Abbeville, La. - Earlier this year, Governor Jeff Landry required all libraries in the state of Louisiana to adopt a new policy that would require a parent or guardian to decide whether their child may check out books that contain sexually explicit material.
Elizabeth Desormeaux, who has a 15-year-old son in Vermilion Public Schools, told KATC that while she was not aware of this new bill, she believes it’s a step in the right direction. “It’s pretty important to have an input in your child’s education. It’s a good thing, this way parents can be a little more aware of their children
reading to make sure it’s appropriate for their own personal home life,” she said.
The bill argues that the fundamental rights of parents include the right to decide the upbringing and education of their children. This also includes romance novels and health books.
Across the country, we are seeing a political divide on books. According to the American Library Association report, 24 book titles and three book ban attempts occurred in Louisiana last year.
This is having an impact on librarians nationwide.
“It was very nerve wracking because obviously I want to follow the law but as a librarian, I’m all about access to information. A lot of librarians are getting death threats and it’s unnecessary. It’s really up to the parent to have these discussions with their children,” said Vermilion Parish Library Director Charlotte Bourg.
This comes at a time when Governor Landry has put pressure on public libraries to adhere to this new change and enforce libraries like Vermilion Parish to adopt a new card system that parents must sign off on.
“The important thing for parents to know is that their children will not be able to checkout without them filling this form out. So, if you have a 16-year-old or someone who is in high school and they are coming to get books or materials for a class, they are not going to be able to check those items out unless the parent has come out and filled this form,” Bourg said.
In order to comply with the new legislation, RS 25:225 (House act 436) parents/guardians are required to fill out a “Minor Patron Materials Restriction Form.”
