Huntington Beach City Council members are looking at turning library management over to a private company and establishing a review process on what books are allowed to hit the shelves.
During Tuesday’s public meeting, council members voted 4-3 to authorize a bidding process to privatize library management and create a book review group.
A vast majority of residents who spoke during public comment were against both proposals, with the council nearly throwing multiple people out of the room for chanting “Shame!” when the council majority approved the move.
“I want the people removed now,” said Councilman Tony Strickland right before a 5-minute recess was called after the audience outburst.
As he was standing up from the dais, a hot mic picked up Strickland saying, “I’m not going to put up with that shit.”
The council majority said the bidding process is fiscally responsible.
“It doesn’t obligate us to anything, it just gives us an idea of options on how we can handle some of the finances in this city. I don’t see any harm in going out and getting a few bids,” said Councilman Pat Burns. “I think we’d be negligent in our job if we didn’t.”
The council minority pointed out the total savings would amount to around $1 million or less, and questioned how the discussion made it on the agenda.
“We’ve created a ‘We Love Our Libraries’ month only to turn around and look at selling that very library system out,” said Councilwoman Natalie Moser. “We already have a bookstore in town, we should not be looking at turning our library into another one.”
The discussion on privatizing library management comes after former Mayor Mike Posey reached out on behalf of his employer, Library Systems and Services, to ask if the city was interested in having them take over running the library.
While none of Orange County’s libraries are privately operated, Library Systems and Services runs libraries in places like Riverside County and the cities of Upland, Escondido and Palmdale.
[Read: Huntington Beach Studies Privatizing Public Library Management]
The vast majority of commenters and those who sent in letters criticized the privatization move.
Debra Jubinsky, board president of the Huntington Beach Management Employees Association, told council members that the librarians were “the heart and soul of our award winning library.”
“Next to the beach, our library is probably our best known and most well-loved facility,” Jubinsky said. “Please don’t let your legacy be the dismantling of this beloved resource and the staff that makes it so awesome.”
Multiple council members claimed switching to a private company would cut off any public pensions employees could receive and would lead to lower pay for workers, despite no staff report on the item.
A handful of people came out in support of the move during public comment, saying it would help remove any sexual content from the children’s section.
City council candidate Chad Williams was one of the most outspoken supporters, highlighting a picture book titled “The Big Bath House” that is carried by the local library.
“This is normalizing adults bathing nude with children, this is a pedophile’s dream,” Williams said. “You’re wondering why we need to resort to this so-called privatization. It’s because the city staff can’t stop showing adult privates to our children.”
The discussion also came as city leaders are trying to decide what books should or shouldn’t be in the children’s section, with the council adopting new rules for a 21-person panel that’s slated to decide what children’s books are allowed to enter or remain in the library’s general circulation.
[Read: Huntington Beach Creates Panel To Decide What Books Go Into City Library]
While the creation of the panel was approved last October, the rules for how it’ll function weren’t approved until Tuesday night, allowing the committee members to pull books for review and to review books before they entered the library.
“I feel like the Libertarian on this council trying to limit government interference into our daily lives,” said Councilman Dan Kalmick, a Democrat who voted against the new proposal adding the panel would “break our children’s library.”
Burns said he felt it was “obvious” what books would be considered, and that there wouldn’t be more than a handful of books getting reviewed each year.
“We don’t have the how to guide to do a school shooting, we don’t have Hustler or Penthouse … it’s common sense we don’t need that in our public library,” Burns said. “I’m not talking potty or puberty, I’m talking about teaching an eight year old how to give fellatio.”
Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark also criticized Kalmick’s comments, saying parental involvement through the book review panel will reduce governmental influence on the library.
“It seems a little elitist that you don’t think we’re as worthy as you are cause we don’t have a degree,” Van Der Mark said. “(The government) are the only ones that have any control right now, so I will bring the parents in.”
Kalmick said he wasn’t trying to keep parents out – just politicians.
“When I mean keeping the government out of the library, it means keeping politicians, politics out of the library,” Kalmick said. “I’m not trying to be elitist – I’m trying to be real when we have a professional system.”
“It’s opinion vs expertise.”
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.