In a time where culture wars are happening left and right, Coronado experienced its own battle regarding LGBTQ+ content at the City Council meeting on July 18.
That’s when concerned parents and residents crammed the chambers to speak during public comment over the Coronado Public Library holding a storytime hour on June 9 for children ages 3-6, where a book was read in honor of Pride Month.
Library officials had decided to have “The Rainbow Parade,” which is about a young girl who attends her first Pride parade in San Francisco, read during storytime.
The Coronado City Council took no action on the issue, but City Manager Tina Friend said new guidelines have been put in place to deal with books that are read at future storytimes.
Roughly 30 people engage in debate
The roughly 30 people who came to the city council meeting to speak publicly were split evenly on whether the Library should have allowed the book to be read to small children.
With each speaker, nods of approval or shaking of heads coursed through the room like waves, regardless of which stance was taken.
One side believed those kinds of books should not be read to children that young, or should be placed in a different section where little hands couldn’t reach it.
The other side said it trusted the judgment of Library officials and that if a parent thought the material was inappropriate, they shouldn’t bring their children where that material might be present.
Remaining civil
With such a sensitive topic amidst a regional culture war, Coronado residents stayed civil and respectful throughout the hour and a half of public comments made at the podium.
“The illustrations of this book feature adult sexual themes, including fetishes, public nudity, and highly charged political themes,” said Mike Yeager, a Coronado parent of three young children. “There’s a depiction of protestors holding signs that say things like ‘Trans Lives Matter’ and ‘Silence is Death.’”
There was a theme of residents making it known that they were not at the council meeting to advocate for the banning of books like the “Rainbow Parade” or of censorship, but to develop a system that would deem a book inappropriate for children of certain age groups.
A few of the suggestions involved keeping books that were still meant for children, but older ones, at a higher shelf so that younger children could not physically reach them and potentially learn about something that their parents were not comfortable with them knowing at that age.
Other views
On the opposing view, residents mentioned the importance of learning about different lifestyles and that if a parent was offended by the material presented, that they could avoid it.
“I have a trans son, and if my son would’ve been able to have LGBTQ+ books read…and see himself in storytime, he might have been able to transition earlier than waiting until he left Coronado because he didn’t feel comfortable transitioning in our community,” said Tami Sandke, a Coronado resident and parent.
Those speaking on this position saw no issue with this book educating children about the LGBTQ+ lifestyle, and even saw it as important to learn about those in the Coronado community who identified in this way.
“No one is compulsory in attendance, anyone is free to leave,” said Coronado resident Doris Besikof in regards to the storytime hour.
Changes made at Library
In response, Friend, the city manager, acknowledged the respectfulness of the speakers and said that she had been discussing solutions with the Coronado Public Library.
Friend said changes were made at the Library so that themes for storytime will be disclosed a month before each event.
An issue that was brought up in her conversation with the Library is that the books within a certain theme that have been chosen to be read at storytime are picked right before the event begins due to the nature of books being checked out.
To combat the spontaneity of the books being read, Friend said that they will be putting out the books 10-15 minutes before storytime starts in order for parents to make sure they are comfortable with their children learning from that particular book.
So far, the decision for what books and themes that are to be explored during storytime will still stay with the experts at the Library, but parents now are able to have more flexibility in whether or not they personally approve of the content.
