Arkansas panel revises proposal restricting access to ‘sexually explicit’ library materials

Dozens of Arkansans told the department earlier this year that they opposed the effort to limit access to books. The restrictions come as librarians have raised questions about how to enforce a 2023 law that would impose criminal penalties for providing “harmful” materials to minors. 

Dozens object to rule requiring Arkansas libraries to restrict ‘sexually explicit’ materials

The previous version of the rules required libraries to “ensure the appropriate placement of sexually explicit materials.” The version updated by the Arkansas State Library Board at its Friday meeting replaces “ensure” with “take all reasonable steps,” a suggestion from Education Department attorney Daniel Shults.

Board Chairman Clay Goff said the term “ensure” was too harsh in case a book is improperly shelved by mistake. He referenced the portion of Act 372 of 2023 that gives local governments the final say on the placement of a library book a community member seeks to relocate.

The provision was among those blocked in federal court until July 30, and the law does not require local officials to read a challenged book before deciding where to place it. Goff said it’s “crazy” not to require this.

“I can’t hold y’all to a higher standard than that,” he said, addressing the library directors present at Friday’s meeting.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals removed the injunction on the two blocked portions of Act 372, but the formal order allowing the decision to take effect hasn’t been issued yet. The law would allow anyone who “furnishes, presents, provides, [or] makes available” an item that is “harmful to minors” to be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum prison sentence of one year.

Library directors have said they have several unanswered questions about Act 372, including whether a book is “made available” simply by being on a library shelf.

Adam Webb, a library director from Garland County, told the State Library Board that the law’s classification of images of human genitalia as sexually explicit would require him to remove an encyclopedia with an image of Michelangelo’s David statue from his library’s children’s section. 

Goff suggested adding clarifying language to the rules to make sure they don’t impede children’s access to encyclopedias.

The rules include an exception for children 11 and older to access “age-appropriate information designed to prepare minors for the sociology of puberty” with parental consent.

One of the seven branches of the Arkansas River Valley Regional Library System has a partnership with the state Department of Health to display an educational module on breastfeeding, regional director Misty Hawkins said. 

She asked the board if this display would be considered sexually explicit and said the “mental bandwidth” it takes to keep up with proposed regulations affecting library funding is exhausting.

The proposed rules would also drastically increase the amount of required documents for libraries to submit to the state in order to receive funds, said Jenn Wann, the State Library’s consulting and development services director.

“I want to keep the administrative burden for those librarians as low as possible so they’re not [just] administrators, but so that they are librarians in their communities,” Wann said.

Library directors agreed that some of the paperwork requirements would be too burdensome.

“I don’t think that the problem is sending it as much as it is gathering it [and] keeping up with it,” said Calhoun County Library director Allie Gosselink, who also said state aid makes up less than 20% of her budget.

“So I have to really consider: is that 20% worth it if it’s taking 20% of my time?” she said.

The board agreed to require libraries to submit documents to the state by April 30, a change from the initial proposal of Jan. 31.

After the public comment period closes, the board will vote on whether to approve the rules and send them to the Arkansas Legislative Council, the Legislature’s governing body when it’s not in session. The council must approve the rules for them to go into effect.

Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed all six board members last year in compliance with a law to remove and replace the previous lineup.

The board’s primary responsibility is to disburse state funds quarterly to public libraries, which the board did Friday with no debate or dissent.

Board member Sydney McKenzie, wife of Rogers GOP Rep. Brit McKenzie, said she hopes the panel discusses the enforcement of Act 372 at its next meeting on Nov. 13.