A bill to abolish the Arkansas State Library and the State Library Board has failed in a legislative committee.
Members of the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committee rejected Senate Bill 536 after roughly two hours of debate Wednesday evening. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, criticized library board members for a perceived lack of accountability.
“Can you imagine a board member who’s never faced criticism y’all face every day? Thousands of emails they’re getting, telling you that you’re stupid… that we have no idea what we’re doing,” Sullivan told committee members. “For us to effectuate significant change, it’s going to take people like you and me.”
Sullivan said he’s seeking to dissolve the board because of their reluctance to address “sexually explicit” materials in Arkansas libraries. Adam Webb, president-elect of the Arkansas Library Association, said the bill wouldn’t address those concerns.
“Those words are only here in the air with us, they’re not on the page. And if that’s the sponsor’s intent, then it needs to be on the page,” Webb said. “We’ve got to go by what’s on this page, and ‘sexually explicit content’ is not here, it’s not defined in the way that the courts have said it needs to be defined.”
Webb cited an existing Arkansas law putting restrictions on library materials that are “harmful to minors” which was blocked by a judge due to its vagueness and free speech restrictions. Judy Calhoun, former director of the Southeast Arkansas Regional Library, disagreed with lawmakers’ assertions that controversial books being accessible in libraries is a relatively new phenomenon.
“There’s always been books that somebody is going to find objectionable, and they should. We still have a lot of people that refuse to read Harry Potter, and there’s not a bad word in Harry Potter or any sex. But they refuse to let children [read it], because they have objections to it. And that’s fine, that’s what every parent should be doing,” she said.
Sullivan, had sought to dissolve the Arkansas State Library and the State Library Board and transfer its duties and responsibilities to the state Department of Education. A previous bill would have also included the oversight board for Arkansas PBS, though Sullivan said members of that board had allayed his concerns.
Senate Bill 536 failed with eight committee members voting against it and seven voting in favor. Republican Reps. Jeff Wardlaw, Stan Berry, Mark McElroy, Howard Beaty and Jeremy Wooldridge joined Democrats Andrew Collins, Denise Ennett and Nicole Clowney in voting against it.
Arkansas lawmakers are set to informally adjourn the current legislative session next week.
