Carroll County School Board steps in as parents battle over controversial library books

BALTIMORE -- Carroll County parents and teachers are divided over dozens of books that some of them see as inappropriate.

More than 50 books have been pulled from Carroll County Public School libraries after a group of parents called for their removal. Now, the Carroll County School Board is going to review them and decide on the next steps.

The school district has a policy that allows the school board to review certain books if parents are concerned with the material. Those books have already been removed from school libraries.

However, over the past couple of years, there has been a growing debate over who has the right to decide what is appropriate and what is not appropriate for a school library.  

"There should be a very big distinction between what adults should enjoy and what should be available to children," said Kit Hart, the Carroll County Chapter Chair for Moms for Liberty.

Hart told WJZ that Moms for Liberty compiled and submitted the list of book titles based on sexually explicit material and graphic images.

"The books we've identified have all contained very, very graphic sexual and explicitly graphic content that is highly inappropriate for kids," she said.

Some of the books that are on the ban list are well-known works of literature. They include The Handmaid's Tale and the Bluest Eye, which was the first novel written by Toni Morrison who went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

"Some of the books that are on the list for banning are absolute classics," Carroll County resident Becky Carpenter said.

The Maryland Association of School Librarians sent a letter to Carroll County Public Schools, concerned the books were pulled without going through the school board's reconsideration policy.  

"When we start picking and choosing which books are allowed on shelves, and it's not done with a systematic policy, that's when censorship really begins to be an issue," said Brittany Tignor, Treasurer of the Maryland Association of School Librarians.

Carroll County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Cynthia McCabe said in a statement that she made the decision to hold the submitted books until the school board's reconsideration committee has enough time to honor their full process.

The issue has sparked debate in the community about whether the school board should have the power to remove books at all.

Some parents noted that the books are not required reading.

"They have the right to ask their son or daughter not to be exposed by those books," Carroll County parent Tina Hoff said. 'They're in the library, but they're not required reading. They don't ever have to be exposed to them if the parent doesn't want them to."

The school distirct's reconsideration committee is set up to review up to five books per month, allowing the public to weigh in.

The Maryland Association of School Libraries also expressed concern with the criteria school librarians in Carroll County must follow when purchasing new books. 

You can read the full letter as well as the list of books below.