Mat-Su committee recommends removal of library book despite attorney’s advice about the book’s legality

What you need to know:

• A Mat-Su library advisory panel voted Monday to recommend removing "Identical" by Ellen Hopkins from borough library shelves, even as the borough's attorney said that his office has not determined the book is illegal under Alaska law.
• Some committee members said they objected to the book because it contains illegal behavior and lacks "healthy coping mechanisms." One committee member suggested the book should be burned.
• The borough's community development director will make the final decision about whether the book will remain on shelves. The library committee will next consider "Red Hood" by Elana K. Arnold during a public meeting scheduled for Sept. 7.

PALMER – A Mat-Su library advisory panel tasked with examining challenged books voted Monday to recommend that "Identical" by Ellen Hopkins be removed from borough public library shelves, even as the borough’s attorney told the panel that his office does not consider the book illegal.

"Identical" follows the experiences of twin sisters and includes themes of incest, rape, drug use, abuse, bulimia and suicide. It is shelved in the young adult section of three Matanuska-Susitna Borough libraries.

The committee voted 5-2 to recommend that "Identical" be removed from circulation. Two members voted to move it from the "young adult" section to the "adult" section. One member said she chose both "remove the book" and an option of "other" included on the borough-created book review scorecard issued to panelists, and said she wanted the book burned.

“I put ‘remove the book from the library,’ but it gives you an option of ‘other,’ and I said, ‘burn it,’” committee member Sally Pollen said during Monday’s vote.

Watch a replay of the borough citizens' advisory committee meeting:

The board also unanimously agreed that the book contains indecent material as defined by Alaska state law because it depicts certain sexual acts and "appeals to the prurient interest in sex of persons under 16 years of age."

A final decision on whether the book will remain in Mat-Su libraries will be made by the borough's community development director, according to borough law.

Borough Attorney Nick Spiropoulos told the committee that his office does not consider the book illegal under state law because placing a book with indecent material on shelves is not identified as a crime under the statute. Instead, it's how the book is distributed that matters, he said during Monday's meeting.

“You have to possess it and intentionally deliver it to someone, or intentionally attempt to deliver it to someone,” Spiropoulos said. “If the position of the board is, ‘Well, it’s illegal, so we can just stop talking about it,’ you can make that recommendation. My office has not determined that.”

Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor sent a letter to librarians last year warning against giving obscene material to minors, but state prosecutors have not yet charged anyone with a related crime, Spiropoulos said.

“If this book violated Alaska law to the point where it was so clear, I don’t have an explanation for why somebody hasn’t been charged, arrested, and convicted,” he said. 

Committee Chairman Chad Scott said his biggest issues with the content of "Identical" are the criminal behavior it details and a lack of what he characterized as "healthy coping mechanisms" in the story.

“One of the biggest lies that we've heard in the process of this is that, ‘Well, if only I would have had this book when I went through this, this would have really helped me,’” he said of some individuals who support the book. “And other than commiserating with your misery, this shows no actual statements or principles to guide into healing. There's no healthy coping mechanism.”

Other members agreed.

“This book isn't trying to give any resource,” said committee member Michelle Dempsey. “It's pure entertainment; it's basically smut for young people.”

A final decision on the book by the borough's community development department is pending, officials said. Spiropoulos said he could not comment on whether his team advises that office on the legality of books.

“I cannot comment on any specific advice or subjects, but the Borough Attorney’s Office is available to all departments of the borough for advice and counsel on any matter they want,” he said in an email Wednesday. 

"Identical" is among 16 titles recommended for removal from school library shelves by at least some members of a now-disbanded Mat-Su School Borough School District citizens' library committee. The book was ultimately returned to shelves in June after a review by administrators, district officials said.

The district's citizens' committee was tasked with reviewing a total of 56 books, all of which were removed from school shelves early last year before the committee's review.

That preemptive removal is the focus of an ongoing lawsuit filed on behalf of district students by the ACLU and the Northern Justice League, which contends the action violated students' civil rights.

A federal court order issued last week requires the district to return to shelves any books that were removed without clear legal justification and to provide the court with an official statement on the status of the books. District officials said they plan to comply with the court order and have already reshelved all of the required books.

Seven of the 56 challenged books remain off school shelves after the school board decided to permanently remove them. Those books are "Call Me by Your Name" by André Aciman; "You" by Caroline Kepnes; "It Ends with Us," "Ugly Love," and "Verity" by Colleen Hoover; and "A Court of Mist and Fury" and "A Court of Silver Flames" by Sarah Maas.

The borough's citizens' panel was ordered by the Mat-Su Assembly in April and modeled after the school district's committee, officials said at the time. It replaces a longstanding materials review committee made up of librarians and library advisory board members that was disbanded earlier this year by Borough Manager Mike Brown after its January meeting ended in chaos.

Members of the new citizens' committee must have "expertise and knowledge of the community," according to borough code. They are selected by Mayor Edna DeVries and confirmed by a vote of the assembly.

The borough committee only reviews books challenged at the five Mat-Su Borough public libraries in Big Lake, Talkeetna, Willow, Trapper Creek and Sutton. Libraries in Wasilla and Palmer are overseen by the cities and have their own review processes.

"Identical" is currently available at 13 libraries in the Alaska Library Network, including five in Mat-Su, according to an online library catalog. It is also available as an e-book through the Alaska Library Network and is on the shelves of all nine high schools, four middle schools and one correspondence program in the Mat-Su school district, according to borough officials. 

The next meeting of the library advisory committee is scheduled for Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. The committee is slated to review "Red Hood" by Elana K. Arnold. Four other books are scheduled for review at future meetings, including "Forever" by Judy Blume.

-- Amy Bushatz can be contacted at abushatz@matsusentinel.com.

This story was updated on Aug. 14 to include the correct date of the committee’s next meeting. The correct date is Sept. 9.