Columbia County manager assures no books will be removed from library
COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The selection of the library board in Columbia County will not change after elected officials voted to withdraw from the regional library system to become a single region.
County Manager Scott Johnson assures patrons they will continue to receive the same services at the library.
The change will not impact funding either.
So, why break away from the regional system?
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Johnson said several patrons went through the reconsideration process for several books they believed didn’t belong in the library.
Board from Columbia County helped having certain books moved from the young adult section, 6th through 12th grade, to the adult section for the region, including books that depict sketches of naked children and body parts.
Now, some of the other counties within the regional system want that decision reversed.
Johnson says this is what led elected officials to vote to remove themselves from the regional group last night.
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“I do feel as a county, I do feel we should have the ability if we are paying upwards of 3 million to operate in the way the county sees fit,” said Johnson.
While some books have been moved to other sections in the library, Johnson assures patrons no books have been banned.
“There is no intent here to move books to a section where nobody will check them out, so hopefully they will be phased away. That’s not the intent. I have heard the term ‘shadow boxing’ and that the county is doing all this nefarious activity, that’s not the case. There are books I saw early on that I say for me personally, not as a county manager, but for me personally, shock the conscience.”
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