School librarians across St. 不良研究所导航网址 tossed at least two dozen books this month, even as police said they would not enforce a new state law criminalizing explicit materials for students.
The law banning 鈥渆xplicit sexual material鈥 鈥 defined as any visual depiction of sex acts or genitalia, with exceptions for artistic or scientific significance 鈥 went into effect Sunday and applies to both public and private schools.
In St. Charles County, where school districts including Francis Howell and Wentzville have removed books, the police department plans to 鈥渞edirect any concerns related to academic curriculum and library book content to the citizen鈥檚 respective school district for review,鈥 according to a spokeswoman.
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While the Missouri Library Association advised against removing or censoring books because 鈥渢he entirety of library collections鈥 fall under the law鈥檚 exemptions, several other school districts also preemptively culled their shelves:
鈥 In Parkway schools, five graphic novels with illustrations of nudity or sexual acts were pulled from library shelves, and students can no longer access e-books from the 鈥済eneral adult鈥 category of the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Library app, according to a spokeswoman.
鈥 Rockwood Sunday of 22 books that 鈥渞eflect鈥 the new law and were removed from libraries, from 鈥淏atman: White Knight鈥 to 鈥淶ahra鈥檚 Paradise,鈥 which was listed in the list of the top 10 great graphic novels for teens in 2012 by the American Library Association.
鈥 Mehlville also removed five graphic novels that overlapped with Rockwood鈥檚 list: 鈥淏e Gay, Do Comics,鈥 鈥淔lamer,鈥 鈥淲atchmen,鈥 鈥淭he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale (Graphic Novel)鈥 and 鈥淕ender Queer.鈥
鈥淕ender Queer,鈥 a coming-of-age memoir by Maia Kobabe which is now banned in multiple districts including Rockwood, was kept on the district鈥檚 library shelves in December following challenges from five community members who considered it pornography.
The Rockwood book review committee found that the book did not meet the criteria for pornography because its sole purpose was not for arousal. The term 鈥済raphic novel鈥 refers to the comic-strip format of the books, not to the content.
鈥淕raphic novels are very popular right now. If we do this, does this mean that librarians have to go through every graphic novel? What about violence as a graphic novel?鈥 reads the committee鈥檚 report.
The sharp increase in oversight and control of children鈥檚 reading at school is welcomed by some parents, conservative pundits and lawmakers who argue that students can stumble across sexual topics too early, or access books that undermine their family鈥檚 beliefs and values. Library advocates say that existing book challenge procedures, as well as the expertise of credentialed school librarians, were already sufficient to ensure school book collections remain appropriate.
The conservative activist group St. Charles County Parents Association is currently compiling a list of 鈥渃riminal鈥 books, according to its website. Earlier this month, the group posted links to local law enforcement agencies, while recently adding that 鈥渇iling a police report is a last ditch effort to be used when all other avenues have failed.鈥
Violations of the law by school employees who provide such materials to students are considered a class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a fine of $2,000.
The law has already caused a 鈥渃hilling effect鈥 on academic freedom, even if it won鈥檛 be enforced, said Joe Kohlburn, head of the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Missouri Library Association.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just an intimidation tactic,鈥 he said of the law. 鈥淥ne sympathizes with school administrators who feel like they鈥檙e protecting their staff, but this is undermining the purpose of their institution, their libraries and the professional ethics of a librarian.鈥
Some districts including St. 不良研究所导航网址 Public Schools and Maplewood Richmond Heights said they did not remove any books in response to the law.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 censor anything at this point,鈥 said Maplewood Richmond Heights Superintendent Bonita Jamison. 鈥淲e are not changing what we do for kids because we know what they need. They are going out into a diverse society.鈥
A spokesman for St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said there are more pressing concerns than library books but that his office would handle any complaint on its merit.
At least five other states have recently passed laws like Missouri鈥檚 restricting access to books at school, according to Illinois nonprofit EveryLibrary.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association鈥檚 Office for Intellectual Freedom, said she has never seen such a strong, successful movement to ban books.
鈥淭his shows an inability to respect the rights of individual students, particularly older students,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 treating them like 5-year-olds, which is not the most helpful or useful thing we could be doing and is in fact teaching lessons in censorship.鈥
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Originally posted at 4:20 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29.