KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — Next time you’re in an Idaho library, you might just see a new section.
The ‘Mature Content Collection’ will soon be established in libraries within Kootenai County as a way for them to abide by a new Idaho law geared toward cracking down on the type of content children are exposed to in public libraries.
Books with mature or sexual content will be removed from the general shelves and placed in a private ‘adults only’ room.
Anyone under 18-years-old must be accompanied by an adult to enter the section.
The law passed last year and aimed to shield minors from any books deemed ‘harmful to minors.’
Last week, the Community Library Network, which operates seven libraries in Kootenai County, voted to set up the private adults-only rooms.
Many attendees of the meeting at which the vote took place expressed their full support for the law.
“I find the idea of not censoring certain ideas and opportunities for children absolutely obscene. My children did not have certain freedoms in my home. I censored a great deal,” one attendee said.
Theresa Birkett, President of Library Alliance of North Idaho, voiced her opposition to the law.
“We believe it’s a parental right to decide what books that our children should be reading, not the government,” she said. “They’re trying to control what others have available to them. The access of information – they’re trying to control.”
The Community Library Network said it has not yet figured out which room will be dedicated to the new section.
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