BIG WINS! Wow, what happened at Commissioner's Court??
BIG WINS! Wow, what happened at Commissioner's Court??
The events described occurred in Montgomery County, Texas.
written by: Michele Nuckolls
This is long, so here is the reader’s digest paragraph. The Tuttle Twins books are going in. The alternate gender ideology books are going to the adult section with restricted checkout for adults over the age of 18. The list of approved vendors are being expanded to help include more conservative books, providing balance. Scroll to bottom for upcoming story-hour events near you!
Here is the story:
First, we read the books!
We need to start with Commissioner’s Court two weeks before on June 27th. We brought in a box of children’s books that promote alternate gender ideologies found in our libraries, and we, with many friends, read them aloud to the commissioners. We had been sending lists of the books to the commissioner’s offices like the list here, so we didn’t think this would be that surprising, but it seems we took them completely by surprise. This is interesting and shows how busy the commissioners and judge are, and why public comment is so important.
If you want to watch for yourself, you can do so here. Public comment begins about 39 minutes into the video.
The agenda for July 11th was interesting.
Many more people came to speak on July 11th. You can watch for yourself here. We woke up the opposition, and they came out to talk this time about the importance of not book banning. Pay no attention to the fact that not a single person asked for any books to be removed from the library at all.
There was a very nice article in the Shenandoah Sentinel that sums up things nicely. You can find it here.
Texas Scorecard picked up the story today! You can find that story here.
Public comment:
Ryan Hutson, a member of the library reconsideration board, gave comments, and in the middle of his comments Commissioner Noack interrupted him! When the timer went off Mr. Hutson was told his time was up, but Commissioner Noack spoke during much of his time. We were shocked to say the least!
This might be a good time to mention that Commissioner Noack seemed upset during this process.
I stood to speak about my communications about concerns with the lack of balance in the children’s section. When I first started looking into the contents of the children’s section, I found a long list of alternate gender books, but NO books teaching traditional gender. I also briefly touched on the bazaar series of events that occurred when we were trying to schedule the national See You at the Library events. If you aren’t familiar with these events, you can find out more from the video below or on the Brave Books website here. The date for these events was changed from July 15th to August 5th. When we went to reschedule the event, we found that every single Saturday had been blocked-off on the schedule from mid-May to August, something I have never seen before. A few months later, I became aware of a Zoom training done by the American Library Association to train librarians on how to block these events and the tactics looked familiar. (Eventually, with a little pressure, time was opened for us and friends to host three locations in Montgomery County. Event details are at the end of this post.)
Here are a few additional links about what has been going on with this nationally:
Cassandra Crowe, staffer with State Representative Steve Toth, shared concerns and disappointment about the seemingly intentional attempts to prevent Christian viewpoints/ events (part of the “balance” codified in our library policy.) She announced that Representative Toth would like to donate four hard bound copies of the book, Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier for every single library in our county. We hope the commissioners, judge, and library director will take his offer, as this book has well researched, evidence-based information that parents in our community desperately need.
We are so thankful for our friends with Citizens for Defending Freedom for guidance and support. Jennifer Eckhart’s experience and wisdom has been invaluable. Cyndie Phillips gave comments clarifying that we have not asked for book banning. She made an important point that while parents are responsible for their children, we should feel comfortable allowing our children to pick up books from the library. Everything should be allowed, but at what age should children be exposed to it? Martin Etwop also spoke about our history and tradition here in America. Pornography is not a part of that history and tradition and should not be available to children in our public libraries. Many more friends spoke in favor of protecting children that day, and we are so grateful.
The Opposition
The opposition came and their arguments were the usual talking points. I wonder where they got these talking points because they look awfully familiar.
“Book Banning”
They say we are all book banners even though we have been clear from the beginning that we are completely against book banning. We do not want any books to be removed from the library, and we are upset that our books have been shadow banned. I was told that day that when libraries put in policies that prevent conservative books from entering the library, that is called shadow banning. They banned our books, then accuse us of what they are doing.
We just want to protect the kids from ideas that they aren’t ready for. A seven-year-old child, who is years from puberty, doesn’t need to be reading a book where the main character decides she is asexual. A child this young doesn’t need to be concerned about sexual attraction at all. The book in question is a chapter book. Nothing about this book, on the cover, in the description, reveals that there is gender ideology in this book. This is deception. This book should not be in the children’s section. This is not book banning.
“Inclusive reading material is important.”
I don’t think anyone who is familiar with our libraries could possibly believe that we lack diversity within the stacks. That would be ridiculous. Do little girls need to be reading books that tell them that if they like “boy things” then they might be a boy? If a parent believes her child is transgendered, that parent can go get her child those books.
“We are just trying to keep trans kids alive.”
