SOUTH LYON, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – When more than 100 people gathered in protest over 16 books at the Salem- South Lyon District Library on Nov. 29, many described the gathering as respectful despite the outcome.  

Though many disagreed regarding the content of the books, all 16 books that were challenged by parents to be removed will remain in the library after concerns were raised about them. 

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“It was a class audience — they were passionate about their positions, but respectful,” Library Board Vice President Linda Hamilton said, “I was very pleased… the mood of the room conveyed that these are all people who care about the library and the community, and they have a difference of opinion on what that looks like.”

The books that were challenged as reported by the Detroit Free Press were: 

  • Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (Adult Fiction)
  • The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley (Adult Fiction)
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (Teen Non-Fiction)
  • And They Lived by Steven Salvatore (Teen Fiction)
  • Baby & Solo by Lisabeth Posthuma (Teen Fiction)
  • Camp by L.C. Rosen (Teen Fiction)
  • Camp Spirit by Axelle Lenoir (Teen Fiction)
  • Coming Out: Insights and Tips for Teenagers by Kezia Endsley (Teen Non-Fiction)
  • A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft (Teen Fiction)
  • Here and Queer by Rowan Ellis (Teen Non-Fiction)
  • Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster by Andrea Mosqueda (Teen Fiction)
  • Kisses for Jet by Joris Bas Backer (Teen Fiction)
  • None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio (Teen Fiction)
  • The Pride Guide: A Guide to Sexual and Social Health for LGBTQ Youth by Jo Langford (Teen Non-Fiction)
  • Queerly Autistic by Erin Ekins (Teen Non-Fiction)
  • Yay! You’re Gay! Now What? A Gay Boy’s Guide to Life by Riyadh Khalaf (Teen Non-Fiction)

One of the first parents to raise issue with the sexually explicit books, Tim Ryan, agreed it was a respectful meeting but also expressed disappointment in the board’s decision. 

“There was a big turnout from the LGBTQ community and many of them had the notion we were against books with LGBTQ content, where our real issue is with sexually explicit books in the teen collection in the library,” Ryan said. “It’s not explicitly an LGBTQ issue. Any teen book with any type of characters with sexually explicit content is not appropriate for teenagers.”

After roughly an hour and a half of public comment regarding the books, Hamilton and the other library board members voted on each of the challenged books, eventually deciding to keep all of them available to all audiences.  According to Hamilton, each had to meet a two-pronged test according to federal and state law, and if determined to have obscene content that violates “contemporary community standards,” the work as a whole must also fail to have “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” 

A resident and taxpayer in the city of South Lyon, Ben Luther, submitted a letter to the Board of Trustees on June 22, calling into question many of the works. 

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“To protect our kids and the community, we have checked out many of the books in the pride display areas. We plan to keep these books checked out until the library agrees to remove the inappropriate content from the shelves,” he said, “We believe that all kids have the right to belong to a community that respects their innocence and allows families to have conversations about sex and sexual attraction privately, and only when their parents deem it appropriate.”  

He concluded the letter by stating “It’s time for the American public libraries to once again be a respectful space for kids to freely explore great ideas that unite and inspire us all, rather than places where controversial and divisive new ideological movements are given free rein to promote their theories and policy positions about sexuality to kids without the consent or notification of parents.”

Unlike the Patmos Library in Jamestown Township which also declined to remove parentally designated sexually explicit content and having its millage failed twice, the votes of the Lyon Township voted to approve the construction of a new library with an estimated cost of $13 million on Nov. 8.