House Bill 710 went into effect in Idaho on July 1, and libraries can now be fined $250 or face potential lawsuits for providing a minor with material that features “sexual conduct”. “Sexual conduct” is defined as “any act of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual intercourse or physical contact with a person’s clothed or unclothed genitals…”
How Boise Public Library has adapted in response to House Bill 710
Jessica Dorr, Director of Boise Public Library, described the process of making shifts in response to the bill, while also staying true to the culture and current policies the library has in place.
Dorr explained that there are five members on the board of trustees, Nicole Trammel Pantera, Rebecca Lemmons, Reshma Kamal, Brian Klene and Ron Pisaneschi, who have the responsibility of setting library policy. In reference to House Bill 710, Dorr shared the criteria board members wanted staff to consider.
“They [the board] wanted to make sure that we were looking at all laws that apply to libraries, not just this one — there’s a framework for how libraries select materials, and they wanted us to be really aware of all the legislation that applies to libraries,” Dorr said. “They asked us to be really transparent with the public. What are the issues that are here? … They also asked us really, to make sure that we’re protecting the First Amendment right to freedom of expression and right to read and the real core values of the Boise Public Library.”
With those values in mind, Dorr and other staff created a new policy to address potential requests for reconsideration.
“If you go to the Board of Trustees website, we have a whole new section of our website where you can actually see the law, what was passed in our new policy,” Dorr said. “You can also see that we’ve had one request so far …and how we handle those new requests after July 1.”
While Dorr and her team may have found ways to address new criteria and educate on policy, Boise Public Library and Board of Trustee members opposed House Bill 710 due to a belief that the library does not possess any content that is harmful to minors.
“We heard so much from our community about how they expect us to have diverse materials, they expect us to have materials that will reflect all the people and viewpoints of Boise,” Dorr said. “We have really wanted to reassure the public that we truly believe we are compliant with the new legislation and we have not created an adults-only space. We haven’t removed any books, and we haven’t limited access to people of all ages.”
Dorr highlighted that while the legislation may have changed, Boise Public Library’s values have not.
“It’s unfortunate that the library is having to put attention and resources to potentially defending ourselves in lawsuits that I think are unnecessary,” Dorr said. “At the end of the day, our core mission really is to serve everyone in Boise, and those values are truly important to me, to providing access and opportunity for everyone.”
How House Bill 710 effects higher education
Stephanie Bailey-White, a state librarian and member of the Idaho Commission for Libraries shared via email that she has witnessed conversations surrounding concurrent enrollment or other situations that may complicate the age restriction.
“I attended a meeting with several academic library deans this week and most have consulted with legal counsel who agree that the law focuses on K-12 school libraries and none are excluding dual credit or college students who are minors from accessing their collections,” Bailey-White said in an email to The Arbiter. “Many already have reconsideration policies or avenues to handle complaints about materials and some have provided additional information about library resources for parents of dual credit students on the forms they typically receive.”
Isabella Burgess, a co-chair for the Idaho Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, noted that not all libraries are adapting to the new legislation in the same way.
“What we’ve seen is some libraries that are smaller and have smaller budgets have just complied with the bill and made that adults-only section,” Burgess said. “That adults-only section is where we have the concern about censorship. Some of the larger libraries in Idaho, like Boise Public and Meridian … what they’ve done is just change their request for reconsideration forms and their process of how things are reconsidered.”
Burgess explained that she believes the definition of what is considered homosexuality within the bill’s contents is vague and difficult to discern.
“This definition of homosexuality is so vague that so much can be censored,” Burgess said. “Does a hug count between two same-sex people? Does kissing? Where do you draw the line? Another concern for misuse of the bill in court. It very clearly leaves room for censorship based on sexual identity.”
House Bill 710 was enacted in early July and libraries and staff have experienced its effects firsthand. Literature-based legislation is and continues to be a major point of political debate causing a wave of new policies that libraries have to spend time and resources implementing or adapting to.
