LEBANON, Maine — The town library in Lebanon has its budget in limbo after committee members in mid-January questioned the literature that would be purchased by the librarian in the coming fiscal year.
Committee members laughed about the issue, saying things such as "I would like to know what genres she's including when voting on this," and other generalizations about library literature like "I think it all depends on what kind of books especially with what's going on nowadays."
The committee ended up tabling the approval for the town library budget, stating it wanted to see a full list of every book the librarian intends to purchase.
The request was met with disagreement with state library officials, including Maine State Librarian Lori Fisher.
"I'm dismayed to hear they want to try not to pass the budget because they expect a list of books, there seems to be a lack of trust," Fisher said.
Fisher said during her time in Maine and in New Hampshire, she has never seen a town or city board hold a budget approval over a librarian's department just because they aren't sure about what content is going to be purchased.
Fisher said control over the content comes from the network of librarians within the state, and most librarians have advanced degrees in literature, adding controlling content in a public library and having elected officials judge it could be dangerous.
"I think it's a slippery slope because what is the definition of inappropriate? ... Withholding funds, waiting for a list of books that haven't even been published yet seems unrealistic and ties up the services of the library to the detriment of the community," Fisher said.
Meanwhile, none of the budget committee members contacted on Wednesday returned our phone calls. We wanted to ask them why they don't trust their librarian and why they feel skeptical about the literature choices made.
President of the Maine Library Association, Sonya Durney, said thinking material brought into libraries may not be good for the community diminishes the work done by librarians.
"I would wonder what the qualifications are of the board members, what their background is in reviewing literature... and looking at what the needs of the library patrons are," Durney said. "If you have any concerns about what is in your library reach out to your librarian and open that conversation."