LLANO COUNTY, Texas — On a hot spring day in Llano County, in a small Central Texas community approximately 75 miles west of Austin, emotions were running high as residents debated over the future of their libraries.
“I’m here because of the need to protect at all costs, the duties and responsibilities but also the benefit of the First Amendment,” resident Sharon Keilin said.
Two opposing sides met at a county meeting on free speech at the local courthouse to determine the current status of the Llano public libraries.
“We don’t sell liquor to children under 21 years old. We don’t sell cigarettes to kids under 18 years old. We don’t go into the library and have pornographic material available to minors,” resident Lynsi Herron said.
The original argument stemmed from the removal of 17 books deemed inappropriate by mostly conservative members of the local community.
“I’m not going to lose my integrity over compromising over a situation that should not be,” resident Ervin Light said.
However, a lawsuit brought forth by other residents led to a federal judge ruling in their favor and forcing the books to be returned to the shelves.
The special meeting of the Commissioners Court Thursday was to determine whether the county would keep the library system open in the midst of the ongoing litigation surrounding this highly controversial debate.
“It’s not a library’s job to parent,” resident Suzette Baker said. “It’s a library’s job to make sure information is available to anyone that wants it.”
After public testimonials from both viewpoints, an executive meeting and Judge Ron Cunningham’s final ruling, it was determined the libraries would stay open and that another judicial hearing would decide how the public entity would censor materials moving forward.
“The library will remain open. We will try this in the courts and not through social media or the news media,” Cunningham said.
As this often tight knit community of neighbors and friends moves forward, many hope there’s a middle ground to be found in this heated Hill Country conversation.
“The majority of Llano wants their libraries. The majority of Llano is tired of this. This is not what Llano is about,” resident Jeffrey Scoggins said.