Crawford County costs related to library censorship total more than $420,000

Crawford County has paid approximately $385,300 in legal fees for two lawsuits against the county and its library over attempts to censor certain books. The legal tally does not include an almost $41,000 severance payout to a former library director.

To date, the county has spent $219,605.05 in legal fees on the First Amendment lawsuit and $165,696.06 on the Act 372 suit, Crawford County Judge Chris Keith said Tuesday (Aug. 20).

On June 2, 2023, 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 to overturn Act 372. The Act allows books in public libraries to be banned or relocated. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks granted a preliminary injunction in July 2023 against the act’s implementation, which was set to go into effect Aug. 1, 2023.

The Act 372 lawsuit was the second to be filed attempting to block libraries from censoring books. Attorney Brian Meadors filed a federal complaint May 30, 2023, against book censorship actions by the Crawford County Public Library. The Crawford County Library earlier in 2023 approved the removal and relocation of books largely because of objections from citizens to LGBTQ content.

Attorneys representing the Crawford County Library System argued in March that the relocation of LGBTQ books was not a First Amendment violation and instead “strikes a balance” that is “constitutionally compliant” and meets the standards of the community.

Attorneys Brian Meadors and Terrance Cain on Feb. 18 filed a summary judgment request on behalf of Crawford County citizen Rebecka Virden. The case is before Chief U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III. Meadors said in the filing that the Crawford County case is similar to a 2000 lawsuit (Sund v. City of Wichita Falls, Tex.) in Texas. That case resulted in a federal court overturning all actions to relocate and remove LGBTQ books from a public library.

The controversy began in November 2022 when Tammy Hamby and her husband Dr. Jeffrey Hamby, a Van Buren family physician, worked with the River Valley City Elders to lead a campaign against LBGQT+ books then available through the library system. Tammy Hamby would be appointed to the Crawford County Library Board by Crawford County Judge Chris Keith and named the board chair.

Keith Pigg was elected by the other members of the Crawford County Library Board as the chair in January. Hamby remains on the board.

In their filing on behalf of the defendants, the defendant’s attorneys say the action by previous library officials was a valid compromise that best protected the rights of all library users. No judgment has yet been made in either of the suits, Keith said.

NEW LIBRARY LEADERSHIP
Along with new library board leadership, there is new leadership at the library. In February, Charlene McDonnough started her tenure as the executive director. McDonnough has a master’s degree in library science from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.

Before coming to the library system, she was a program technician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency in Fort Smith . She served as branch manager for Society Hill Library in Society Hill, S.C. from March 2012 to December 2022. She was the adult services librarian for the Darlington County Library System in Darlington, S.C.. from May 2004 to March 2012. Prior to that she worked as a public school teacher.

Under pressure from those opposing LBGTQ+ books, Crawford County Library Director Diedre Gryzmala resigned in February 2023 with a $40,687.50 severance deal. Retired Crawford County Library System Executive Director Eva White came back to the library system to serve as interim director while the library board found a new director, an act that took almost a year. In January, the library board agreed to keep White on as an advisor to the director for at least 90 days.

White officially retired in July, McDonnough said, adding that she has moved to Bull Shoals “and is enjoying her new home.”

“She will be highly missed. She is very much this library. She created it 25 years ago from almost scratch, and she built a legacy,” McDonnough said. “She left big shoes to fill for sure.”

The library system’s annual report shows that the system’s five libraries have a total of 19,124 registered customers. In the past year, they have had 146,681 visitors to the libraries and 157,500 items loaned. There are 30 computers in the libraries with 8,487 people using those computers.