If the twenty people who showed up Tuesday night expected a decision on whether to oust “Gender Queer” from the Kalona Public Library, they went away disappointed.  

Less than two minutes into the Board of Trustees’ meeting on April 11, the request for reconsideration was stricken from the agenda.  

“I think we’ve received several reconsideration requests in just the last 24 hours, and I myself, personally, have not been able to review those,” Board Secretary Christina Grier said.  “So, I would propose that we move our discussion on that request to a formal work session so that we have time to, as a board, work through all that information, to look at our policy, and to determine if we need any additional information.” 

“A formal work session is an open meeting,” she continued.  “No actions or voting takes place at that meeting, and it would give us time to have an adequate discussion.”

The motion to table discussion of the challenged book passed unanimously, and a date for the work session was set for Tuesday, April 25 at 6 p.m. in the Kalona Public Library’s Conference Room.

The book under consideration is “Gender Queer,” an autobiographical graphic novel by Maia Kobabe.  In late February, the library received a formal request that the book be withdrawn from circulation. The board was made aware of the reconsideration request at their March 14 meeting and was expected to make a decision at their meeting this month.

Although the book has won awards and has been lauded as “a useful and touching guide on gender identity,” it also reached #1 on the American Library Association’s list of Most Challenged Books of 2021 for having “LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images.”

Before the week began, the library had received two requests for reconsideration for “Gender Queer”; then unexpectedly, in the 24 hours before the meeting, they received five more.  Two of the requests had “a petition-style list” of signatures attached, Library Director Trevor Sherping told The News after the meeting.  Of the 50-some names on the list, Sherping said a little more than half of them are library patrons.  Four names were illegible, and 18 or so are not library patrons but are Washington County residents.

The library also received an influx of phone calls during that time, which tipped the library off that the night’s meeting might not be business as usual.  

“I got a lot of phone calls, on both sides.  People in support and people who were against it, who called and asked, ‘When’s the board meeting?’  I’ve never had anyone call to ask when a board meeting is,” Sherping said.  “That’s kind of how I knew how many people were coming.”

Informed of the situation, one of the board members asked Sherping to request a Sheriff’s deputy be present at the meeting, which there was.  

“We didn’t anticipate that anything bad was going to happen, that there would be a negative reaction,” Sherping said.  “It’s just better to be safe.”

In spite of knowing there would be no discussion by the board of the challenged book, several members of the public voiced their opinion on the issue during the Public Forum portion of the meeting.

James Jennings, editor at the Southeast Iowa Union, said that speaking as a Kalona resident, “My first thought was, is it a book?  Yup.  Then it shouldn’t be banned.  Period. Full Stop.  We need to have all ideas represented in the library.  Even ones that offend us”

Brown Rencher of Riverside agreed that the book should stay on the library shelves.  “Those LGBTQ adults who reviewed this book say overwhelmingly that they wish that that would have been available during those confusing years when they were trying to understand their feelings,” he noted.

Molly Jennings, Kalona, was also in agreement.  “There are people for whom this is vital, and for whom this could maybe even be lifesaving.  These people deserve to see themselves reflected in the library.  The beauty of it all is that you have the choice not to read it, but you don’t have the right to make that choice for others.”

David, Wellman, did not disagree with the thoughts previously expressed, but added, “I guess my angle personally is my concern with the pornographic images that are in the book, that I wouldn’t necessarily want my child looking at at a young age.”

Elaina Short, Hills, said, “I don’t have a problem with children reading this book,” but didn’t want it available “readily on the floor” where her child could easily look at it without her knowledge.  She did not indicate her child’s age.

Per the library board’s policy, the board listened to the thoughts expressed but did not comment.  After the public forum closed, many members of the public left the meeting, which continued on to discuss regular business.

The Kalona Public Library’s next regular board meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 9 at 6 p.m. in the Library’s conference room.