Flathead County Library trustees hold off on overhauling young adult section

Concerned about the age appropriateness of materials in the young adult section, Flathead County Library trustees asked staff Thursday to place additional signs in teen areas, forgoing other proposals, like relabeling books or organizing a community audit.

Board of Trustees Chair David Ingram said that when he raised the issue in February, he was interested in aiding parents confused by the young adult designation, which he described as catering to readers 12 to 25 years old. It’s a sentiment his fellow trustees largely agreed with, aside from Trustee Jane Wheeler.

The young adult section is housed in teen areas of all Flathead County Library branches. A recent audit conducted by library staff revealed that out of the 318 titles in the section, only three books fell into the general adult category. The remainder were for children aged 12 through 18. 

Staff subsequently moved the three titles to the fiction area of the library. 

Flathead County Teen Services Librarian Starr White warned against some options presented to the board ahead of the March 28 meeting, particularly the option of conducting a community audit. That process would require dozens of residents and volunteers to read through young adult books and decide whether to keep them. White cited a recent community audit in Beaufort County, South Carolina that took roughly a year to complete and cost the local school district nearly $8,000.

“Let us remember the profound value of our young adult collection,” White said. “It serves as a bridge between adulthood and childhood, providing critical resources for education and personal growth. Our commitment to intellectual freedom must include preserving spaces where young minds can discover, question and grow.” 

Trustees echoed White’s sentiments, but still pressed for a way to provide clarification on the intended age range.

“It sounds to me like you're doing everything, but I just want clarification on the name. And to just make sure that things are labeled correctly,” said Trustee Doug Adams, who deemed the young adult term disingenuous. 

Young adult is how books are labeled when ordered from the publisher as it is an industry-wide designation for books intended for tween, teen and young adult readers. White said at Flathead County Library, the young adult collection is curated for children ages 12 through 18. She said some books have topics and characters in future stages of life, like college or young adulthood, but the age of the intended reader is still that of high school or middle school children. 

The question of what to do with the young adult section also garnered comments from staff and members of the public. Flathead Valley Community College Director of Library Services Morgan Ray said trustees should let White and other employees continue their work as per usual. 

“In this meeting I've heard a lot about how many different projects you have going on, like opening up the Bigfork library, changing the name and finding a logo. To me, this is not the moment for the conversation,” Ray said. “I think the library staff is working incredibly hard to make sure they are providing good services, and pulling teen services off of their normal scheduled summer projects is not necessary … and I think this would cause undue burden on staff.”

After a lengthy discussion, Trustee Carmen Cuthbertson made a motion to go with the first option presented by Library Director Teri Dugan to “leave the section as it stands.” Adams made an amendment to that motion, adding that staff should put up signs clarifying that the intended age range of the section is 12 through 18 years old. 

Cuthbertson also asked staff to put out a public announcement detailing the board’s decision.

The next Flathead County Library Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m., April 25. 

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.