GOP law forces library to require ID from patrons under 30 to access “adult” books

An Idaho library sign went viral on Reddit earlier this month for stating that all patrons under the age of 30 must show a photo ID proving that they’re above 18 years old to access an adults-only section. The sign is real, and it’s part of a troubling trend affecting librarians, communities, and free speech rights nationwide.

Earlier this year, Idaho’s Republican-led government passed House Bill 710, forcing libraries to recategorize challenged books — including children’s books with LGBTQ+ themes — as being for adults only. The law is similar to censorious legislation introduced in other red states, and a similar law could be enacted nationwide if former President Donald Trump gets reelected and puts Project 2025 into effect.

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The three plaintiffs allege their removal was retaliation for their stance against restrictions on books.

The Idaho law outlines what it considers to be “obscene materials,” which includes nudity, sexual excitement, sado-masochistic abuse, and sexual conduct. However, sexual conduct is defined broadly and includes “homosexuality” with no clarification as to whether this means explicit sex or just the existence of LGBTQ+ people in any book.

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Libraries that violate the law are slapped with a mandatory $250 fine, and if a patron sues, there is no cap to the damages they may be awarded — meaning libraries, which are usually already cash-strapped, could face closure if it’s unable to afford to pay.

The law is so vaguely written that libraries are figuring out ad-hoc solutions to comply with it. One library in Idaho Falls erected the aforementioned sign requiring patrons to provide photo ID to enter the adult section of the library, while another state library has gone entirely adult-only.

The Idaho library sign went viral on Reddit in early July. The sign features a red “STOP” sign and says, “Pursuant to Idaho Code Section 18-1514 That become effective July 1, 2024. To proceed beyond this point you must: Be 18 years of age or older. (if you are under 30 please be prepared to show Photo ID) Or Have an unrestricted library card. (Please have your card ready to be scanned) Or Be accompanied by your parent or legal guardian who must sign an affidavit every time you come to the library.”

New sign in Idaho Public Libraries requiring a ID to enter.
byu/glitchvdub inpics

The Idaho Library Association confirmed to LGBTQ Nation that the sign was indeed real, and posted at the Idaho Falls Library. Robert Wright, the director of the Idaho Falls Library, clarified that only patrons who don’t already have a library card are asked for photo ID.

When parents sign their child up to get a library card, they have the option to allow their kids to check out any books in the library, or to restrict them to the children’s section on the first floor, Wright said. If a child has a restricted library card, they must be accompanied by a parent to the third-floor adult library and sign an affidavit every single time they go to the adult section.

“Doing so acts as an affirmative defense if the parent were to later file an action against the library,” Wright said.

Wright says that requiring a photo ID can affect not only undocumented members of the community, but also unhoused people.

“We are aware that no solution is perfect, and that in an imperfect world, the best we can do is try to find a solution that protects the library from those seeking to change it into something they deem acceptable — in this case, what appears to be White Christian Nationalism — while still seeking to serve as many people as possible,” Wright added.

Wright also said how difficult it’s been since the law went into effect on July 1.

“There have been several staff members brought to tears more than once since the law became effective,” he said. “Our current staff is one of the most empathetic and patron-oriented staff that I have worked with in my career. It has been very hard on them to implement the new procedures.”

Similar statements were echoed by Sherri Scheline, the director of Idaho’s Donnelly Public Library.

“Trust me, my librarians are good librarians,” she said. “If a child is checking a book out that they shouldn’t check out, I promise you one of my teachers, or one of my librarians is gonna say, ‘Not today.’ They’re good. My librarians are good. They’re skillful. They have big hearts. I guarantee you my teachers would never, ever harm a child. That’s never their intent of anything. They love these kids.”

The Donnelly Library is a one-room library with 1,204 square feet. Though the law requires librarians to put challenged books in an adult-only space, the Donnelly library is so small that it was forced to go adults-only.

This is not to say that children are barred from the library. Children either need to have a parent with them or a signed waiver from their guardian granting access to the library. The waiver has three options for parents: one, to never allow the child inside without an adult; two, to allow the child into the library for its programming, but barring them from checking anything out, including e-tablets; and, three, allowing access to the library and the ability to check out items, with the parent waiving their right under the new law to go after the library for civil penalties.

