As National Banned Books Week kicks off, the Billings Public Library has been at the center of public controversy for months.
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The library has received two requests for reconsideration in the past year — both from the same group. The most recent book in question is "Sibylline," a dark academia romance novel geared toward ages 14 and up, which garnered negative attention for its sexual content.
A request for reconsideration is a formal form from the library that any Yellowstone County citizen can fill out to challenge content on library shelves.
Director Kelsie Rubich says the library's mission stays the same either way.
"Our goal is for everyone who walks through our doors to find something that reflects their own experience or opens a window to new ideas and perspectives," Rubich said in a statement.
Billings resident Jeff Ketelsen has been attending library board meetings for about a year, speaking out against book bans.
"The library is one of the gems that children get to enjoy all the time — by reading all the books and enjoying all the special programs that the library has to offer," Ketelsen said.
Ketelsen says his support extends to books he personally disagrees with.
"Even though I don't necessarily agree with what's in the book, I still firmly believe that there might be people that do agree with it...and they have the right to read that type of material," Ketelsen said.
In Laurel, Mike Furman, assistant director of the Laurel Public Library, says deciding where a book belongs is never arbitrary.
"There are a lot of resources in the library world for where to place content. If we do have somebody that thinks a book might be a better fit in a different location, we'll take that into consideration — we'll look at the content of the book," Furman said.
When someone formally disagrees with where content is placed, there is a process for that.
"If anybody has a concern, they can come in and grab a request for reconsideration form. It'll go to our library board — and if we deem that there's no problem, it'll just remain on shelf," Furman said.
Challenges are reviewed by the library board, which meets on the second Tuesday of every month. Board meetings are open to the public.
Community member Valerie McMurty, who has attended library board meetings, also weighed in.
"To me the First Amendment is the most important one we have...Trying to restrict content in public schools or libraries is against every right we have. Humans are creatures of free will...The first and last person who should determine what a child gets to read is the parent," McMurty said.
For Ketelsen, the stakes go beyond Billings.
"All power comes from the citizens, not from the government. As long as the citizens will stand up and express their opinions in a respectful manner — I think it's important that our citizens come out and express those opinions. Because if we don't express them, then we don't have anybody to blame but ourselves," Ketelsen said.
