Citizens across the country are displeased with the age-inappropriate content found in the children’s
and youth sections in our libraries. To best determine a plan of action to combat the sexualization of
our youth, it is important to understand the ins and outs of library operations.
Below is a list of items that should be gathered to be evaluated to determine a course of action.
Preliminary Work:
o Read Mo. Code Regs. tit. 15 CSR 30-200.015. Parts A, B, and C are particularly important.
(1) Notwithstanding any provision of 15 CSR 30-200.020 and 15 CSR 30-200.025 to the
contrary, the state librarian shall not distribute any funds to any library defined in 15 CSR
30-200.010 that receives funds pursuant to 15 CSR 30-200.020 and 15 CSR 30-200.025
unless such library certifies in writing each of the following:
(A) The library has or will adopt a written, publicly accessible collection development
policy addressing how selections are made in considering the appropriateness by age of
any minor, as defined in 15 CSR 30-200.030;
(B) No funds received shall be used to purchase or acquire material that constitutes “child
pornography,” is “pornographic for minors,” or is “obscene,” as those terms are defined in
section 573.010, RSMo;
(C) The library has or will adopt a written, publicly accessible policy allowing a minor’s
parent or guardian to determine what materials and access will be available to that minor,
and no person employed by or acting on behalf of the library shall knowingly grant access
to a minor to any material in any form not approved by that minor’s parent or guardian;
(D) No age-inappropriate materials in any form, as defined in the library’s collection
development policy, shall be knowingly displayed in the library in areas designated by the
library as containing materials predominantly for minors;
(E) No event or presentation shall be held at the library without an age-appropriate
designation affixed to any publication, website, or advertisement for such event or
presentation; and
(F) The library has or will adopt a written, publicly accessible library materials challenge
policy by which any parent or guardian of a minor within the library district may dispute
or challenge the library’s age-appropriate designation affixed to any presentation, event,
material, or display in the library, and the results of any such dispute or challenge shall be
disclosed to the public and published on the library’s website.
(2) The library shall submit a copy of its written policies to the state librarian annually by
July 31, and shall submit, within thirty (30) days, any revisions to such policies to the state
librarian.
o Review your library’s governing policies. This often can be found in your library’s policy manual on
the library webpage. Read it cover to cover.
Determine how closely aligned the policies are to the American Library Association (ALA).
Has the library adopted the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Act?
Libraries like to hide behind these policies and use them to justify the presence of smut in
children’s and young adult sections of the libraries.
Review the following library policies:
collection development policy
book selection policy: Who buys the library’s books?
circulation policy: How are minors issued cards?
request for reconsideration policy: this is the library policy on how books can be
contested
Board Trustee Bylaws
o Determine who your board members are, when their term expires, and the process followed to
appoint them to their seats.
Except for Clay, Jackson, St. Charles, St. Louis and Jefferson Counties, every other county in
Missouri abides by MO Rev 182.050 to make Library Board appointments. This means that
County Commissioners can follow any process they want to make library board trustee
appointments. The Christian County Commission overtook the Library Board Trustee
appointment process in 2023 and overhauled the application and interview process. The
County Commission advertises library board openings and all library board applications go
directly to them and they interview/vet candidates and vote to make selections. Library
board trustees wanting to serve additional terms were required to reapply for their seats.
Review library board meeting minutes.
Is the Trustee packet given to board members by the Library made public?
How detailed are the meeting minutes?
Are public comments recorded?
o Review the American Library Association (ALA) webpage. Libraries and Librarians belong to this
professional organization and receive professional development training and materials from the
ALA. Take note of the focus on the effort to fight censorship and advocacy work.
Sample ALA resource material: 2023 Rainbow Reading List, PDF is located at the bottom of
the page. https://glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/archives/1444
The state of Missouri has severed ties with the ALA, however, librarians and libraries can
still be members of the ALA.
The incoming 2023 ALA President-elect, Emily Drabinski is a contributor to a radical
publication Truthout. View some of her work here: www.emilydrabinski.com
The state of Missouri is singled out here: https://truthout.org/articles/when-
missouri-proposed-library-censorship-librarians-got-organized/
How to find AGE-INAPPROPRIATE books in your Library:
o www.booklooks.org has a great catalog of sexually themed books commonly found in America’s
libraries.
Review the book ratings system.
Determine if any of the books listed in the booklooks book reports are in your library.
Cross reference books found in the book reports section of booklooks in your library
online catalog.
Make a spreadsheet of booklooks rated books in your library. Be sure to include:
book title, author, and library catalog category (children’s picture book, young adult
nonfiction, graphic novel, etc.).
o Cross reference books listed in the 2023 and 2022 ALA Rainbow Booklists.
Make a spreadsheet of rainbow books
o Set up a meeting with your Library Executive Director to discuss the presence of books that do not
align to your community’s values and standards.
o Start filing forms to have books removed from the children’s and young adult sections of your
library to the adult library.
Applying to ban books is not ideal since public libraries serve the entire county population
o Attend Library board meetings to communicate your findings and present examples of books that
are age-inappropriate for children from the children’s and young adult sections.
Organize a summary of all your library findings and present to your County Commission, your state
representatives, senators, pastors, friends, anyone who cares enough to protect children from being
robbed of their innocence.