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Book challengers in Huntsville finally got their way Tuesday as the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library moved several books to adult sections of the library.
The board in July voted narrowly not to move “All Boys Aren’t Blue” after a discussion on how its sexually explicit passages fit into the work as a whole. The book is classified for adults and teens 16 years and older, but the library section for older teens includes works recommended for teens ages 12 to 17.
Policies have been updated at the library system since then, however, and a list showing the status of the library’s statement of concern resolutions shows that 10 challenged books have been moved since then, some of them specifically referencing a reevaluation due to revised policies.
One of those books is “Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia,” a sex education book designed for older teens that may have been moved out of the young adult section under former policies. The library had previously moved two other sex education books, “Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships and Being a Human” and “Sex Plus: Learning, Loving and Enjoying Your Body,” before the policy changes,.
Another sex education book, “Sex Education: A Guide to Life,” had previously been challenged and the status shows that only after reevaluating the book based on new policies to move to the adult nonfiction for sexually explicit content.
One of the most controversial sex education books in libraries has also been moved. “It’s Perfectly Normal,” a 1994 book designed to teach children entering adolescence about sexual development using cartoonish illustration that include sex and nudity, has also been moved to the adult nonfiction section.
The books moved go beyond sexually explicit content though. “The Big Bath House” has been moved to the international media center in adult fiction for nudity. The picture book depicts the author’s memory of attending a communal bath house in Japan, where women of all ages and body types are using the facility. The illustrations are cartoonish and scant in detail.
The book “Melissa,” meanwhile, has been recommended for placement in young adult fiction for “non-sexual nudity.” The book tells the story of a transgender fourth grader dealing with their identity as well as school life. It was the most challenged book from 2018 to 2020 according to the American Library Association. The recommendation for placement in the young adult section could still be appealed by the challenger.
The library has also moved a book with no apparent sexually explicit content or nudity: “It Feels Good to be Yourself: A Book about Gender Identity.” The status of the statement of concern shows that the library has moved the book to the “Adult Nonfiction — Parenting” section “due to need fro parental guidance to discuss terms and vocabulary.”
The library also moved three books from author Ellen Hopkins for sexually explicit content: “Tricks,” “Crank,” and “Identical.” The graphic novel “Fine: A Comic about Gender” has been moved to the adult graphic novel section for nudity. The graphic novel “Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure” has been moved to the adult graphic novel section for nudity and sexually explicit content.
Only one challenge was denied: a patron had filed a statement concern about the children’s book “Worm Loves Worm” which depicts two worms getting married. At one point in the book, the worms can’t decide who should be the groom and who the bride and decide to each be both bride and groom. Real earthworms are hermaphrodites.
“A Family is a Family is a Family,” a book about different types of families including ones with two dads or moms, had been challenged but the status of the challenge shows that the challenger did not complete the requirements to contest the book.
Two other challenged books were not on the library shelves but found within the library’s digital resources through Hoopla and Libby, which the library says it has limited control over.
There are still two challenges currently remaining: “This Book is Gay” and “Being You: A First Conversation about Gender.”
The policy changes came one the heels of new state aid requirements by the Alabama Public Library Service dictating that libraries develop policies to keep sexually explicit content and “other inappropriate materials” out of youth sections. The code has been criticized by many librarians as overbroad and designed to target LGBTQ+ content as well as sexual content.
