Huntington Beach formally adopts parent/guardian children’s book review board

Huntington Beach is moving forward with its parent/guardian children’s book review board after it received another round of approval at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

The vote was the same as the initial vote two weeks prior, when the board item was introduced. Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, Mayor Pro Tem Pat Burns, and council members Casey McKeon and Tony Strickland voted in favor, with council members Dan Kalmick, Natalie Moser and Rhonda Bolton voting against.

Now finalized, Ordinance No. 4318 will add Chapter 2.66 to the city’s municipal code, relating to the “Community-Parent Guardian Review Board for Review of Procurement of Children’s Library Material.”

Several in the crowd, holding black and white signs with the same word, yelled out “Shame!” after the final vote was taken Tuesday night.

“You’re disrupting the meeting,” Van Der Mark said, before calling for a five-minute recess.

Public comments were less numerous than the previous meeting, but the vast majority of the 40-plus speakers were against the creation of the board, which will have up to 21 members.

Jose and Elena Uranga wave signs and join in chants in protest of plans to privatize the city’s libraries and create a children’s book review board, in Huntington Beach on Friday.

(Eric Licas)

Possible library privatization of library operations has also been a controversial issue in Surf City, with the council majority voting to initiate an RFP process on March 19. On Friday night, more than 100 people gathered at the Main Street Branch Library and completed a silent march to the pier in protest.

Lynne Deakers, who introduced herself as a mother of four grown children and a school librarian for 20 years at a Catholic school in Huntington Beach, spoke out against the review board item at Tuesday’s meeting.

“This cannot be about personal preferences,” she said. “This oversight board is unacceptable to me. If it’s pornography you’re worried about, I assure you — librarians don’t want pornography in libraries either.”

Resident Ann Palmer, however, called the parent/guardian review board “exemplary.”

“This is a perfect example of participatory government, which is a leading principle in local government,” she said.

Eric Silkenson, left, applauds for people who marched in protest Friday over plans to privatize the Huntington Beach libraries and create a children’s book review board.

(Eric Licas)

Members of the board will pull children’s books they want to review from a list of thousands the library procures every year. The decisions of the board are final.

“If any book can be pulled by any member of the board, what stops someone from just pulling every single book, basically saying, ‘I want to review all of them?’” Kalmick asked, expressing his doubt about a process he believes “could get broken by a bad actor.”

He also noted that if one member hasn’t reviewed a book, the board can’t take a vote, which could also be abused.

Additionally, Kalmick asked if any private organizations that were submitting a bid during the RFP process were aware that they could potentially be litigants in a 1st Amendment lawsuit.

“[The] RFP’s in draft mode, but yes, that’s a consideration right now,” responded Deputy City Manager Catherine Jun.

Demonstrators wave signs and shout slogans while marching against plans to privatize libraries and create a children’s book review board in Huntington Beach.

(Eric Licas)

Moser made a substitute motion against adopting Ordinance No. 4318, in favor of keeping the library’s current collection development policy. She read that policy aloud from the dais.

“What I appreciate about this library policy is that it’s thought through, it relies on professional librarians, it considers the needs of the entire community,” Moser said, adding that it provides a method for requesting a book’s removal.

Moser’s substitute motion was defeated by a 4-3 vote.

Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, issued a statement Wednesday morning.

“We are dismayed at the board’s decision to remove curatorial decisions from professional control and put it into the hands of untrained political appointees,” Meehan said. “As we previously warned, this will surely diminish access to a wide array of books, and will chip away at the freedom to read in Huntington Beach.”

The protesters on Friday night felt the same; Moser attended the event.

“It’s unfortunate that they have to be out here for this, but I’m so proud of our community for coming together,” she said Friday night. “I know they’re going to keep doing it, keep fighting for our libraries, for free speech and for our librarians.”

Freelance writer/photographer Eric Licas contributed to this story.