Letters to the Editor: If libraries restrict certain children’s books, what will be next?

Editor’s note: This letter was originally published on June 28, 2023. It is republished here to accompany the video based on the original letter.

To the editor: I spoke at the Huntington Beach City Council meeting about the proposal by Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark to restrict certain library books. Her plan goes beyond just labeling books for children or moving disputed teen titles into the adult section — she wants to restrict any access of said books to anyone under 18 years old without a parent present.

One title currently shelved in the children’s nonfiction section, “It’s Perfectly Normal,” is a very frank description of going through puberty and developing sexuality. If this book is to be restricted, are all the other titles dealing with this subject to be restricted?

“Grandad’s Pride” shows a child’s grandfather hugging his partner and going to a Pride parade. If this book is to be locked up, will other children’s books that have LGBTQ+ themes or characters also be restricted?

The title that most concerns me is the adult nonfiction book “Gender Queer.” If this book is to be restricted because someone 17 or under might find it and look at it, then will all the other adult nonfiction books that deal with sex also be locked up?

When you start denying access to these titles, are you denying the rights of those who can’t provide identification or teens who believe they have the right to look at the books they want? Who gets to decide what’s obscene when the library only orders books that have been positively reviewed by reliable sources?

Unless, of course, this will all just be an excuse to privatize the city’s library system.

Barbara Richardson, Huntington Beach

The writer is a former children’s librarian for the Huntington Beach Public Library.