FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2024
Community Library Network Approves New Material Selection and Withdrawal Policies
POST FALLS, ID. The Community Library Network Board of Trustees approved and issued a new Material Selection and Acquisition policy and a new Material Withdrawal and Reconsideration policy on Monday, June 17, 2024. The two new policies replace the previous single Material Selection Policy. The new Idaho “Children’s School and Library Protection Act” (HB710) that was passed into law earlier this year mandates changes to library policies to accommodate public requests to move “Material Harmful to Minors” to an adult-access-only area of the library.
The CLN Board of Trustees chose to split the policy into two policies. The selection policy guides the purchasing decisions regarding what material CLN can acquire and it has its own definition of what is unacceptable in material for minors. The withdrawal and reconsideration policy uses the exact “harmful to minors” definition found in the new Idaho statute and stipulates the process and forms used to review and relocate such material. Recent court decisions have stated that “libraries are afforded great discretion with their selection and acquisition decisions,” meaning they have more freedom with what they choose to purchase than what they are able to remove.
The CLN Board of Trustees elected to make the new relocation request process available to the public and easy to submit. Forms must be signed by the submitter and scanned and emailed back, or mailed or personally delivered to the CLN offices, but they cannot be filled out on-line or automatically submitted by computers or “bots.” The CLN Board of Trustees intends the process to be helpful to staff if a book with “material harmful to minors” has been improperly located or overlooked. It is intended to engage the public with helping make the library safer for children.
Community Library Network Board of Trustees
Tim Plass, Clerk.