The saga of the Hamilton East Library Board continued Thursday afternoon with the board voting to “pause” the review of books in the teen sections of the Fishers and Noblesville libraries. The vote was unanimous.
The board also voted to approve a slate of officers that include Tiffanie Ditlevson as the new board president, Craig Seibe Vice President, Ray Maddalone Secretary and Andre Miksha Assistant Secretary/Treasurer. The vote to approve the officer slate was 5-2, with Michelle Payne and Craig Siebe voting no. New officers begin their one-year term next month.
There was a lengthy discussion between Board Member Ray Maddalone and Library Director Edra Waterman about what does and does not apply to the policy that would require moving a book from the teen section to the adult collection. There was a discussion about the meaning of the word “explicit” in the policy as it applies to passages about sex.
Maddalone argued John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars should not have been removed from the teen area of the library. Waterman explained how the staff was interpreting the board policy and provided the board the guidelines being used to apply the policy as the books were reviewed.
The board will have a new member next month, as Laura Alerding was not re-appointed to the library board for another term. Noblesville High School Teacher Bill Kenley is set to replace her following a recent vote by the Noblesville School Board.
The board’s policy requiring the review of all teen section books for evaluation of possible re-shelving to the adult section has been controversial with board meetings becoming adversarial the past several months.
The “pause” approved at the Noblesville Library session Thursday will allow talks between the board and the library staff to come up with a revised policy.
Many local officials, including Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, County Commissioner Christine Altman, County Councilor Ken Alexander and other local officials have spoken out about the controversy that found itself in national news stories and the front page of the Indianapolis Star, the state’s largest newspaper.
There has been criticism of the board’s decision to hold this meeting at 3pm, rather than 6:15pm. During the Nominating Committee meeting, Alerding said the meeting start time was moved up due to a death in the family of board member Micah Beckwith.
Director Edra Waterman watches the board discussion