Crawford County library adopts new book rules; Preps for lawsuits

As it faces two federal lawsuits, the Crawford County Library Board has created a new Request for Reconsideration to move books into a special 18 and older section of the library specifically to conform with Act 372.

The new Reconsideration of Library Materials as of Act 372, which was approved at the library board’s meeting July 11, states that a patron 18 or older who has a valid library card and has read or viewed the material being challenged shall first request a meeting with the librarian. The meeting must be granted within 30 days.

The patron can either pick up a request form at the library or have one emailed, but the form must be completed and returned to the library during the meeting or no later than 15 days after the meeting. If the form is not completed within the time period, the process will restart.

An odd-number committee of between five and nine library employees or volunteers selected by the librarian will review the material and must meet with the challenger within 60 days from when the official challenge form was submitted. After hearing from the challenger, the committee will determine whether the book should be moved to the 18 and over section. The material cannot be moved “solely for the viewpoints expressed within the materials,” and the material should be reviewed in its entirety and shall not have selected portions taken out of context.”

Once a decision has been reached, a member who votes with the majority will write a summary of the reasons for the decision within 15 days of the decision, the policy states.

The library board also agreed July 11 that R-rated movies and video games would be moved to a less accessible section of each library rather than to the Act 372 section. It was decided to let Library Director Eva White decide where to place items and R-rated movies and video games for over age 17.

ACT 372
Act 372 is set to go into effect Aug. 1. A hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order is set for Tuesday (July 25) before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks.

On June 2, several Arkansas libraries and library associations filed a lawsuit in the Fayetteville Division of the Western District Court of Arkansas against Crawford County officials and state prosecuting attorneys in an effort to overturn Act 372. The Act is primarily a measure allowing books in public libraries to be banned or relocated.

Specifically, Act 372 creates a process for books to be challenged in public libraries, with library officials having the option to appeal the challenge with a local and/or city government. Republicans who pushed the bill in Arkansas’ recent legislative session have said the bill was needed to challenge books they have found in libraries that are inappropriate. Many of those books were LGBTQ-related.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the Fayetteville Public Library, the Central Arkansas Library System, the Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library, and the American Booksellers Association. Defendants listed include Crawford County Judge Chris Keith, members of the Crawford County Public Library Board, and all Arkansas prosecuting attorneys.

According to the filing, Act 372 limits access to constitutionally protected materials, violates constitutionally protected free speech, violates due process, and lacks a judicial review of decisions to ban or relocate library items. Part of the objection to Act 372 includes the ability of a single challenge to cause a book to be banned or relocated.

SOCIAL SECTION
The Crawford County Library Board also agreed during its meeting that it would not hear Requests for Reconsideration concerning moving books in or out of its social section until a lawsuit on the social section is resolved.

A letter from Crawford County’s and the library’s counsel in the matter, Little Rock-based PPGMR Law Firm, read at the board meeting said that no books should be moved into or out of the social sections of the county’s library until the lawsuit is resolved. A proposed trial date has been set for April 22.

Attorney Brian Meadors filed a federal complaint May 30 against book censorship actions by the Crawford County Public Library. The action comes almost 20 years after Meadors won a similar censorship case against the Cedarville Public School District. The Crawford County Library has in recent months approved the removal and relocation of books largely because of objections from citizens to LGBTQ content.

The amended lawsuit, filed May 30, alleges that the library system actions violated several state and federal provisions, including those in the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Little Rock attorney Terrence Cain is also working with Meadors on the lawsuit.

The controversy began in November 2022 when Tammi Hamby and her husband Dr. Jeffrey Hamby, a Van Buren family physician, spearheaded a campaign against LBGQT+ books being available through the library system, and then Library Director Diedre Grzymala’s book display of LBGQT+ children’s books set up at the Van Buren Public Library. Hamby was appointed to the Crawford County Library Board by Crawford County Judge Chris Keith and named the board chair after Jamie Balkman, former chair, and two other board members resigned after a contentious Quorum Court meeting in December.

Gryzmala would eventually resign with a $40,687.50 severance deal Feb. 21. White was appointed interim director during a special called meeting Feb. 24. White was the library director for Crawford County from 1999 to 2012 and then again from 2013 to January 2021.