Arkansas
officials meet again on schoolbook censorship debate

The Fayetteville, Ark., school board listened as numerous parents and students gave their opinions on whether access to several dozen library books should be limited on grounds that they are sexually explicit or deal with homosexuality. The board took no action after Tuesday night's session and is to meet again Thursday, when it will hear from the board's lawyer and school librarians. Tuesday's meeting was limited to the 300-seat capacity of the Fayetteville High School auditorium. Laurie Taylor, a mother of 13- and 12-year-old daughters, first raised the library issue in February. Her daughters are now homeschooled, though she is persisting in her effort to make Fayetteville schools require parental approval before children can read the books she finds offensive. "I don't want to ban anything. I want to keep the books, all the books," said Taylor, who noted that she was surprised her proposal was controversial. Taylor called the content of the books at issue "pornographic and vile." "It's not OK for my kids to access to this stuff," she said. Many who spoke were in favor of free access to books in the library. "Books are the epitome of life," said Fayetteville High School senior Monica Ramos, who was in favor of open access to books on library shelves. Erin Brothers presented board members a petition signed by 300 high school students asking the board to "affirm their right to read." The petition also asked the board to put two students on all book review committees. Ann Hanna, who has five grandchildren in Fayetteville schools, said she was offended by librarians at Harding University who attempted to control her reading as a college freshman but said she has now changed her thinking. "I see the wisdom in that now because our children are so vulnerable to depression," Hanna said. "It's very important for us to have guidelines to teach our children and grandchildren--my generation has failed to stand for righteousness and purity." Republican state senator Jim Holt, who is running for lieutenant governor, had requested an opinion from Atty. Gen. Mike Beebe on whether content in the books ran afoul of Arkansas law. Beebe wrote that he didn't have authority to pursue "the sort of factual inquiry that such a determination entails." Beebe said local prosecutors make decisions on whether to file charges. Fayetteville school superintendent Bobby New said prosecutors in Arkansas would be unwise to charge school administrators based on the content of books in libraries. Fayetteville alone makes 317,000 books available in its school libraries, he said. "It would tie up the resources of the court.... We would find ourselves in Arkansas being seen across the nation as wasting a lot of valuable resources and judges' time," he said. New said he trusts his librarians to make the right decisions on available material. "These books may offend one group, but not other groups," he said. Fayetteville school board president Steve Percival said the panel would work to find a solution that all sides can live with. "Our obligation is to marry all this together," Percival said. (AP)