MERIDIAN, Idaho — As of Thursday, S 1187 is in its third reading in the Idaho Legislature. The bill looks to add public institutions, like schools and libraries, to a preexisting ban on decimating material that is considered harmful to children. According to the bill, this would include materials that depict "nudity, sexual conduct, or sadomasochistic abuse that is harmful to minors." If signed into law, violations of the bill could result in a $1,000 fine or up to a year in County Jail.
The Meridian Library District has been at the center of some library debates in recent months. The district was the subject of a petition for dissolution from a group called the Concerned Citizens of Meridian as they took issue with some literature available to minors in the library. The petition failed, but the Library says they still face some hurdles with bills like 1187.
"(The Library is) such a tremendous asset and it’s just heartbreaking to see these attacks from a handful of people," said Megan Larsen, who is the Chair of the Meridian Library District Board of Trustees.
Larsen tells Idaho News 6 that the Board has not had a formal meeting on the Bill and they have yet to meet with the Library District's counsel on what the Bill would mean if it were signed into law. However, with a preliminary reading of the text, Larsen fears the implications could be huge.
She says the library could face two drastic options. One solution could be prohibiting any person under the age of 18 into the library without their parent or guardian. The other might be to "decimate" their collection and remove everything that has any mention of sexual content. Larsen says this could include classic pieces of literature from Shakespeare to religious works.
“We think it would be a massive overhaul to the collection to protect the library from the risk that this bill represents," Larsen said.
In Larsen's opinion, a lot of the issue is rooted in parental choice. She says parents give their children permission to all the library's material by signing them up for a Library card.
“The legislature jumping in front of those parents’ parental choices and usurping them would be a tremendous loss for our community," Larsen said.
