(The Sentinel) — Last month, at a meeting of the Hays Public Library Board, local residents were up in arms over a “Banned Books Week” display that contained books one resident and his son described as “pornographic.”

According to the Hays Post, Hays Public Library Board President Amy Feauto said the books were displayed in the “young adult” section and were part of “an American Library Association awareness campaign that runs for one week every year.”

“While we understand that a number of the comments circulating on social media these last few days focused on content within examples of books that have been targets of banning that were on display, the display was not about promoting any particular book,” Feauto said in the meeting.”It was instead about the free and open exchange of ideas. The display included, in fact, arguments on both sides of the issue of book banning, including examples of arguments for and against banning certain books, in keeping with the idea that the foundation of a public library rests upon a free and open exchange of ideas.”

However, rural Ellis County resident Joe Geibler said he was told the “Young Adult” section is for children ages 11-18.

Among the books were titles like “Gender Queer,” “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” “The Kite Runner,” and “13 Reasons Why.”

Those have among them explicit discussions of sexuality and sex practices, and discussions of suicide. Geibler said in an interview with the Sentinel that he went to see for himself after his 13-year-old daughter came to him with concerns.

He found that the book display was next to the section that had video games for checkout.

Moreover, the library’s own “Intellectual Freedom Policy” does not appear to have any restrictions on what children can check out.

“A child’s library card presents opportunities for many fascinating educational and entertaining experiences, and parents should encourage their children to explore them,” the policy reads. “The Public Library provides a wide variety of materials representing many points of view on topics of interest to the community. All libraries contain some printed and audiovisual materials which some parents find inappropriate for their children. It is the responsibility of the parent, and not the library, to decide which ideas and materials a child should be exposed. (emphasis added.)”

While that is true, Giebler argues that it is the place of the library to put explicit books out for children to see.

“I don’t feel any book should be banned,” he said. “But, you know, you can’t go to a rated R movie if you’re under 17. That’s because of restrictions. So, you know, why can’t there be restricted age limits and restrictions on that kind of disgusting material for a little kid to be exposed to?”

Indeed, in an audio recording obtained by the Sentinel, HPL Library Director Brandon Hines admitted to Giebler that he wouldn’t allow his own children to read many of the books on the list.

“I support this display. I mean, I don’t support every single book on it,” Hines said in the recording. “I have my personal preferences on books for my children, and that’s your prerogative. You are not required to check out any of those books.”

Explicit library books targeted at children is nothing new

In 2021, the Sentinel reported that a book detailing the sexual exploits of a young man was on the approved reading list for students as young as sixth grade in some Johnson County School districts. The Blue Valley, Olathe, and Shawnee Mission School Districts had to respond to agitated parents after an Olathe school board candidate posted pages from the “All Boys Aren’t Blue” to Facebook.

The book is a nonfiction memoir that describes sexual acts in graphic detail. Good Reads calls it “a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for queer men of color.”

In 2022, USD 450 Shawnee Heights twice rejected parents’ concerns over the same book.

One parent, Jill Foster-Koch, met with her children’s school principals to no avail.  She then appealed to Shawnee Heights Superintendent Tim Hallacy.  He said in his two-page rejection that not all parents share her objections:

”The reality of your request is it would deny access to these resources for everyone else. I believe other students and parents are best positioned to make those decisions for themselves. I will not remove or restrict these books for others.”

In 2023, A Kansas City, Kansas, USD 500 kindergarten teacher proudly, but anonymously, posted on a social media page that they had read the book Julian is a Mermaid to their class. But efforts to identify the instructor, or to solicit a comment from school officials about the book, have been unsuccessful.

The book, about a young boy infatuated with mermaids to the point of wanting to become one, won the 2019 Stonewall Book Award in the Children’s and Young Adult Literature category. The award is co-sponsored by the American Library Association. On the ALA website announcing the award, the book was lauded for its “exceptional merit for children or teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience.”