LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan House Democrats are trying to make the most of their lame duck power before Republicans take over in the new year.

“District Library Freedom to Read Act” isn’t what it sounds like.

One of the bills lingering on the agenda is House Bill 6035. It’s called the “District Library Freedom to Read Act,” which is a misnomer given the fact that it would would strip elected library boards from overseeing content and instead put the authority in the hands of the unelected library director to make those decisions.

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One library trustee in Michigan is sounding the alarm. In a Wednesday letter to the editor that appeared in the Detroit News, a library board member in Oakland County said the bill does not protect children. “It jeopardizes their safety and well-being, undermining parents’ trust in our libraries,” wrote Jay Taylor of Brandon Township.

Taylor said the bill puts all the decisions into the hands of the library director, sidestepping the library board and parents. “Allowing parents a role in what their young kids see is not ‘book banning,'” Taylor said, referring to the rhetoric often used by politicians when people want age appropriate material for their children. “Our libraries
should be a safe space for all, not a platform for a library director’s personal agenda.”

Michigan’s history with library content.

This is not the first time Michigan libraries and their communities have been at odds over appropriate content. Tuscola County residents pushed back over explicit content in the children’s section. The Jamestown Township Patmos Library kept losing millages after refusing to remove LGBTQ+ books from its shelves.

The bill highlights the tension between the overwhelming Republican wins last week verses the Democratic party’s agenda. In an email to Michigan News Source, attorney David Kallman said it appears Democrats do not understand that their “far-left” policies tie directly to their election losses last week. “This bill disenfranchises all the voters in each library district,” Kallman said. “Parents and rational citizens have had enough of these woke efforts to harm our children.”