Vote Unanimous on Library Board’s Decision to Retain Two Books in Teen/Tween Collection, Despite Requests to Relocate Them; One Member Resigned in Advance

OLD LYME — After the Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library Board of Trustees had issued a statement regarding their decision to retain two controversial books in the Library’s Teen/Tween collection, we asked Library Director Katie Huffman some follow-up questions.

Our first question was whether the vote had been unanimous. She responded by email saying, “The vote to keep the books in the library’s collections was unanimous, but please note that Tara Ward resigned from the board on Monday in advance of the meeting.”

Ward had signed a request by lead organizer Stephen Spooner and 134 additional residents of Lyme and Old Lyme that the library should “reconsider” its decision on Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan and its availability to children ages 11-19.

We also asked Huffman whether the three-hour meeting had been contentious. She told us, again by email, “The discussion about whether these 2 books complied with the policy and whether they should remain in the Teen/Tween room was straightforward and the decision was unanimous.”

She elaborated saying, “Much of the meeting was spent in discussion about where we go from here, especially about how we might better communicate with the public about our policies and selection process and how we might create more room for dialogue with parents and community members.”