This story was reported with support from the
MuckRock foundation
.
 
Earlier this year, an Alaskan assembly member found himself in hot water for introducing a resolution that would have prohibited the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Public Library System from making books and other media available to anyone if deemed “harmful to minors” by the borough manager. 
The proposal wasn’t well received. Public records obtained from the Borough Clerk’s Office and shared with 404 Media show that the proposal was wildly unpopular. In emails to assembly members, constituents implored the resolution's sponsor Michael Bowles to withdraw it, calling it an “audacious and idiotic” attempt at destruction by way of “bureaucratic nightmare.” One constituent likened it to a proposal to “make all libraries children's libraries.” Another said its adoption could result in countless other books being removed that “are not sexual in nature” but which may contain “passing references to sex or adult themes.” 
A week went by before Bowles withdrew the request, seemingly to recalibrate. The
Mat-Su Sentinel
reported in May
that the assembly member introduced and again withdrew a resolution that would have forced the system to pull the book
Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human
from shelves. This teen book has been in the adult section of Mat-Su’s borough-run libraries since 2023 when it was relocated from the teen section following a challenge. 
404 Media has obtained records from dozens of public libraries, which include Requests for Reconsideration of Materials forms (RFRs) and official decision letters to challengers, along with draft versions of updated collection development policies. Much has been written in the last five years about the blatant efforts to suppress access to books that could contain any remotely challenging ideas or that deviate even slightly from cis white heterodoxy, but there’s been little talk about what that means from the res

… [more]