Turmoil continues with Livingston Parish library board

It’s not just a war over library books anymore.

Livingston Parish’s on-again, off-again debate over age-appropriate reading has become so fierce that its library control board is paralyzed, unable to pass a budget or elect a president.

Tuesday’s board meeting lasted less than four hours; Some residents shouted criticism and read obscene passages out loud.

The next day, board member Shalisa Labat resigned; He becomes the fifth person to leave or be fired since this summer. This leaves two vacancies on the board.

While the deadlocked library board agreed to move some books from the children’s section to the adult sections, it found itself unable to make bigger decisions and the clock was ticking.

“This is ridiculous,” ward Councilman Ricky Goff said at a recent meeting. “The funny thing is that we can’t find a good solution to at least take a step forward.”

Livingston library board congestion

The debate over age-appropriate books has led the regional council to gradually replace library board members with people who council members say better represent residents’ views.

This led to a 4-4 split between new members who were more active in moving books and longer-tenured members who sided with some librarians and parents who feared censorship or believed library staff were better equipped to handle these problems.

At the most recent meeting, several key votes failed 4 to 4, including a motion to approve the fiscal year 2025 operating budget.

Half the board asked for more time to look at the detailed list of budget items to learn more. Library Director Michelle Parrish said she gave the board two weeks to review the issue before voting tonight.

Board members Ronnie Bencaz, Shalisha Labat, Steve Bernard and Kathy deGeneres voted to approve; Larry Davis, Dewanna Christian, Abby Crosby and Summer Smith voted against it.

Attorney Chris Moody reminded the board that it is legally required to approve the budget before the end of the calendar year.

“My advice is to resolve this and pass the budget,” he said.

Some critics of the new board, such as the Livingston Parish Library Alliance community group, said the impasse is part of a larger effort to disrupt libraries.

“It looks like the Alliance is 100% right. No need to ban books when you can ban (close) the entire library,” Francine Smith wrote recently. removes board memberon social media

The board also deadlocked on passing a five-year strategic plan for the library, a road map for sustaining and expanding library services.

Another even more polarizing vote was for the election of control board officers. Larry Davis and Labat were nominated for president. Both received 4-4 votes.

After hours of discussion, the board decided to postpone the election of officers until January.

Ward councilor Goff said the whole situation was disturbing.

“It saddens me that our board represents this neighborhood, that it is completely divided, and that we are one seat short. It makes me sad,” he said Wednesday.

Labat resigned the next day, leaving two vacant seats on the board. But it also gives a majority to the new member group that voted for Davis and voted against the budget.

Which library books are suitable?

Meanwhile, discussions about which books should be placed in the children’s section continue.

The board approved moving the books “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” from the young adult section to the adult section. Both were recommended by board member Abby Crosby for containing sexually explicit material.

The vote to move the books came after heated statements during public comment.

Trey Cowell, a local pastor, led the moving of the books by reading to the room a sensational passage from “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” detailing sexual acts.

“It’s a shame that people have to fight to get these books into the spotlight,” Cowell said after reading the passage. “It is sexual and needs to be moved.”

Resident and pastor Brian Gunter said the community should choose which books are appropriate because the library is funded through community property taxes.

“We pay for this library, it is our library. “We want our library to represent our neighborhood and our values,” he said.

Gunter suggested that retired teachers and members of his church might read children’s books in libraries to decide whether to replace them.

“When the next board member is appointed, you guys need to come back and sort all this out. Let’s take things out of our library that don’t belong there and keep everything we agreed on,” Gunter said. “We all pay for this library.”

Neighborhood resident Jordan Gonzalez argued that the community is bigger than just those who attend board meetings and attend church, and ultimately librarians should be making those choices.

“We need to trust our librarians and we need to trust our staff, our professionals, our educated and trained professionals to handle these situations,” Gonzalez said.

Some of the other books challenged, according to public records, include:

“13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher
Elana Arnold’s “Little Girl”
“Johnny and the Walrus” by Matt Walsh
“Haters” by Jesse Andrews
“Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins
“Fade” by Lisa McMann

The debate over moving problematic books has spread beyond libraries.

Cowell also addressed the district school board Thursday night. He said he wanted to protect children and paid $150 for a public records request to determine that two challenged books voted on by the library board were located at some neighborhood high schools.

“I want to warn you that we have these things in our libraries and school libraries,” he said. “So after determining the perimeter from the outside, we will need to do some cleaning inside the house.”

What’s next for Livingston libraries?

It will be up to ward councilors Billy Taylor and Ryan Chavers to fill vacancies on the two library boards, possibly breaking the stalemate by seating all nine board members.

Chavers and Taylor said they will appoint their new members at the next Parish Council meeting on Dec. 5.

Amanda Jones, the district librarian and a vocal critic of recent changes to the library, believes the system is in danger for several reasons.

“If they install two extremist board members who are actively working against the library, meetings will continue to be more chaotic, budgets and business will continue to stall,” Jones said.

Jones also said librarians don’t want to work in churches or speak on behalf of libraries because of in-person or online harassment.

“When I attend meetings, I am called a babysitter and a pedophile. “One of the women who spoke the other night told me I would go to hell just for supporting the library,” she said. “This is so unnecessary and uncalled for.”

As for the seemingly never-ending library board meeting? Technically it didn’t happen. After about four hours, the meeting adjourned instead of adjourning and will be held on December 17 at the Denham Springs branch, with a special session to review further objected books and approve the budget.

Livingston library board congestion

Which library books are suitable?

What’s next for Livingston libraries?

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