Did you hear this nugget of Idaho news? The Donnelly public library announced it would go “adults-only” on July 1. Their statement to the press explained the decision. “Our size prohibits us from separating our ‘grown up’ books to be out of the accessible range of children,” Donnelly officials wrote. That’s right, Donnelly favors smut for grown-ups over literacy for children.
What’s really going on? In short, Idaho lawmakers passed legislation earlier this year to deal with the very real problem of explicit and smutty materials being made available to children in libraries and schools. House Bill 710, a watered-down version of a much stronger bill, nonetheless passed this year, preventing libraries and schools from doling out materials deemed to be harmful to children.
If you’ve read other news and visited social media lately, you might think Idaho’s legislative Republicans have declared war on your favorite neighborhood librarian. Or worse, Republicans have set up theocratic book-banning shops inside your community library.
The hyperbole is exhausting, but the narrative peddled by media types and social media warriors couldn’t be further from the truth.
The bill also grants parents the right to take legal action against a library if librarians distribute harmful materials to children. And the bill protects parental freedom by providing a way for them to grant libraries permission to give obscene materials to their children.
The bill isn’t what most principled conservatives wanted. In fact, total prohibition on sexually explicit materials is warranted here and should be pursued in the 2025 session. There’s absolutely no reason taxpayers should fund the purchase of materials teaching children deviant sexual behaviors.
But that’s not where we’re at.
Instead, we’re in a situation where adults, who are paid with taxpayer dollars and should know better, are rebelling because conservatives don’t want kids to be shown deviant and harmful materials in libraries.
The Donnelly library is half right in its claim the bill is hard for them. Smaller facilities require more creative solutions or tougher decisions. But instead of prioritizing children, librarians have prioritized explicit materials for adults. Librarians could have easily chosen to make the library a family-friendly place. But they didn’t. Instead, they’re choosing to buy explicit books and kick the kids out.
Of course, the library itself and the sympathetic press are attempting to make Donnelly the latest victim of Republican policies.
In an interview with Boise State Public Radio, Donnelly Library Director Sherry Scheline added context to her decision. “Because we don’t have an attorney on retainer, we can’t take those chances. We need to let it be fought out by somebody other than our small, rural library.”
Donnelly might not have the funds to pay legal fees, but it apparently has enough funding — and desire — to purchase books that shouldn’t be given to children under any circumstances. Why do they insist on questionable books instead of some of the billions of virtuous titles available to them?
It’s a disturbing choice in an era when most of our government institutions have morphed into ideological indoctrination centers pushing leftist policies on our youngest minds. Government schools, universities, and now libraries have shown their true colors. They’re no longer havens for free thought but instead brainwashing apparati.
Donnelly’s choice is more interesting, considering the recent investments Idaho has made in childhood literacy. In 2019, Gov. Brad Little made childhood literacy a focal point of his state of the state address and invited lawmakers to dump tens of millions of dollars into new reading programs. And more than a few studies have suggested access to a library improves childhood literacy rates.
Yet, Donnelly doesn’t care about children — it’s more committed to stocking and pushing obscene materials. Their woke agenda, not the good of the community, is what matters most to them. I suspect more libraries will choose obscene materials over children in the next few months in an effort to pressure lawmakers to repeal or greatly weaken House Bill 710’s provisions.
Let me propose another idea: Lawmakers should return to the Capitol in 2025 and strengthen House Bill 710. Leave no gray area for interpretation, and ban the purchase and dissemination of harmful materials to minors — just like bookstores and convenience stores can’t sell porn to children. These stores already abide by such rules, and libraries can too. It’s not rocket science.
There you have it. Strengthen the protections, value the children, and get the smut off the shelves. Let’s get back to basics so our kids can learn the ABCs, not the LGBTs.
