KING WILLIAM — More than two years ago, some residents flagged what they deemed controversial books that were available to young people in King William’s public libraries.
Today, some of the titles are no longer on the database operated by the county’s new, privately-run library, while a novel about potty training has been removed from the children’s section.
The Tidewater Review found that some of the Pamunkey Regional Library books citizens complained to the King William Board of Supervisors about in March 2023 are no longer listed in the King William County Library catalog. King William left the PRL earlier this year and hired the private company Library Systems and Services to run its libraries.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting on Aug. 11, District 1 Supervisor Bill Hodges said some residents had complained that some books on reading lists from West Point schools were not available at the new library in the town. A database search revealed that popular, non-controversial titles as well as more commonly banned books were unavailable at the new library, while PRL stocks them in book or electronic formats.
LS&S took over King William’s two libraries at the start of July. West Point is the only branch presently open, while King William County plans to renovate the parks and recreation building to become the Upper King William branch.
PRL books highlighted by citizens in 2023 included “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews. The book, about a socially awkward teenage boy, is available as a hard copy and in electronic format on the PRL database, but no titles are listed by the King William County Library.
At a Board of Supervisors meeting in 2023, resident Elaine Daniel cited the rise of mental illness among teens as justification for getting rid of some books.
“The characters in this book are neurotic, they are nihilist,” she said of Andrews’ novel. “They think nothing is important, nothing matters, and the only thing that they can focus on is destruction. So why would we offer such a book as this? We don’t want to ban it, but we don’t want to buy books that have no good purpose.”
At the same meeting, resident Rose Bloomfield branded “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo as “pornographic literature” and “disgusting.” The young adult title is still available at PRL, but is no longer available on King William’s database. Bloomfield spoke encouragingly about the ban of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” in the 1950s. D.H. Lawrence’s controversial book is listed in King William’s catalog. However, no items were marked as available Sunday.
King William’s new library has also changed the PRL classification of “A Potty for Zaza” by Mylo Freeman from children’s picture books to juvenile fiction, meaning it has been moved from the children’s section to the young adult section.
“Looking for Alaska” by John Green, a novel branded “obscene” by a citizen at the 2023 meeting, remains in the King William catalog. However, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, listed as the most challenged book by the American Library Association due to its LGBTQ+ and sexually explicit content, is not listed in King William while it remains available via the PRL.
Popular and uncontroversial middle school books missing from the King William library system catalog include “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen and “Ghost” by Jason Reynolds.
On Aug. 11, Hodges alluded to citizen dissatisfaction with the library branch in West Point, which opened at the start of July.
“Some of the citizens went to the library in West Point looking for the books required by West Point schools, and they are not available. This would entail more than one copy,” he said.
Board Chair Justin Catlett said he would take up the issue with Ashley Herndon, chair of the library board of trustees.
Herndon did not respond to emails from the Tidewater Review last week. Hodges did not respond to a request for the list of books.
Fran Freimarck, a retired director of the PRL and a critic of the Board of Supervisors’ decision to leave the regional system, said the new library system had a restricted book budget and fewer copies of books were likely to be available in the West Point library.
“In the past with Pamunkey Regional, people could request multiple copies of the same book,” she said in an email. “Pamunkey would pull the books from all 10 libraries and send them to West Point for use by a class or book group. That is not possible since with LS&S there is only one library and just the books in that library.”
“It is a question several asked during the efforts to save our libraries,” she added. “LS&S always assured people they would provide multiple copies, but they have no way of doing that except by buying them, and I doubt they will do that because then they would need to find shelf space for them.”
Freimarck said she has questioned the amount of money the county is paying LS&S while only one library is operating. The contract with LS&S states that the private company would provide two libraries in King William County, she said.
Interim County Administrator Clarence Monday said bids for the renovation of the parks and rec building into a library were expected to open Tuesday.
David Macaulay, Davidmacaulayva@gmail.com