March 28, 2023
Vickie Christensen looks like a librarian, right down to the glasses and dark hair. She spends her days at Marshall Public Library’s main circulation desk, checking books in and assisting patrons. She also works on “weeding” books that no longer circulate, and cares for the Library’s audiobook and DVD collections. It’s a fairly new career for her, one she launched after retiring from the preschool and daycare she operated for 17 years.
During the last year, though, Christensen says she’s begun to feel more like a porn dealer than a librarian. While the library’s book collection has always included a handful of sexually graphic books, that number has increased considerably over the last year. The books aren’t strictly for adults, either—a few are classified as Juvenile or Juvenile Fiction (for children under 12), and a large percentage are marked Young Adult (12-17 year olds). The library’s collection of explicit materials now numbers approximately 300 items.
After seeing a young boy reading some of these books in the library, Christensen decided she could not keep silent about the influx of explicit material written for minors. She shared her concerns with Library Director Eric Suess, who told her there is no definition of pornography. Other staff members told her that there is no pornography in the library, or justified the purchase of the material by saying, “This book may help someone.” Since the library was unwilling to address her concerns, Christensen reached out to a few friends, then to a larger group of people who shared her commitment to protecting children from graphic sexual content.
In the beginning, she worked undercover, compiling a list of explicit materials in the library and providing “inside information” to those who supported her efforts. More recently, she has asked for books to be removed from the Library collection (through a process known as “book challenges”), and has spoken out at public meetings and in discussions with City Councilman Brent Nichols.
Councilman Nichols met with Christensen and other concerned citizens after a recent City Council meeting. He listened to their concerns and looked at the library books they brought with them. Christensen said he “was very cordial, and seemed receptive.” He promised to speak with both Mayor Blad and Library Director Eric Suess, and has visited the library to see the situation for himself.
When her colleagues learned of her efforts to restrict children’s access to these books, Christensen says their response to her was hostile. Even members of the administrative staff refused to look at her or speak to her, and her first book challenge was met with anger. While the situation has improved since Councilman Nichols became involved, Christensen notes that there are still staff members who refuse to even greet her.
Christensen would like to see these books removed from the library because of their pornographic nature, and believes they should not have been purchased for the library to begin with. But the result of her recent book challenge shows that the library administration and other staff members feel these books should remain in the library. “I’m very disappointed and shocked that librarians feel these books are appropriate for children to have access to. They are not!” she said. “To put the pictures [of pages in the books] in a post on Facebook, parts had to be blurred out because of their sexually graphic nature. In the Idaho House Education Committee recently, these books were not allowed to be read from because of their sexually graphic content. If the library is so determined to keep these obscene and sexually graphic books, then we have a restricted room where we keep Book Club books, and we could easily put these books there where they are away from children’s eyes. People who want to borrow them can come to the desk and ask, just like they do with Book Club books.”
She hopes that tonight’s Town Hall meeting will convince the City Council to take this issue seriously, though she is concerned that the one hour that is allotted will not be enough time for everyone to speak who wants to. She would like to see the meeting continue until everyone has the opportunity to share their thoughts. “I hope it lets [the Council] know that it’s not just a few grandmas who are upset,” she said. “It’s a lot of people in the community.”
The Town Hall meeting will be held at 6:30 tonight in the City Council Chambers, at 911 N 7th Avenue. People who hope to address the Council need to be present at 6:00 to sign up.
