clear definition of what constituted inappropriate books. The commissioners also decided to suspend access to the library's online resources and dissolve the existing library advisory board.
In April 2022, several Llano County residents filed a lawsuit against county officials and the library, arguing that the book bans amounted to unconstitutional censorship.
According to NBC, the plaintiffs claimed that the defendants were using the pretext of eliminating "pornographic" materials, but none of the books they targeted were pornographic.
The residents argued that their First Amendment rights to free speech were violated and their 14th Amendment right to due process was violated because the books were removed without notice or the chance to appeal. The judge agreed with the residents and ruled that the book bans were unconstitutional.