Moving books, labeling books, will stigmatize these kids, and they might kill themselves. This is emotional blackmail, and it doesn’t hold water. Gender dysphoria is the only difference I have ever heard of that has such an incredibly high suicide rate, and there are many differences (physical, emotional, intellectual) that people have been living with for thousands of years. The reality is that there is no real research behind this argument, in fact, parents are reporting that their children’s mental health spirals after social transition and even more severely after medical transition. (More people might know this if books like Irreversible Damage were placed in more libraries.)
“No one is actively grooming children to become transgender.”
This statement is like saying, there are no pedophiles in this county. I sure wish it was true, and it sure sounds good, but nobody should be that naïve. The reality is we are finding books that tell kids that if you feel uncomfortable during puberty (and who doesn’t) then you might be transgendered. I’m concerned about anyone who can’t see that for what it is.
After Deliberations:
The commissioners and judge went into executive session which is not a public session. We waited for an hour and a half for them to return.
Things went well! We were amazed at what decisions they made.
Broadening the Approved Vendor List
The first motion was to direct the Purchasing Director Gilbert Jalomo to add additional vendors to the list of approved vendors. This is so the libraries can curate a more balanced selection of books in our libraries, especially in the children’s section. Commissioner Gray seconds this motion, and in the discussion, Judge Keough specifically wants to include the Tuttle Twins books.
This is a huge win! We cannot begin to express how thankful we are.
Generify the Kids Section and Moving Alternate Gender Ideology Books to the Adult Section
In the second motion, Commissioner Noack explained that our library director would be working to group the books in the children’s section in themes. This way books will be easier to identify for parents. He made it clear that this won’t happen overnight, but the project will be in progress.
In the discussion of this motion, Judge Keough is concerned that some of the books need to be in the adult section. There is some back and forth, and we are thankful that Judge Keough stood his ground and was bold to get this done. In the end of this discussion, it was decided that the books in question (we understand that to be the alternate gender ideology books) would be placed in the adult section and restricted for checkout to adults over the age of 18.
This is another huge win, and we are so incredibly thankful! We have prayed so many prayers for the protection of children, and here we are. God is good. Please send your commissioner a thank you card.
On the Subject of the Vote of Full Confidence:
Our commissioners with our county judge unanimously voted they have full confidence in our library director. We trust our leaders did not come to this decision lightly, and that they believe she will work to follow the new policies set forth.
We will continue to visit, watch the catalogue, and share changes, lack of changes, and new findings to you. We greatly appreciate your support and help in our work.
Commissioner Noack’s comments about the calendar.
(Earlier in commissioners court, I had shared that when I attempted to reschedule the See You at the Library event, all of the Saturdays from mid-May through August had been blocked off for reservations.)
In Commissioner Noack’s comments he says, “…different groups do different tactics to take up space & Director Young is working on trying to make it more fair for everybody by limiting how many days people can have access to meeting rooms…”
This was a very interesting statement. Currently, in the reservation policy, it is stated, “To give equal opportunity for all organizations to use the meeting rooms, groups may not reserve meeting rooms more than 90 days in advance or more often than twice per month.”
We reserved one meeting room in Montgomery County this summer to host a See You at the Library event. We have friends who are individuals or with non-profits, who reserved one library also because they wanted to host a See You at the Library event. If I understand Commissioner Noack’s comment correctly this is a tactic to take up more space than we as citizens should have the right to (??), and this indicates our concern, that the blocking of all the Saturdays was for us, was likely valid (??). Wow.
(We have had 3 previous events, all on Thursday mornings when there was nothing on the calendar. We were not taking up space. Before our first read-aloud event, we had to wait two weeks to schedule the event because the library hadn’t finalized the spring sememster schedule, which is completely understandable. We worked around THEM, which is expected, and they worked out the schedule in a timely manner and let me know what the availability was. The library I was originally going to book was not available at the time I wanted, so I chose a different library. This is all reasonable. This wasn’t a grand conspiracy to take up time. We wanted one Saturday story hour, one time a year.)
By the time we were attempting to reschedule our events, the new date, August 5th was also on the Brave Books website for all the public, ahem, library administrators, to see, and interestingly (??), that date was especially on hold for back-to-school events, I mean family board game events, I mean for the schools to host events, I mean have a meeting people and get your story straight already.
We made inquiries as did friends. After an email I sent to our library director, as a last effort, three libraries became available, and we are thankful. At the end of this post will be details about each event that will be here in Montgomery County. There will be an event at the R.B. Tullis Library in New Caney, Mitchell Library in The Woodlands, and R.F. Meador Library in Willis. We hope to see you at the library on August 5th!
