SC rule caused York County library purchase pause. What new policy means for parents
South Carolina legislators attached new strings to public libraries’ funding last summer: Unless they certified that their children’s, youth and teen sections don’t offer “books or materials that appeal to the prurient interest of children,” they won’t receive state aid.
Libraries spent months trying to figure out what exactly that meant.
The York County Library Board in October placed a moratorium on purchasing any books for minors that may have sexual content. The move sought to ensure libraries didn’t inadvertently fall out of compliance with the vague requirement and lose funding.
Here’s what parents should know about what’s on library shelves.
York County temporarily stopped purchasing some books
Julie Ward, director of the county library system, was “hyper cautious” at first. Publishers don’t denote sexual content in subject headings for children’s books, and librarians cannot read books before purchasing them to make their own judgments.
Plus, the budget proviso is subjective, she said.
“Two different parents are going to regard content differently,” Ward said. “It’s hard. We’re doing the best we can. We’re making decisions in a vacuum without a lot of information to help us.”
The library system stopped purchasing a range of books Ward thought might trigger sexual content complaints, including some that “must seem odd to the outsider.” She kept a list.
During a February library board meeting, board member Terry Plumb said 43 books were not purchased as a result of the proviso, including books that dealt with pregnancy or birth.
“We’re in effect banning books based on very sketchy, seemingly innocuous descriptions,” Plumb said.
But body books for children tend to generate protest from the community due to their illustrations, Ward told The Herald. She cited a high-profile 2023 incident in which York County councilman Tom Audette held up a children’s book during a meeting and opened to a page with naked bodies.
The library system began purchasing more books again after the South Carolina Department of Education issued a February memorandum clarifying the definition of “sexual content” in its own book review process. Books must be removed if they include descriptions that are detailed enough for the reader to form a mental image of the conduct, the department said.
York County adopted the Education Department’s criteria as its own. Last month, the library didn’t defer any new purchases due to the proviso, Plumb said.
“You could say crisis averted, but all you need is one person to raise hell, and we’ll be back in the middle of it,” Plumb told The Herald.
Is York County limiting book selections?
The library purchased the books it had initially placed on hold out of caution.
To date, York County hasn’t removed books from its shelves or declined to purchase a new book due to the state’s budget requirement, Ward said.
“We went back and re-evaluated those and were able to decide that, yes, we are in compliance. We can purchase these,” she said.
There were a handful of books the library didn’t order for what Ward said were “mundane reasons” unrelated to content, like they weren’t yet available from the publisher or there wasn’t enough money left in the monthly budget.
And some books recommended for minors moved to the young adult or adult section because staff felt that audience better suited the material. That was standard procedure even before the moratorium, though.
Ward said members of the LGBTQ+ community or other minority groups need not worry about the diversity of the library’s catalogue moving forward.
“Our community looks like a lot of people,” Ward said. “It’s the library’s goal to have materials that reflect our community, so we’re going to do that until we’re told, ‘You can’t do that.’”
How are books selected?
York County libraries purchase hundreds of children’s and young adult books every month.
A team of selectors — all of whom have librarian degrees — scour professional journals, book reviews and bestseller lists to see what might be a good fit for their community. Patrons can also make requests by filling out a paper form at any branch.
Selectors research every title before making a purchase. For children’s and youth books, part of that research involves age appropriateness.
“We don’t have books with sexual content for children,” Ward said. “We don’t.”
How do I challenge a library book?
Due to the volume of books that come in each month, librarians don’t read everything cover to cover before putting it on the shelf. That’s why there is a system in place for patrons to flag material they find concerning.
As an informal first step, they can talk to the children’s manager or branch manager at their local library.
The formal process requires patrons to read the book in its entirety and fill out a request for reconsideration form outlining their concerns. The library will form a committee of seven staff members, including at least one manager and one librarian. They’ll read the book, research what sections other libraries place it in and hold “a very long debate about the merits of the request.”
The committee then gives Ward a report with their recommendation. Ward makes her own decision and notifies the complainant. As a last resort, patrons can appeal her decision to the library board for a final review.
Most challenges involve books with LGBTQ+ themes, Ward said, but few are successful. 2023 saw a record number of challenges. The committee and board determined none were sexually explicit and could remain on library shelves.
This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
