The Library Board voted on a request to remove a book. Here's what they decided.

A sex education book that a resident formally sought removal from the public libraries will remain on the shelves – the same as three others that had been requested within the last four months for either removal or restriction.

The recommendation to retain the book was unanimously endorsed by the nine-member Library Board in a meeting Tuesday that saw at least 20 people speaking on the subject of prospective restrictions, removals and relocations offered at the Corpus Christi Public Libraries – or attempts by some residents to do so.

The room at La Retama Central Library was standing-room only, as residents voiced concerns about the potential of book banning and its possible implications and messaging, as well as those concerned about children and teenagers accessing material with sexual content, potentially without their parents’ knowledge.

The book that had been requested for removal – “Doing it Right: Making Smart, Safe and Satisfying Choices about Sex” – had been asserted in documents filed by requestor Shawn Flanagan as “designed to sexualize children,” and its content counter to “the basic morality of the majority of taxpayers in Corpus Christi.”

Removing the book would be considered banning, Vickie Natale, a former Library Board member, told the board Tuesday.

She added that teenagers not having access to sex education books with factual information – instead of sources such as social media and movies – would “invite ignorance, which leads to increased STDs and increased teen pregnancies.”

The board earlier in the meeting had formed a subcommittee that would generally review the libraries’ book collection policy, which is anticipated, in part, to evaluate in which section of the library books would be located.

Shortly before voting to retain “Doing it Right” – but in the adult section of the library – board member Melinda de los Santos said her general interest on the board is in raising parental awareness of some books’ content, not banning them.

Sex education

Requestors within two months’ time – January and February – filed requests for action on four books, three with characters identifying as LGBTQI-plus or with material focusing on LGBTQI-plus subjects.

Those three were not removed from library shelves or age-restricted following a review by a staff committee. None of those determinations were appealed to the Library Board, which plays an advisory role in making recommendations on aligning or departing from staff committee’s initial opinions on book reconsiderations.

A recommendation about the fourth, however, was what landed at the Library Board on Tuesday.

Flanagan, a former Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi track coach who in public venues has regularly criticized books with sexual content offered at the library, filed the appeal of the city staff’s determination for “Doing it Right: Making Smart, Safe and Satisfying Choices about Sex,” by Bronwen Pardes.

Flanagan is a member of County Citizens Defending Freedom, an organization that has been active in recent years in book challenges.

The book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, states on its website that Pardes has “taught sexuality education at middle schools, high schools, and colleges in New York City,” and describes the book as an experienced sex educator “getting up front and personal in this updated reissue of an informative and candid guide aimed directly at teens.”

In his request for reconsideration form filed in February, Flanagan wrote that the book “goes against the basic morality of the majority of taxpayers in Corpus Christi” and requested it be removed from all sections of the city’s libraries entirely.

“This is an abuse of our tax dollars to purchase materials such as this that are designed to sexualize children and make them more likely to engage in sex and more likely to be victimized by pedophiles,” he wrote on the form, provided to the Caller-Times by city officials.

The book had been located in the young adult section. A staff committee who reviewed the book following Flanagan’s request that it be removed entirely decided to retain it, but had it “moved to the adult nonfiction collection as the book covers topics that a wide range of ages will be interested in reading," according to documentation of the library director’s response.

The book “enhances knowledge by equipping young adults with information so they can make wise decisions,” the staff wrote in its response to Flanagan.

“The book encourages readers to involve parents or trusted adults when making important decisions on sex,” the letter states. “The book also gives important information regarding consequences of sexual decisions and includes a wide variety of topics in response to questions asked by teens. The book does not tell readers what to do but gives information without judgement.”

In Flanagan's request appealing the staff’s recommendation, he reiterated his earlier objections and that the recommendation to move the book from the young adult section to the adult section illustrated that “staff acknowledges that this book is objectionable to some degree.”

“The overall purpose of the library is to provide knowledge to the public,” Flanagan wrote. “This purpose has almost totally been captured by an ideological agenda that can be characterized as ‘woke’ or ‘leftist.’“

What the board said

Shortly before the vote, board member Dora Wilburn said she didn’t think “that it’s up to us as a board to decide who’s going to read what.”

“Our job is to try and get money so we can help people that need help out there, who don’t have access to a phone or internet,” she said.  “We’re spending too much time on this.”

The staff are the professionals, said board member Alice Upshaw Hawkins shortly before the board’s unanimous vote to agree with the library staff’s recommendation.

“That is your bailiwick,” Hawkins told the staff.

Although the Library Board serves in an advisory role, its recommendation in matters such as an appeal still carries influence.

Had the prevailing vote disagreed with what the staff had found – that the book would be retained but relocated from the young adult section to the adult section – the appeal would have been sent to the city manager or designee, said Library Director Laura Garcia.

There are routes for parents to monitor their children’s checkouts should they choose to, city officials said.

“We encourage parents to provide an email address so they can receive notifications,” Garcia wrote in an email to the Caller-Times. “When an item is checked out or in, a notification is emailed.  Parents can also look at their child's library account to see what is on their record.  We are working to improve email delivery as some providers may block or send our emails to spam.”

Staff is also seeking to improve a text notification program, she added.

“Currently, our text notifications depend on the patron's cellular carrier to be delivered,” Garcia wrote. “We use free email to text technology and some carriers are no longer supporting the service; therefore, we are evaluating new technology.”

LGBTQIA-plus

Although the appeal in consideration Tuesday was for the removal of the book “Doing it Right,” residents whose names have not been disclosed requested earlier in the year action on three titles that featured characters identifying as LGBTQIA-plus or subjects focused on LGBTQIA-plus.

One was requested for removal –  the children’s book “Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero” – but it was not removed and remains in the children’s section following a staff committee review, according to city officials.

Two others had been requested to be age-restricted – “Queer: A Graphic History,” located in the adult nonfiction section of the library, and “What if? Answers to Questions About What It Means to be Gay and Lesbian,” located in the young adult nonfiction section.

The committee determined that all three of the books met Collection Development Policy selection and its criteria, according to city officials, and the committee did not recommend to either relocate or age-restrict either.

None of the three went to the Library Board for an appeal, and the deadline for filing the appeals has already passed, according to city officials.

The names of the requestors, and the reasons that had been given by the requestors for wanting the books removed or age-restricted, were not immediately available.

A substantial amount of public comment addressed the requests that had been made.

Robert Kymes, vice president of Pride Corpus Christi and director of the Coastal Bend Pride Center, told the board that while the center offers resources for LGBTQIA-youth, that they also “know we need other entities like the libraries to provide resources as well.”

“The library is here to educate about all identities and about all people,” he said.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi Library Board votes on request to remove sex ed book