Scheline told LGBTQ Nation that her local patrons were largely more than happy to allow their children access.

“We’ve had over 100 families sign [the waiver]. Only two have chosen options one and two,” Scheline said. “It’s gone well so far. I’ve not had any hiccups. I suppose at some point there will be one because, well, you know, all good things come to an end.”

The Donnelly Library is continuing its programs for children. When LGBTQ Nation reached out to Scheline, her library had about 20 children inside for an educational summer day camp. The kids were learning about maps, making crafts, and preparing for a walking field trip to the local farmer’s market.

The vagueness of the statute has librarians like Scheline nervous about what could be challenged. She says, hypothetically, that a patron could object to a children’s book about two mothers who go to a parent-teacher conference. In that instance, she would have to file that book alongside literature actually meant for adults, where it would never get circulated among young readers.

“We have children in our school district who have same-sex parents. And those children deserve to see themselves reflected in literature. They deserve to go to the shelf that is designed for children, and they deserve to check out a book that reflects their home life,” she said. “And I will not, will not,  move those books and begrudge those children of books that reflect themselves in literature. It does not matter what my views are on the book itself. I will not move the book.”

She’s also said that she hasn’t had a problem with patrons challenging books prior to the law. The Donnelly Library already had a reconsideration policy, and in all that time, Scheline only had two requests to reconsider a book. One was the book Looking For Alaska by John Green, where a patron asked that it be reclassified as an adult novel.

Looking For Alaska is one of the most-challenged books in libraries, according to the American Library Association. It’s about a high schooler who becomes interested in a girl named Alaska. Though a young adult novel, the book’s challengers claim it is sexually explicit. It also has LGBTQ+ content.

“I never speak about a book in a challenge pattern unless I’ve read that book. I had not read Looking for Alaska. So I took Looking for Alaska, and I took that mother’s word,” Scheline said. “And you know what? She watched me walk over, she watched me reclassify it. She watched me relabel it. And she watched me put it on the shelf and the adult section. There was never a discussion. There was never a reconsideration filed. I just did it.”

In another instance, Educated by Tara Westover, a memoir about a homeschooled Mormon woman from Idaho, was challenged by a patron who said it was insulting to her faith as a member of the Mormn Church of Latter Day Saints. In this case, Scheline had read the book, and argued for keeping it, citing its local interest and calling it “reflective of who we are as a people.” She did give the patron the official forms to submit a formal challenge, but the patron didn’t follow through.

The patron is a regular visitor to the library and two months later, Scheline said that they had another discussion because the library had gotten in a copy of Westover’s mother’s response book, Educating, and she recommended it to the patron.

“Those are the only problems I’ve had at the library. But yet, here the government is, ‘Let’s go ahead and reach our big giant long arm onto this little tiny library and create a penalty if they have LGBTQ books in their kids section. Let’s not just give them a slap on the hand, because they’re promoting homosexuality. Let’s go ahead and slap them with the $250 fines, plus civil penalties. Because God forbid that we’d be a modern society in 2024. We don’t want our children to be subjected to kindness, humility, virtue and gentleness.’ So that is how I feel about the bill,” Scheline said.

While it’s unclear how many states and cities have passed similar laws blocking young people’s access to LGBTQ+ library books, numerous reports have emerged of librarians and libraries being threatened for carrying queer-inclusive kid’s books. Some Republican officials have accused libraries of offering “pornography” to children, resulting in book theft, defunding of local libraries, and death threats against library workers.

Additionally, numerous states have passed laws banning LGBTQ+ content in school libraries. Last year, the free speech organization PEN America noted that book bans in public K–12 schools continue to intensify.

“In the 2022–2023 school year, PEN America recorded 3,362 instances of books banned, an increase of 33% from the 2021–22 school year,” the group said. Authors whose books are targeted are most frequently female, people of color, and/or LGBTQ+ individuals, with 30% of the banned titles including either characters of color or discussions of race and racism, and 30% including LGBTQ+ characters or themes.

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