The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

My name is Judy Yirsa. I am a wife, a mother of three daughters and a resident of Big Sandy. I also am a co-collaborator of the Protect our Choteau County Kids petition and attended and spoke at the board meeting in May during the public comment section. Contrary to most people’s opinion, I believe that the last meeting was very fruitful! Since the meeting, I requested a public recording and listened to previous comments multiple times intently listening to the other citizen’s concerns. After careful reflection, I was glad to realize that we had A LOT in common! 1) We all share a love for our local libraries! We all agree that these places are wonderful and extremely vital to our communities. 2) NO ONE WANTS TO BAN BOOKS! 3)We all deeply appreciate and are supportive of our library staff. In fact, after the meeting in May, I introduced myself to staff from the Choteau County library. The two I met were both extremely kind and very patient as my friends, Michelle Danreuther, and Whitney Bahnmiller asked them questions regarding labeling books, challenging books, and the corresponding protocol, as well as book purchasing procedures. My friends and I stayed for 2 hours having a peaceful discourse regarding the petition and the public comments. We heard them voice their concerns and we even asked them for their feedback on our public comments. I left the library feeling a sense of understanding on both sides. It was fantastic! This brings me to the last shared sentiment. 4) We love our community, especially our kids! As I listened to the recording, I realized that with so much in common, our differences were few. Then as I listened closer, I realized that the main issue was miscommunication. Although my friends and I voiced it many times that our intention was not to hate or discriminate towards a certain group, but to shield our young children from any content whether written or illustration in the form of sex, pornography, self-harm, or themes dealing with LGBTQ+. Our suggested solution to this dilemma was outlined in our petition in 5 points.

• The first point being that all books containing explicit material including LGBTQ+ themes be properly identifiable with labels. I was informed during the public comment that the Fort Benton branch was already doing so, however after perusing in the children’s section for a few minutes, I found 3 books on the top shelf display pertaining to LGBTQ+ material that were not labeled. I brought them immediately to the attention of the staff, at which point we began our constructive conversation. Ms. O’Hara provided us with protocol procedures which after review, we realized did not offer the option to simply label and move the books in question, but instead ask, “What would you like your library to do about this material? Withdraw it completely____ Put on a closed shelf and circulate only on request from adult____” Because we are ardently against banning books, we felt that this form would confuse patrons and so we await on the board members to consider our petition requests. We also noted before, that there are other books not in the category of LGBTQ+ that contain explicit material that would be extremely helpful if it too had a label. Thus, we suggested creating a label for sexually explicit material and self-harm. Much like warning labels on movies, music cd’s and video games, these labels would help parents identify inappropriate content. In the May meeting I heard people’s comments such as, “…librarians can’t possibly read every book!” I agree! However, after a quick search on the MSC (Montana State Catalog) I discovered descriptions of all such categories conveniently listed for the public. Furthermore, I happily volunteer my findings to submit books containing such content. Moreover, I heard other people’s remarks saying, “…librarians are not babysitters!” Once again, I agree! I accompany my children to the library and am vigilant in their choosing of books. Just as librarians place labels on categories such as Holidays, fairy tales and graphic novels, this would really be no different.

• Our second point alluded to separating explicit content from the reach of children. This was a bit ambiguous as we, the drafters of the petition did not know what that would look like originally, but upon review, seeing as it refers to adult material, we suggest placing such content in the adult section. I personally believe it to be a happy compromise for all in that the books themselves remain in the library, are properly labeled revealing their content and would be out of the immediate reach of young children. We will continue to implore the board to consider this option as a possible accord. The second part of this point was edified at the state level indicating that legislation protects minors from attending sexually oriented events in public property.

• The third and fourth points called for a definition of what in fact was explicit material and cooperation of all staff and board to help with the above stated points.

• The last point was requesting the opportunity to present book lists containing books that parents would like to see present in their local branches. It came to my attention last year that books that are not checked out within 3 years are discarded, including classics. Likewise, I learned at the board meeting that new books are consistently ordered every year and that there was an emphasis on diversifying the collection. Although many parents can agree that we love gaining new books for our children to read, several classics should be staples of a community library! Therefore, we submitted a list of books compiled by a few moms containing enriching books with inspiring characters and compelling storylines. After all this is our tax dollars at work, we most certainly should have a say in what books are offered in our community!

Thus, I re-iterate to all neighbors, residents of Choteau County, library staff and board members, we parents saw a concern, we acted alerting fellow neighbors and offered what we believe was a reasonable solution asking for explicit material to be properly labeled and placed in the adult section (NOT BANNED). In the meantime, I humbly ask that our right to parent and guide our children be respected. I realize that one day we’ll have to teach them about the world, but please respect our prerogative to deem the age which we feel is appropriate. These parameters don’t hurt anyone, in fact it makes the content clear and evident for all.

Sincerely,

Judy Yirsa