LIBRARY BOOKS: Hanley, Plass need to be held accountable

On Oct. 11, Tom Hanley, newly elected Trustee for the Community Library Network, wrote in support of/solidarity with Sheriff Norris, who recently removed books from the library which he, in his unrelated capacity as a law enforcement officer, deemed inappropriate. That in itself certainly deserves a great deal of attention and discussion. However, this letter is in response to Trustee Hanley’s letter.

First, the fact that Hanley refers to perfectly legitimate books that were written for and appropriately shelved for adults and 17-year-old girls, “sewage” demonstrates that he has no business overseeing and curating the books in our libraries. This is indicative of a personal agenda. In fact, his agenda was clear when he ran for Trustee, as his only qualification for the job was his assurance that he would remove all “inappropriate” books. Has he done that? According to his own letter, no.

Why not? The KCRCC promoted a website which very conveniently listed the titles of “200+” library books considered “pornography.” Satisfying his campaign promise should have taken a day at most. Hanley and Plass were elected (and the previous Trustees’ careers devastated) for precisely one reason — to remove those books. They owe it to this community to give an accounting of exactly which inappropriate books were found in our network, where they were located, why they are inappropriate, and proof that they have been removed. These actions need to be audited and verified. And if Hanley and Plass can’t do that, they should resign.

RICHARD SAUNDERS

Coeur d’Alene