Keeping Children Safe Albany group calling for review of library books, claiming they are a ‘gross violation’

The newly formed Keeping Children Safe Albany committee is calling for the City of Albany council to restrict access to “sexually graphic” educational books at the local library. In a statement to the Albany Advertiser last Thursday, the committee alleges that books available on the shelves of the Albany Public Library are “inappropriate” and in “gross violation” of community standards and is urging the council to review “sexually graphic books and investigate others” and then create a restricted area to prevent children from accessing them. The statement followed a contentious appearance at the City of Albany’s May 28 council meeting when group representative Michelle Kinsella spoke at question time on the topic. Ms Kinsella held up two library-leased books — Welcome to Sex by Dr Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes, and Sex: A Book for Teens by Nikol Hasler — and handed out photocopies of pages from the books to councillors, despite resistance from city staff. “I’m sure every single adult in this room would be appalled to know what is in these books,” she said at the meeting. “In this book here, it explicitly describes how to do advanced sexual acts. “These are not appropriate for our children.” Ms Kinsella said that books encourage “grooming” and “sex abuse” of children and are a “gross violation” of Albany community standards. “They shouldn’t be in our library, they shouldn’t be on display and we want you to work with us so we can get this under control,” she said. “The over-sexualisation of children reduces their inhibitions and makes them open to predators.” Members of the gallery were divided over Ms Kinsella’s speech, with some applauding and others disagreeing including Jon Doust who called it “unnecessary”. “If such material should be kept private, why use such language in a public meeting?” he said. In a statement to the Advertiser on Wednesday, City of Albany chief executive Andrew Sharpe said the Albany Public Library is an “inclusive and welcoming space” guided by the Australian Library and Information Association’s free access to information statement and the International Federation of Library Associations’ statement on libraries and intellectual freedom. “The ALIA free access to information statement states that library and information services have particular responsibilities in supporting and sustaining the free flow of information and ideas,” Mr Sharpe said. “The Albany Public Library is a public facility for use by all community members and is required to offer a service to all residents without discrimination.” The IFLA statement includes advice to make selections based on “professional considerations and not by political, moral and religious views”, ensure materials are “equally accessible to all users” and “oppose any form of censorship”. In its Thursday statement, the committee said it planned to launch a social media campaign and online petition and speak to community leaders to raise awareness. KCSA said they have also attended the Albany police station “to discuss with officers the potential criminal violation that has occurred as a result of these books being on public display”. Albany police were contacted for comment. Both Welcome to Sex and Sex: A Book for Teens are described on their websites as books for teens with Welcome to Sex stating that it is in “most cases . . . not suitable for primary school aged children”. The Palgrave Handbook of Sexuality Education states that over-regulating children’s access to knowledge on sexuality leads to them becoming “vulnerable subjects”, citing the benefits of building “sexuality literacy” early in life.