Lincoln Parish Library gearing up to fight book bills once again

The Lincoln Parish Library is once again taking action against multiple bills filed in this year’s Louisiana legislative session, including one bill local board members believe is a veiled attempt at strengthening book-banning practices.

After spearheading a statewide effort by public libraries to oppose library content bills backed by then-Attorney General Jeff Landry throughout last year’s session, with partial success, the Lincoln Parish Library Board of Control unanimously passed a resolution Thursday standing against House Bills 414 and 640 filed in the current session, which began last week.

Authored by lawmakers hailing from Lafayette and St. Tammany Parishes — whose library systems are embattled by disputes over content bans — HB414 would remove public libraries’ longstanding immunity from criminal obscenity prosecution, while HB640 would allow local governments to remove library board members from their posts without cause.

Obscenity prosecution

Louisiana’s criminal obscenity law has long exempted public libraries from prosecution along with a host of other entities such as schools, churches, museums, hospitals and several others.

“This would be a monumental change in Louisiana criminal law,” board member Bill Jones said. “There is no reason for it.”

A lawyer and former state senator, Jones lobbied in Baton Rouge last year on behalf of the library against bills that sought to restrict minor patrons’ access to materials deemed “sexually explicit.” One such bill became law in a somewhat watered-down form.

Now Jones believes HB414 is simply a more heavy-handed way to achieve the same end — getting material removed from libraries by threat of criminal prosecution.

“It gives unfair advantage to people who want to bypass the process of the laws that were passed last year to ban books,” he said. “That’s what it’s about.”

The bill was filed by Rep. Josh Carlson, a Republican from Lafayette, where the public library system has frequently debated content restrictions. 

Carlson could not be reached for comment by press time Friday.

The Lafayette library system earlier this month passed a ban on displays celebrating things like Black History Month, Women’s History Month and Pride Month, according to a KATC report.

“This is what’s going to happen,” Jones said. “Somebody — which would not even have to be a patron of the Lincoln Parish Library — could walk in the door, ‘I want to speak to the director.’ And say to (Director Jeremy Bolom), ‘If you don’t take these books out of your collection, my next stop is going to be the district attorney’s office, and I’m going to file a criminal complaint against you.’”

Bolom said it appears anyone on a library staff could potentially be prosecuted under the effects of this bill.

So libraries would likely acquiesce to any demands to remove material rather than repeatedly force their employees to undergo criminal investigation.

“Basically it’s just a work-around for censorship,” board member Richard Pyles said.

Jones and Bolom believe the obscenity statute would also apply to digital content checked out through the library.

Unlike the majority of its physical material, local library employees don’t have specific control over what content is available in its digital collections, as they share those collections with library consortiums.

Act 436 from the 2023 legislative session requires libraries to allow parents of minor patrons to request they be given a library card that restricts access to any content deemed “sexually explicit.”

Patrons can challenge any material in the library’s collection, and the board must then review it and rule on whether it fits the new law’s definition of explicit.

Lincoln Parish Library was the first in the state to oppose this measure. Jones’ lobbying efforts led to the material review process beginning with a patron complaint, rather than libraries having to proactively review every material in its collection up front.

Since the bill became law, Bolom said the library has not received any material challenges from patrons.

But now HB414 threatens to supersede this law as a more direct path to censorship, the board fears.

“The book-banners would win, and they would be the ones who decide what materials are available to everyone else,” Jones wrote in an analysis of the bill.

Removing board members

HB640, by Rep. Jay Gallé, R-Mandeville, would allow local governing authorities to remove library board members from their seats with or without cause.

“That doesn’t even sound right, does it?” Jones said. “It’s not right. It sounds like pure politics.”

Gallé could not be reached for comment by press time Friday.

The board opposed a similar bill last year which was ultimately defeated.

Like then, Thursday’s resolution opposed HB640 in its current form but supports amendments to allow the termination of board members for good cause, because current law isn’t clear on whether local governments could do that.

“There really ought to be a mechanism so you can get a board constituted that could actually get to work,” Jones said. “But there has to be good cause.”

The Lincoln Parish Police Jury owns the library and appoints its board members to staggered five-year terms.

In St. Tammany Parish, which Gallé represents, the parish council recently debated removing library board members after years of contentious battles over content restrictions, according to the Louisiana Illuminator.

The Louisiana Library Association during a conference last week discussed both bills but has not taken any official action or stance on them this early in the session.

The LLA also presented Jones with an award for his efforts during last year’s session.

In its resolution the board urges parish residents and library patrons to contact their legislators to share their thoughts on HB414 and 640.

Both bills have been referred to a House committee but have not yet been scheduled for a hearing as of Friday afternoon.