Board in Johnson County, KS, Board Excises ALA Bill of Rights Language

-- Library Journal, 05/04/2005

Does the American Library Association’s (ALA) Bill of Rights stop a library from protecting children from pornography? Worried about that possibility, the board of the Johnson County Library (JCL), Overland Park, KS, recently voted 4-3 to strip the language from the library’s collection development guidelines. The action may turn out to be symbolic, as two of the board members who voted to delete the language are at the end of their term. Plus, patrons have made their displeasure over the action known to JCL staff.

“Because of patron response to the action, the staff will request that the action be reconsidered,” County Librarian Mona Carmack said. Barton Cohen, who led the effort to delete the ALA Bill of Rights language, told the Kansas City Star that he particularly opposed ALA language regarding the importance of “presenting all points of view on current and historical issues.”