It’s Perfectly Normal, and other sex ed. books in the Young Adult section
General comments are allowed at the end, and during this time the book, It’s Perfectly Normal was brought up. This book was challenged in February. The concerned parent who filled out this challenge form sent in her comments to be read by another citizen. This citizen implored the commissioners to consider labeling this book and other books like it as adult books restricted for checkout also. This book is clearly written for children. The cover has a note on the front that says, “for children ages 10 and up.” It contains sexual descriptions and shows drawings of people having sex in various positions to instruct children in all the mechanics.
During these comments, Commissioner Noack speaks up to say that this book is in the adult section and has been for some time. (1:59:00) We have heard this statement from the library administration several times as well. This is partly true, let me explain. In the non-fiction section, the Adult and Young Adult books are mixed together. This book was LABELED as a Young Adult book. I checked on my phone while I was sitting there in commissioners court, and it was still catalogued as a Young Adult book. The Young Adult section is for children ages 13 +.
Two other books are also still catalogued as Young Adult books:
The following books seek to normalize every fetish and sexual deviancy for children as young as 13.
Card Catalogue link: SEX: AN UNCENSORED INTRODUCTION By Nikol Hasler
Book Look review: SEX an uncensored introduction.pdf (booklooks.org)
Card Catalogue link: S.E.X THE ALL-YOU-NEED-TO-KNOW SEXUALITY GUIDE TO GET YOU THROUGH YOUR TEENS AND TWENTIES, 2ND EDITION By Heather Corinna
Book Look review: sex second edition.pdf (booklooks.org)
We hope and pray that by the time you are reading this, those card catalogs are fixed and those books are labeled as adult books.
Reconsideration policy recommendations:
My partner in all things library, stepped up at the end to speak on our recommendations to revise the reconsideration policy. This policy has not been changed since 2002 when the world was much different than it is today.
“Currently, the reconsideration committee is a 10-member committee that holds no teeth. The committee should consist of 5 members (one from each commissioner and our judge) with no library staff present or one present in an advisory capacity only to answer questions as needed.
“The committee should give their recommendations to the director of the library. Should the librarian disagree with the recommendation, he/she can bring the recommendation and reason for disagreement before the commissioners to make a final decision. Any single person having sole decision-making ability in this county is unacceptable in our democratic society.
Additionally, the current library policy requires balancing books on controversial topics. At this time, there are over 100 books on gender ideology in the children’s section alone. To balance those books is one book in each library called Elephants are not Birds that is not overtly or explicit in its teaching. It is a recent addition to the library and had to be donated because library funds ‘were not allowed to purchase’ books not from their approved vendors. Additionally, there are over 30 critical race theory books in the children’s department which are also not balanced.”
See You at the Library - Montgomery County
There will be three locations for See You at the Library Events in our county, New Caney, The Woodlands, and Willis.
First, we are required to say: Our events are not sponsored or endorsed by the Montgomery County Library System.
Our events are inclusive to all kids of all ages and all abilities. A frequent question we get is, what if my children are loud?? That is okay, children are loud sometimes, especially young children, and we love their sounds. Please come!!
We find Brave Books to be engaging for all ages. Our teens love them (shhh), and our young children love them.
New Caney location:
We will be at the New Caney location co-hosting with Jameson Ellis who is running for U.S. Congress in District 2. Our event will be at the R.B. Tullis Public Library. Address: 21569 US-59, New Caney, TX 77357; August 5th @ 10am
Find our Facebook event here: See You at the Library - A Brave Book Story Hour - New Caney
You can also share our flyer:
The Woodlands location:
Our friends Lindsay and Melody will be hosting the event in The Woodlands at the Mitchell Library. Our State Representative Steve Toth will be attending this event. The address is 8125 Ashlane Way, The Woodlands, TX 77382; August 5th @ 3:30pm
Find their Facebook event here: See You at the Library - A Brave Book Story Hour - The Woodlands
You can also save and share their flyer:
Willis location:
Finally, our friend Jennifer is hosting the event in Willis with her homeschool pre-school group. Her event will be at R.F. Meador Library in Willis. The address is 709 W Montgomery St, Willis, TX 77378; August 5th @ 9:30am
Don’t live near Montgomery County? Find a location near you on the map here.
Can’t find one near you? Host a story hour! You can find more information here.
In Conclusion
Thank you to everyone who made these recent wins possible. Thank you to our commissioners and Judge Keough who worked through this tough issue and made these decisions. Thank you to Brave Books and Kirk Cameron, for shining a light in the darkness and giving us a boost to make a difference.
Michele Nuckolls is a wife and homeschool mom in The Woodlands, Texas. Michele believes strongly in staying grounded in the words of her savior, Jesus Christ, protecting the innocence of children, and connecting with her children through books and literature. Michele and her family can be most often found in the forest, in the creek, or of course, in the library. Michele is one of the two moms behind Two Moms and Some Books.