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Kenosha County library debate
From traditional story time at the kid’s corner, to the possible addition of an adults-only section, changes could be coming to taxpayer-funded Kenosha County libraries.
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. - A new proposal wants to create a specific section for adults in some Kenosha County libraries.
It was introduced to protect children from adult content, but some fear this could be censorship.
From traditional story time at the kid’s corner, to the possible addition of an adults-only section, changes could be coming to taxpayer-funded Kenosha County libraries.
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"This gets us into a real murky field of censorship and what constitutes obscenity," said Kenosha County District 2 Supervisor Terry Rose.
Rose voted no to this proposed resolution, calling for secure adult-only sections in county-funded libraries to protect children from what could be considered "pornagraphc" content.
The proposal was introduced during a finance committee meeting last week, where it passed 3-2.
"As I see it, the goal is to prohibit minors from reading anything where there is any reference to anything sexual. Be it a paragraph, a word, a sentence," Rose said. "Instead of looking at the overall purpose of the book."
The resolution said the county does not provide a secure section for materials that include adult content and that parental permission is not required for children to check out those materials.
It could possibly impact community library locations in Twin Lakes and Salem, where people are split on the issue.
"Children shouldn’t be getting their hands on adult novels that could potentially have things that are not age appropriate at all," said resident Dalgie Burke.
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"They should stay out of the business of the librarians," said resident Carol Dunn. "It’s going to entice those kids to read those books because we all know how kids are. It makes it more alluring to them."
Kenosha County library
Rose said he does not see how it would be enforceable.
"It's going to be a huge problem," he said. "Are you going to have security over there, checking people’s identification in the library to see if they meet the criteria of an adult?"
The proposal will now go to the full board for a vote next week.