Pasco libraries ‘suppress’ more than 100 children’s books with LGBTQ+ themes
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The Pasco County library system has removed 130 children's books for a review of their appropriateness after county commissioner Seth Weightman raised questions about their content regarding "transsexuals" and "all the things that go on that people figure out in life as they get older. " Weightman told his colleagues he acted after one “customer” raised concerns about the book “Calvin” in the library’s picture book section. The story by J. R. and Vanessa Ford is about a transgender child figuring out how to introduce himself to the world.
It appears “harmless” at first glance, Weightman said during a Sept. 3 meeting. But “it is adult conversation in our kids’ environment about transsexuals, all the things that go on that people figure out in life as they get older. ” The decision to pull and review the books is the latest example of a debate that has been playing out across Florida in recent years, usually in its public schools. The Nassau County School Board, for instance, this week settled a four-month lawsuit brought by publishers who challenged that district’s authority to remove books from shelves, including “And Tango Makes Three,” without adequate public notice or legal rationale.
That case ended with a deal that required the school district to return 36 books to the shelves — including some on the list Pasco has now “suppressed” in its libraries, such as “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins and “Eleanor and Park” by Rainbow Rowell. School districts including Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough have faced sporadic challenges about whether certain books that contain sexual content are appropriate for students. Hillsborough schools removed “This Book Is Gay,” which also appeared on the Pasco County library list. County libraries have not been as widely involved in the discussion, said Stephana Ferrell, who tracks book challenges for Florida Freedom to Read Project. She said only a handful of counties, such as Citrus and Manatee, have dealt with the issue.
But, Ferrell said, “We knew this was coming. ” Weightman, who has young children, said he asked county staff to look at the library collection using the Florida Department of Education’s annual challenged b.