SC libraries will need parents permission before letting children see sexual material
If parents don’t mind having children reading books with certain type of “prurient” material in a public library, they’ll need to give their explicit permission.
The conference committee finalizing the state’s spending plan starting July 1, adopted a Senate proposal to require county libraries to certify they are not offering any books or materials that “appeal to the sexual interest of children under the age of 17 in children’s, youth or teen book sections of libraries.” The material will only be made available if the child’s parent gives explicit consent.
The proviso was proposed by state Sens. Josh Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg, Billy Garrett, R-Greenwood, and Rex Rice, R-Pickens, during the upper chamber’s budget debate in April.
But the proviso wasn’t included in the House budget, which forced Thursday’s vote in a six-member conference committee between the House and Senate.
The budget this year includes an additional $1.1 million for state aid to libraries, but it will come with the additional requirements.
Books with sexual matters would only be available with explicit parental consent, under the proviso.
House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister said he received calls from librarians across the state concerned about the proviso and acknowledged it may be difficult for libraries to determine what is meant by “prurient materials.” He added the proviso is meant to encourage library curators make sure items in certain sections are age appropriate.
The political pressure of the primaries has passed, but some political pressure still exists, Bannister said.
“There (is) certainly political pressure out there based on some of the things that had been put in children’s sections that maybe parents wouldn’t necessarily want their children to be exposed to without their knowledge,” Bannister said. “What we’re really trying to do is say, ‘Hey, if you want your children to have access to that stuff, you need to go in the adult section and get it for them.’ As opposed to a librarian making the decision to put things that the parents may or may not object to in those sections.”
State law, defines “prurient interest” as “a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion and is reflective of an arousal of lewd and lascivious desires and thoughts.”
The State Library said determining prurient material is subjective and varies based on individual and culture perspectives and experiences. In a statement, the state library supports parents’ right to pick what their children read and encourages parental involvement.
“However, the proviso is “vague, subjective, and outside of the scope of the governing legislation related to the Duties of State Library in executing library policy,” the library said in a statement.
Angela Craig, the president of the South Carolina Library Association who also serves as executive director of the Charleston County Public Library, said libraries also have processes for people to bring up concerns about whether a book or other materials are in an appropriate section of the library. A patron may bring up a concern and the book would be reviewed by a committee to have it moved.
“We have oversight over our collections,” Craig said.
Craig said also libraries have boards appointed by county councils, and the library boards hire the library director.
Now libraries around the state will wait on guidance from the state library on how to comply with the proviso, Craig said.
She added, however, the proviso “strips local control.”
