Laramie County school district library policies divide community

CHEYENNE — Laramie County School District No. 1 library book policies continue to divide community members, according to recent public comments and interviews with parents.
In speaking with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, district leaders said they are sticking with current policies. 
They noted parents can readily choose to limit certain titles from being checked out of school libraries by their kids. Parents contend some LCSD No. 1 library materials have pornographic and violent material that should either be removed, or the reading materials themselves be placed in a separate section. 
They want the district to change its policy to an “opt in” system for a list of books deemed inappropriate, instead of the current opting out. 
Opting in means parents would have to proactively agree their kids can read a specific book. 
“There’s an opt-out form and a procedure available to parents who want to keep what they deem as inappropriate content from being checked out by their child,” community member Carol Bay said during the most recent LCSD1 Board of Trustees meeting. “The problem I see with that is many parents aren’t even aware of what’s available to young students in the school libraries. They have unwittingly put their trust in the experts to do the right thing. Unfortunately, for many of us, that trust is broken.” 
Concerned parents have testified at LCSD No. 1 board meetings and asked candidates at local political debates to press the issue. 
A Facebook page was created at the start of July. It is called the LCSD No. 1 Book Watch, and more than 100 people follow and like the page. 
Information on how to prevent students from checking out books with certain content is available on the social media platform, as well as graphics showcasing excerpts from books the group wants parents to be aware of. These titles include “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut, “Sold” by Patrick McCormick, and “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson.
Some who are in favor of restricting access to certain books worry about what effects reading those texts could have on impressionable kids. 
“One study I came across says reading adult sexual content doesn’t just arouse your private parts, it also stimulates your brain, just like when you experience a new and exciting encounter,” community member Susan Edgerton told the LCSD No. 1 board meeting. “Reading these types of books releases those, as well.” 
No stakeholder or group has taken responsibility for developing the Facebook page. A representative from the LCSD No. 1 Book Watch did not comment last week. 
Edgerton noted there are 18 books listed by the Facebook group. 
Local parent Megan Barr created a private Facebook group of her own to address local issues and to encourage parents to attend school board meetings. She said she is concerned with the recent comments from parents who want to limit the availability of controversial texts. 
“Over the last few years, it seems like a very small minority voice has been the loudest one,” she said in an interview. “And I don’t think that they’re the people that are in the majority. Just because they’re the loudest doesn’t mean that everybody feels this way.” 

 
Barr is especially upset with efforts to target LGBTQ+ representation in library books. 
She said if students are told these books are bad, or they need to be put in a separate section, it sends a terrible message. 
She said transgender and queer students need reading materials to help them deal with their emotions and to show them they are not alone. 
Fellow parent Jen Solis agreed. She worried about certain sexual or gender identities not being represented in school libraries. That, in turn, could stifle discussion about such subjects, she fears. 
“I’m trying to imagine this world where we can’t talk about anything having to do with our family structure, our existence, our humanity,” she said in an interview last week. “Because if you restrict the rights of someone because you don’t like the choices they make, how are you inviting the restriction on your own worldview?” 
She attended a meeting on Monday with members of the anti-book ban Facebook group, and said they expressed their support for the current library opt-out policy and for the system for choosing books. 
“This whole thing is really not about protecting other children, it’s about taking rights away from other people’s children,” said Ted Hanlon, Democratic candidate for state Senate District 5, at the school board meeting. “That’s just not the Wyoming way. In Wyoming, we believe in personal freedom above all else.” 
LCSD No.1 Superintendent Margaret Crespo told the WTE there are no plans to change the district’s library policy. She said the current system has the best of both worlds, because families can choose what they want their children to read and build a list of books they do not want their children to access, in order to give the list to a librarian. 
Crespo said she fully trusts the libraries in the district, and believes the librarians are experts in their field. She said they are constantly reviewing the process and use peer-reviewed recommendations for texts, and they reconsider books when they are deemed too mature or inappropriate. 
The superintendent plans to continue to work with parents on their needs and to show them how to select content for their students. 
“We have to work with our parents and partners, so that they understand the process that exists around partnering with us to be actively involved in what their kids are reading,” she said. 
Laramie County Library System Director Carey Hartman said she, too, is confident in LCSD No. 1 professional educators and librarians. 
She said she knows they’re making decisions that take into consideration the diverse families they serve. She said the opt-out system has worked well for the district, and she would be concerned if that would change to opting in. 
Hartman acknowledged to the WTE some parents may not be aware they need to tell the library of any books they object to in order to prevent their kids from checking out those materials. She has not personally experienced pushback from parents who want to limit access to some books. 
In her seven years as county librarian, there have been four requests for reconsideration of material, she noted. She emphasized the importance of parental choice.
“Our society has gotten more complex,” she said. “It’s imperative for schools and public libraries to make sure that they’re representing all types of families in the literature that children will read.”
 
This story was published on July 24, 2022.