The Irving Public Library Board is considering changes to the city library system’s collection development policy.
The potential revisions would remove most mentions of “diversity” and outline certain new standards of acceptance for books and other library materials, among other things.
At their meeting last month, board members discussed extensive potential revisions to the city’s policy, which guides how library materials are selected and maintained.
Although the changes haven’t been voted on yet, the board is expected to move toward a final proposal during their April 6 meeting. A board member confirmed the proposal will then go to the Irving City Council.
Potential revisions to the text
The revisions would overhaul policy language and place upfront “reflection on the good life, and the structure of society” in the library’s role as a source of information to residents.
One potential change alters “quality” principles and professional standards, moving emphasis away from “professional discretion and standards established by the library profession,” and instead toward “widely-recognized standards of excellence in literature and writing.”
The potential revisions to this section also remove sentences regarding the purpose of professional review sources, like Kirkus Reviews and Booklist.
Two paragraphs down, the existing Diversity and Inclusion section is struck through entirely. That section outlines the library’s current policy of “[striving] to meet the informational needs of all ages, backgrounds, and education levels of our community.” The struck-through text notes that the library collection “broadly reflects the diversity that exists in our culture and society.”
Board Chair Flory Malloy said during the March 23 meeting that the paragraph “did not have any additional information that was not already in the policy.”
Based on KERA’s analysis of potential revisions, the words “diversity” and “diverse” appear in the current policy five times. They are struck through in all but one instance. In the Responsiveness section, the word “diverse” remains.
Other parts of the paragraph are struck through, including the sentence, “The [Irving Public Library] believes that individuals have the freedom to accept or reject an item from the IPL’s collection for their personal use.”
Potential revisions to the Selection Criteria section include adjustments to this point: “Reputation or authority of the author or publisher, with preference generally given to titles vetted in the editing and publishing industry,” with all text after the comma struck through. Points have been added to include “quality of art/illustrations,” “permanent value as a standard work” and “consistent with community standards regarding sexual explicitness and violence.”
Extensive potential revisions have also been added into the Children/Juvenile and Young Adult Collections section.
One of the additions states that the library “remains committed” to Children, Juvenile and Young Adult collections that offer space for young readers to grow. Although the words “diversity” and “diverse” have been struck through across the text in most instances, new suggested language in the minor collections policy maintains that the library provides materials that “represent the ethnic, religious, and cultural groups of the state and their contribution to Texas, the nation, and the world.”
Zooming Out
Laney Hawes is co-director of the Texas Freedom to Read Project, a nonprofit advocacy group.
In an interview with KERA, Hawes said she felt deeply concerned about the potential revisions.
“It became very clear that this wasn't just about keeping kids safe from alleged sexually explicit materials,” she said. “This is about a massive policy overhaul that would ultimately turn the library into a place that represents one singular, narrow ideology.”
Hawes pointed to a specific line about the quality of library materials and their selection.
“In the past it's been based on professional discretion and standards of librarians, and those practices that librarians professionally know and have learned about,” she said.
“It replaces it with ‘widely recognized standards of excellence in literature and writing.’ And what does that mean, right? It is so wide open, so subjective. In fact, you'd have to wonder if they already have a very specific set of guidelines in mind.”
The moves to alter collection development policy come amid other major changes in the Irving Public Library system.
Last month the city’s library director, Lynette Roberson, resigned from the role she began in 2022.
An interim director, Randy Robertson, was introduced to the board during their March meeting. The city is searching for a permanent director.
Earlier this year library patrons under 18 years old moved to a tiered access card system, in which parents or guardians must select a tier for their children to have access to library materials.
Members of the public attending the March board meeting offered thoughts on the potential changes to the collection development policy.
Kaye Hickox is president of Friends of the Irving Public Library, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to support library resources and programs. She said, in her capacity as a private citizen, that professional librarians use their education and ethical commitments to “fulfill the information needs” of the entire community.
“Having previously served on this library board for six years, I know how much time and money has been devoted to deconstructing the professional collection, the collection development policy and undermining the importance of our professional staff,” Hickox told the board.
She added, “This exercise has had nothing but a negative impact on the library services to citizens of Irving.”
Others supported the potential changes. A common theme throughout the remarks by supporters, at several board and city council meetings, is opposition to materials they describe as “sexually explicit” being accessible to minors.
Many of the speakers at these meetings highlighted materials portraying LGBTQ+ characters and relationships. According to the city website, “LGBTQ themed materials” make up about 3% of the library’s Young Adult collection.
Speakers in favor of increased restrictions on the library system sometimes cite a lack of trust in the American Library Association, or ALA.
Malloy, the board chair, said during the March meeting that she hopes to see the city bring in a permanent library director “comfortable with having a collection that serves the community, that does not necessarily conform with national, or ALA, or publisher standards.”
Among other priorities, Malloy also said she wants to see a new library director interested in curating collections that “respect family choices by putting books with mature content out of reach.”
Library board member Sophia Kwong Myers said in an interview with KERA that the potential revisions outlined at the meeting were not discussed collaboratively.
"They're certainly not reflective of some of my opinions and beliefs," Kwong Myers said.
Kwong Myers is in her third term as a library board member. She said when she joined, she was excited to participate in civic engagement and learn more about local governance. But she said over the last few years, there's been "a shift" in the board's role.
"It makes me sad because, in my experience," she said, "the library staff and employees are hardworking public servants that want to provide goods and public services to our community."
Next steps for the library board
The Irving city website states that the ALA is “NOT involved” in its library operations, but serves as a resource for information, guidance and professional development.
A few days after the library board meeting, at an Irving City Council meeting, speakers once again voiced their opinions on the potential revisions.
The city council public comment section was held at the end of the meeting and not live streamed, as has been the city’s policy for the past few months.
Like at the library board meeting, multiple residents spoke to the city council in favor of keeping the current collection development policy in place, while others supported the changes.
The library board’s next meeting takes place at the South Irving Library Monday, April 6, at 5:45 p.m.
According to the meeting agenda, the board will discuss their ongoing permanent library director search, in addition to reviewing and considering approval of the board’s suggested revisions to the collection development policy.
Editor's note: Sophia Kwong Myers is a member of KERA's Community Advisory Board.
Got a tip? Email Andy Lusk at alusk@kera.org.
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