ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — On Tuesday night, St. Charles County residents brought their concerns about an explicit book to the St. Charles City-County Library Board meeting.
Viewers reached out to 5 On Your Side and said they were shocked to see this book on St. Charles City-County Library shelves.
They said the book has graphic and explicit images, and the title, itself, claims it can teach you how to have sex like an adult film star.
“What bothers me is the book is sexually explicit in nature, and it doesn't have the business of being in the library or any public library which we pay for with our taxpayer money,” resident Eric Newberry said.
Another resident said any books like it don’t belong at the library.
“Any sexually explicit material that would corrupt young minds, I think, is not appropriate,” resident David Robertson said.
One resident said he was concerned about several books in the St. Charles City-County Library, including the explicit one in question.
“I was just at the library that the book was found in, and I walked the grounds, and there's a common area with a bunch of chairs and 10 feet from where these books are found. And they're on the second from the bottom shelf, which is kid's eye level,” resident AJ Terrell said.
Other people said it should be the parent’s responsibility to control what their kids read, not the library.
“That's a job for adults. Whether there is one mommy or two daddies or an uncle or aunt. That's your job to make sure those are the right books for that particular child,” resident Grayson Jostes said.
St. Charles City-County Library CEO Jason Kuhl said there is already a process for library visitors to report anything that's concerning from materials to displays or programs and they take those reviews seriously.
“The first step is just to talk to any librarian at your local branch if you have a concern because, I mean, maybe it's something that they could just address with you right then. But if that doesn't resolve the issue, we do have a reconsideration of the library content form that is available on our website that anyone can fill out and submit,” Kuhl said.
Prior to the meeting, library staff said they had not received any formal requests for reconsideration of the main book in question.
Kuhl said once a formal report on an item is made, it’s reviewed and there will be a decision within 30 days posted on its website.
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