I had not been able to attend a Hamilton East Public Library (HEPL) board meeting in several months, so Thursday night I decided to check out what was happening by attending the session at the HEPL Library in Fishers.  (The Noblesville Library is also part of the HEPL system)

The board considered a number of fairly routine matters, including a presentation on how the library is funded and the budget process.

It appeared the meeting was nearing an uneventful end when board member Ray Maddalone said the progress on reviewing books for content was “pretty disappointing.”  Seven part-time people have been working ten hours per week reviewing books for adherence to the content instructions from the board, as to whether the books should be moved from the teen area to the adult collection.

Maddalone asked if these part-time employees were taking books home to read and review.  Library Director Edra Waterman said yes, but these workers are not leisurely reading books as one might due for pleasure.  According to Watermnan, these employees are filling out forms as they review the books.

Library staff said this is a new process and everyone is doing their best to set expectations.

“I’m a Board of Trustees member, I set policy and objectives,” said Maddalone. “I don’t do the operational mechanization of the process.  That’s up to our manager, and if our manager is not up to do that, then we’ll find someone else.”

That comment drew a negative reaction from the crowd.  At least one audience member was escorted out of the meeting room by police, others left the room on their own.

Board member Tiffanie Ditlevson indicated she was not concerned about the pace of the book reviews because HEPL is probably the only library system in Indiana, perhaps the nation, undergoing this process.

Waterman did say some new software, soon to be implemented, may help quicken the review pace to some extent.

No action was taken on this issue, but there was plenty of discussion.