GRAND FORKS – Members of the Grand Forks library board have voted to keep six books on sex education and puberty in the children’s section after residents and a representative of the American Civil Liberties Union spoke out against moving more books.
Last month, board members voted to move three books to the newly revitalized Young Adult Nonfiction section after a local resident asked the board to remove three books with similar themes either from the children’s section or from the library entirely.
The board took a different course on Wednesday after several community members expressed concern that the board’s previous decision imposed a form of “soft censorship” on library users.
John Fick, a retired pastor of Sharon Lutheran Church, expressed concern that the board had set a precedent that represented “dangerous, slippery terrain.”
“Because you have accepted the challenges of some people about books about sexuality and that has been very public, you are not obligated to accept the challenges of others on any subject, be it politics, religion or whatever,” he said.
Cody Schuler, advocacy manager for the ACLU of North Dakota, criticized the panel’s decision in a letter published in the Herald in July and also raised concerns about censorship, pointing to the nationwide increase in book challenges.
He also said the board has a duty to support its staff’s decision-making when political rhetoric claims librarians distribute pornography to children or are “groomers” – a slang term for sex offenders.
Ron Barta, a current candidate for Grand Forks County Commission, directed both attacks against Grand Forks Public Library staff in January.
The six books that competed against each other were Bunk 9’s Guide to Growing Up, Ready, Set, Grow!, 100% Me, Who Has What and Will Puberty Length Lengthy Lengths Lengths Lengths Lengths Lengths Lengths Lengths Longer than Puberty.
The complainant, Sara Ellenwood, is a homeschooling mother who has previously filed complaints against several books, including “Who Has What” and “Will Puberty Last My Whole Life?”
Library staff reviewed Ellenwood’s claim before appealing it to the committee.
Board member Paul Traynor compared the materials in the books to the Responsible Living course he took in seventh grade in 1976.
“There is nothing in these books that I would describe as obscene, pornographic or inappropriate,” he said. “There are illustrations that I think you would find in any anatomy, biology or sex education textbook in any public school in the United States.”
The board also discussed whether it had been a mistake to create a completely new nonfiction section for young adults.
Library Committee Chairman Brad Sherwood, who was among the supporters of the new department, reiterated that the purpose of the young adult nonfiction department is to draw attention to these books, which generally have low circulation numbers, not to suppress them.
“We saw it as responsibility and advocacy rather than gentle censorship,” he said.
He had previously pointed out that this was only the second time in the past 44 years that the Library Committee had been asked to review books.
Joshua Irvine covers K-12 and higher education and the Grand Forks County Commission for the Grand Forks Herald. He joined the Herald in October 2023.
