Apply For Your Library Display?

I do not really have much of an intro for this.. so we are going to just jump right in.

Today is Library talk... and boy has there been a lot of it.

Most people probably do not pay attention to the Library Advisory Board (LAB) and may have missed it at a county commission meeting. Basically, there have been several people who would like to see the libraries have a display for Charlie Kirk.

The request was made by Rhys Campbell on the LAB on October 28th. The idea was to create a memorial/display of some sort and have it at the Libraries. This would include books that Kirk wrote or ones that he had read and recommended other to read set at a table somewhere in the library, likely a prominent location to be seen by all.

Campbell mentioned that the libraries have displays for other things throughout the year like Thanksgiving and Christmas, so this could be around October or so, Kirk's birth month. Citizen after citizen spoke up at the meeting encouraging the LAB to add a display of some sort to the library.

Then quite a few people stated opposition to the display and said that since the libraries previously decided to get rid of prior displays, why go back to doing them? That was referencing the display issue back in 2022 when a group of people opposed the displays during Pride month.

This one got heated. Two people were asked to leave after saying comments from the crowd and continued as they walked out the door. Of all the volunteer board meetings, the LAB meetings are usually the most passionate.

After the LAB denied the display for the library, the supporters went to the BOCC over the last couple of meetings pleading for them to put the Kirk display in the libraries. People offered to donate money towards purchasing the books so that it would not be tax payer funded.

The BOCC never made the decision one way or the other. Commissioner Kinnard stated that it was time that the county had a policy for displays at the library. He is presenting that to the board on Tuesday to try to get approval to move forward with that.

Ok great. We will get a policy that everyone can follow and know exactly what is allowed and what isn't.

Here is the policy if you wish to read it in its entirety.

The general idea here is to have an application option for displays. The displays will have to support the library mission:

to promote literacy, lifelong learning, and equitable access to information for all residents.

The displays would not allowed to have political, religious or partisan advocacy and must avoid bias, censorship and favoritism.

Ok sounds great... sign me up...

But..... Let us not get too ahead of ourselves just yet.

The displays would be broken down into 3 categories.

- Library Sponsored Displays
- Temporary Displays
- Outside Group Displays

Library sponsored displays would be things like the summer reading challenge, Florida author's month, local history, local highlights, etc.

Temporary displays would be limited to 30-60 days and would be required to be non-partisan, non-sectarian and educational in nature.

Outside group displays would include displays from community groups that apply through an application process. Prohibited content for these displays: political campaigning, religious proselytizing, sexual nature, commercial advertising.

These displays must:
- Be temporary (no permanent installations by outside groups).
- Be nonpartisan (no political party logos campaign materials or endorsements).
- Be non-sectarian (no religious worship materials or proselytizing).
- Be educational and literacy focused (books, authors, history, science, arts).
- Not sexual or sexuality related.

The LAB would be the authority on displays and would approve/deny the applications. The approvals and denials would be recorded to ensure transparency.

But key here is the BOCC is NOT involved in that approval process. They are completely hands off. This falls entirely on the LAB to make the approval or denial for outside group's displays.

What is the problem with that?

Two things come to mind.

The first, this puts immense pressure on a group of volunteers. If a group wants to have a display, they make the application and then they can show up in force at the LAB meetings to attempt to convince them to approve that display. If it is denied, they can continue to show up and show their displeasure.

Will that happen often? Probably not. Will it likely happen? Absolutely.

But the bigger issue... you are putting un-elected people in a position to make a decision that could bring Constitutional issues to the county. That happens everyday with staff having that ability, but volunteers and employees are different. To my knowledge, there is no attorney at the LAB meetings to help guide these decisions.

So how is this a Constitutional issue?

Let's use the Charlie Kirk example.

A group applies to have a Charlie Kirk display in October for his birthday. They meet all the requirements and check all the boxes for approval. The LAB votes for it and decides to allow that display because there is no reason not to. It meets all the criteria. It scores more than 10 points on the chart.

All good. Approved!

But what happens if a group comes in April and makes an application for a Hitler display? They want Mein Kampf and other writings to be on display. His birthday is in April, so perfect time for a display, right?

They file the application. It meets all the requirements and checks all the boxes for approval. The LAB takes it up at a meeting and denies it. They say they don't want a Hitler display, it does not fit this community and so on.

Most people would agree with that decision... however... the Constitution does not. You see, the LAB/library is a government entity. By denying the application, they would be violating the First Amendment. Why is that? Because it is viewpoint/content restriction.

You see, assuming the required neutrality of the policy, the LAB approved the Charlie Kirk display because it checked the boxes for approval and met the requirements and point total.

But so did the Hitler display. It met the same requirements and checked the same boxes. It scores at least 10 points on numbers 3 through 7. It passes the test. You could argue it would get points for #2 as well. No reason to deny it other than not wanting it in the libraries.

Yet, it was denied. That is not being content neutral and is restricting a display based on its content. That is 100% a First Amendment violation and we are having volunteers make those decisions without legal counsel.

BIG PROBLEM.

That is the problem with allowing outside displays. If you allow one, you HAVE to allow all that meet the criteria and point totals. Not sure we want to open that door.

The policy should be that displays can only originate from the library itself. The library has a policy on how it chooses displays under Policy 14. Adam Chang sent an email to commissioners with monthly themes the library uses for displays throughout the year.

What is wrong with that approach and why do we need to change it?

I understand that events may happen to popular people like Charlie Kirk and some may want to feature him in a display, but if you do it for one, you need to do it for others... and I bet the people who support the Kirk display would not support a display for a person opposite of Kirk.

That is why I think this is a terrible idea. No outside groups should be able to have displays in the libraries. Let the library make that decision and take it out of the hands of the LAB.