Earlier this month, a Klamath County book club was canceled following complaints from residents about a book it featured, 鈥淣o More Police: A Case for Abolition.鈥�
鈥淲e picked a book every month that would stimulate discussion about current social justice issues,鈥� said Charla Oppenlander, the assistant library director of the Klamath County Library Service District.
In addition to the book about abolishing police, the club featured other titles like 鈥淓victed: Poverty and Profit in the American City鈥� that addressed income inequity and other social issues. The book club hosted about five to eight community members, according to Oppenlander.
At a on May 3, the Klamath County Board of Commissioners instructed the library to ensure programming didn鈥檛 create a perception of endorsing or sponsoring a political position.
鈥淚鈥檓 not about banning books, ever,鈥� said Derrick DeGroot, the chair of the commission at the meeting. But, he added, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have political discussions at our library, it is a safe place for people to actually escape the noise.鈥�
As a result, library officials canceled programming that could be construed as being political, including the book club.
Another discussion group that had been running for about 20 years called 鈥淕reat Decisions鈥� was also brought up at the meeting. Commissioner Kelley Minty noted that she was concerned about affecting 鈥淕reat Decisions鈥� because it has run for many years and 鈥渉asn鈥檛 been a problem in the past.鈥� But library officials said they would stop offering 鈥淕reat Decisions鈥� since it focuses on international affairs.
Library officials added that they are about the future of other educational and civic events. Some residents also worry about the precedent the decision sets for suppressing other speech.
鈥淭he 鈥楤attle of the Books鈥� 鈥� it鈥檚 an Oregon state thing that is geared toward children 鈥� addresses some difficult topics,鈥� said Lois Taysom, a Merrill resident and member of the Klamath County Library advisory board. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 something that bothers somebody and they can complain about it and say it鈥檚 political, it can be canceled.鈥�
The is held throughout the state and features a book list for students to read and answer 鈥淛eopardy鈥�-like trivia questions about them. Books in the past have discussed issues like poverty and the caste system.
Questions remain on how to move forward with it and what titles could be deemed to be problematic based on their content.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure I have the most perfect definition of what鈥檚 political and what鈥檚 not,鈥� Minty said. 鈥淔or me, I feel like the point we鈥檙e at now is we need to get to problem solving.鈥�
Oppenlander, Taysom and Minty spoke to 鈥淭hink Out Loud鈥� host Dave Miller about this issue. Click play to listen to the full conversation:
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