A Self-Described Group Of Non-Book Banners Are Overhauling A Public Library Book Review Committee

A Montgomery County commissioner's request this week to consider revising the public library system's book review policy fell on the deaf ears of his fellow commissioners, who appear resistant to such changes.

Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack suggested the County Attorney’s office work with the library and Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough’s office to draft possible revisions.

Heeding some community members’ criticism, Noack proposed adding language to the policy that clearly indicates a person filing a reconsideration request must be a Montgomery County resident. Although the current version of the measure includes this verbiage, proof of residency is not checked. Noack described the measure adopted as “messy” and said some of its contents needed to be fixed.

“Provide input to make this a more sound policy,” Noack said. “One that addresses all the needs because I think we can all agree we need a policy to give people the opportunity to have books.”

In an emailed statement to the Houston Press , Jason Millsaps, Keough’s chief of staff, wrote that Keough highly values the opinion and advice of the County Attorney's office but noted that they do not set policy.

Millsaps added that the Commissioner's Court already has a policy in place and that it will remain in place.

The court tabled discussions on the matter after Keough cut off Noack’s recommendation, suggesting that they wait for all commissioners to be present. Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley was absent on Tuesday.

Not all commissioners were present during the March meeting when the policy first passed. Noack’s seat was vacant when the measure was approved on a 3-1 vote, with Riley as the sole dissenter.

A group of roughly 20 self-described Christian, conservative residents attended court on Tuesday to display their opposition to revising the policy. Michele Nuckolls, a homeschool parent, led the charge.

Nuckolls, who also frequents Conroe ISD school board meetings despite not having children in the district, is the one-woman show behind Two Moms and Some Books , a blog for her work finding books she deems inappropriate in public school and community libraries.

Nuckolls urged the court not to revise the policy and spoke out against Noack’s appointment of a new member, James Stilwell, to the citizen’s reconsideration committee established by the policy.

She argued that Noack’s term would end in December and that the court should hold off until Precinct 3 Commissioner Elect Ritch Wheeler assumes office in January and can appoint a “reasonable conservative.”

The committee comprises five commissioner-appointed residents who review children's, young adult, and parenting book challenges. Librarians had previously served on the committee but were stripped of their positions in March.

“The new policy is working,” Nuckolls said. “Citizens act as a jury appointed by each of you [the commissioners] to review the books and review placement based on community values.”

Nuckolls referenced two texts during her public comments, The Pants Project by Cat Clarke and Melissa (aka George) by Alex Gino, which she said encourage secrets to be kept from parents and share resources to find adults on the internet to talk about sexuality. Each of these books has transgender main characters.

“They keep talking about conservative values, but when we had the article come out in the Montgomery County Courier , and it mentioned The Woodlands Pride Community Library, the overwhelming response was positive,” Teresa Kenney, owner of Village Books, said. “There was some negative. Obviously, we would expect that.”

Kenney said some of the same people reacting negatively to the library, which is housed within her store and displays works featuring minority, diverse and LGBTQ narratives that are likely taken off or not put on the public libraries’ shelves, referenced The Turner Diaries by William Luther Pierce in their comments.

Pierce was the head of the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi group, and his novel has been tied to the alt-right and White Nationalism.

“That’s very frightening because that’s essentially white supremacy. That’s what they’re playing to,” Kenney said in an interview with the Houston Press . “Those are the values that they’re playing to. That fear. That’s not conservative values.”

Nuckolls mentioned the library on Tuesday, which was founded by Rachel Walker, the engagement specialist and chair of community outreach for The Woodlands Pride. She described it as “specifically for the previously mentioned books” she took issue with.

The mom-turned-advocate called out Kenney’s past proposed appointment to the reconsideration committee, as she has done on her blog. Kenney was initially considered to serve in the role in July. This drew criticism from Nuckolls, who wrote that she was "not a conservative and would not have represented our community values."

There are no requirements to serve on the committee, such as affiliating with a certain ideology or political party.

Kenney was among roughly ten attendees who showed up on Tuesday to encourage the court to revise the policy. Kenney called for transparency in the committee meeting’s procedures and questioned whether there were boundaries to their responsibilities.

Notably, the business owner addressed one of the committee's decisions, which she learned about through a public records request, to recategorize a nonfiction title, Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs, to a fiction book.

“I can only assume it is because it is a telling of the history of indigenous people that they do not approve of,” Kenney said. “Is this type of decision to recategorize a published book by a major respected publisher under their scope of work in the reconsideration policy? Whose history is fact or fiction?”

She asked for librarian oversight to return to the committee. Kenney also requested more information about these reviews be shared with the public. Per the current policy, the complainant can attend the meetings, but other community members can’t and do not know when they are held or what is being discussed.

Echoing the sentiments of other community members, Kenney reiterated the need for experts with background knowledge in library science or education to be included in these conservations. She added that this is particularly true when these decisions are final, and there are currently no checks and balances.

“It is crucial to clarify that discussion about gender identity, sexual orientation and comprehensive sex education, when presented in an educational context, do not fit the definition of harmful material,” Walker said. “They possess significant educational, scientific and social value.”

Walker held up It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris and Michel Emberley and told a story of a girl who was able to tell her mother she was being sexually abused by her stepfather because of the book.

“Those of us that lend our voices to fighting book bans often hear, it’s not a ban, we just want it relocated,” Walker said. “But if this book had been relocated or restricted in the instance of that nine-year-old little girl. She may never have found the words to ask her mother for help.”

After shelving discussion on the matter due to Riley’s absence, Noack told Keough he planned to bring the issue of revisiting the reconsideration policy back to the court’s agenda. Ultimately, the commissioners voted unanimously to place Stilwell on the committee.

However, they limited his term to end in December, corresponding with the end date of Noack’s time in office. Stilwell is a managing partner of a local law firm and serves on several community boards and organizations.

Keough noted that Wheeler will have the opportunity to make his appointment to the committee after he assumes office.

The Houston Press requested comment from Nuckolls, but she did not respond to the Press's inquiries by the time of publication.