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Just moving these books to the adult section won't matter, Sunflower eLibrary lets kids download their own copy anytime. |
Public libraries in Kansas shuffle policies with Sunflower eLibrary and trample Parents' Rights to object to s*xually explicit materials freely accessed by children in online accounts.
The Kansas State Library Handbook (2020 edition, pp. 18–19) directs public libraries to maintain a clearly defined method for handling complaints about materials. The guidance recognizes that challenges may occur and requires the library board policy to oversee a formal reconsideration process, including meeting personally with the Director, submission of a written request, review by designated staff or a committee, and appeals to the governing board, which holds final decision authority.
The 2017 version of the Handbook stated that "the library director should explain that they are complying with the law’s requirements for consideration” (p. 19).
Reconsideration is a procedural right...
The guidance did not change, however the 2020 version
states “the library should explain to the complainant its materials selection
policy, stating that the library board "subscribes" to the ALA (American Library Association) Freedom Statements
(ALA Bill of Rights) (p. 19). The ALA's Library Bill of Rights has no
legal force, with the judge describing the statements as an
"aspirational creed" rather than a binding legal standard. (Berry v. Yosemite Community College District,
Case No. 1:18-cv-00172-LJO-SAB. (E.D. Cal. Apr. 17, 2018). It is not a
federal statute and the ALA has no authority in Kansas. No
identified cases show any ALA policies being upheld in court (or by libraries
in litigation) specifically to deny reconsideration requests for shared digital
items. Berry v. Yosemite Community College District limited the
legal weight of the ALA Library Bill of Rights in court.
The Kansas State Library Handbook is weaker and less
defensible by the recent changes made. Compliance with Kansas
statues is required regardless of what inspired the language in the Handbook,
which is produced with public funds and issued as governmental guidance to
public libraries.
Children have unfiltered access to adult titles and parents
can't object...
Sunflower eLibrary, a statewide consortium serving up to 150 Kansas public libraries, enforces a policy that categorically bars reconsideration of tens of thousands of shared digital materials stating, “Due to the nature of consortium or digital content, it is not possible for individual libraries to remove shared and/or content from the consortium. Individual libraries may remove content purchased under their Advantage accounts. Patrons wishing to challenge content need to submit a formal reconsideration request with each library that owns a copy of the title on the consortium, according to each library’s individual reconsideration policies and processes. Individual libraries who object to content shared by other libraries are encouraged to reconsider their participation in Sunflower eLibrary” (quoted from email dated January 9, 2026 from Hays Public Library Director).
The Hays Public Library adoption of this policy is
even more restrictive, stating, “Due to the nature of consortium or digital
collections, content on Sunflower eLibrary (Libby) cannot be reconsidered if it
was purchased and shared by another library. Content on other online resources
may also be ineligible for reconsideration depending on how the library
subscribes to content on each online resource.” As a result, patrons are denied any meaningful
reconsideration process for all the materials that libraries make available
through consortium access unless their local library owns the title.
There is no statutory, constitutional, or delegated
authority under Kansas law that permits a library consortium to unconditionally
bar reconsideration of shared digital materials, redirect reconsideration
exclusively to an “owning” library, or preempt local library board authority
under K.S.A. 12-1225 Powers and duties of board. This
restriction contradicts the Kansas State Library Handbook (2020, pp. 18–19))
requirement that public libraries maintain a clear, accessible method for
complaints about any material available via its catalog or credentials—no
exceptions for shared digital items—and exceeds the
consortium’s statutory authority.
Because participation in Sunflower eLibrary is conditioned
on compliance with this policy, its adoption produces a uniform statewide
practice among member libraries that essentially prevents patron reconsideration of shared
digital content.
Enter the Consortium...
The Kansas Public Library
Handbook lists no barriers to the formal reconsideration process. The
process applies whenever a member of the public objects to any material
available in the catalog. A library makes material "available" when
it appears in the catalog, and can be borrowed, downloaded, or viewed with
library credentials, or are presented as part of the collection. Kansas law
attaches full reconsideration obligations at that point, with no statutory
exemptions for vendors, consortium membership, awards, nor licensing terms. The
Handbook makes no exceptions for digital materials, shared/consortium-purchased
materials, nor ownership by another library.
The Sunflower eLibrary is not an independent legal entity but a voluntary cooperative consortium formed by member public libraries to share digital resources via OverDrive. It operates through administrative agreements coordinated by regional library systems. A consortium derives its authority solely from its member libraries and cannot acquire oversight authority nor override the legal requirements for compliance of those individual public institutions.
The
consortium does not have the authority to ban reconsideration of library
materials in any format, regardless of ownership, in conflict with
the reconsideration policies and statutory requirements of
participating library boards.
Libraries must break the
law to stay in good standing as Sunflower eLibrary members...
By conditioning
participation in the Sunflower eLibrary consortium on compliance with the terms
that exceed its statutory authority, (eliminate meaningful reconsideration and skip
over local library board governance), the consortium violates the State ultra
vires doctrine. In Kansas, an act is ultra vires when
a public body, board, or agency exercises power not affirmatively granted by
statute and is therefore void and unenforceable.
No matter who writes the policy, Kansas law has the last word...
Kansas courts consistently
hold that Kansas public institutions, including the State Library, public
libraries, regional libraries, and by extension Sunflower eLibrary, possess
enumerated powers only. Any guidance issued must implement or interpret only existing
law and remain tied to express statutory authority.
Kansas law does not permit
a public entity to require waiver of statutory protections or duties as a
provision of voluntary participation in a public program. Participation and
membership fees (paid with public funds) do not create new authority to restrict
patron rights or bypass statutory due process. Neither vendor terms by private
entities (i.e., publishers, book sellers) nor consortium policies can supersede public-law obligations. Such conditions are void and unenforceable
because they are contrary to statute and public policy.
The consortium is
exercising power it does not have, enforcing it through conditional
participation, and requiring public institutions to act unlawfully to remain
members.
Nice try, Kansas doesn't
allow that...
The consortium policy that bans reconsideration of shared materials at the point of access through Sunflower eLibrary is ultra vires under Kansas law. Neither K.S.A.75-2547 et seq. (Regional LIbrary Systems), K.S.A. 12-1225, nor any other statute grants a regional library system authority to override or condition away the statutory and board-governed duties of member public libraries, rendering the policy void from the beginning.
Laundering the Accountability
This arrangement constitutes a public-private policy shell game,
deliberately diffusing and obscuring accountability across multiple layers to
evade statutory duties:
- Local public
library boards deflect reconsideration requests by pointing to the consortium's
"rules" banning reconsideration of shared titles.
- Sunflower
eLibrary enforces the restrictive policy in up to 150 public libraries as a
condition of participation and redirects local libraries to enforce
intentionally difficult and burdensome procedures to discourage
reconsideration directly from owning libraries as the only other option.
- Upstream
guidance from the publicly funded Handbook lends aspirational cover from a
private lobby group (ALA) with no statutory authority in Kansas.
- The result: responsibility
is shuffled so no single entity bears practical liability, while patrons
face prohibitive obstacles, in violation of the intent of the governmental
guidance in the Handbook.
A public entity may not do indirectly what it lacks
authority to do directly.
As an extension of Kansas public library systems
established under K.S.A. 75-2547 et seq., and as a recipient and
administrator of public funds, the Sunflower eLibrary consortium must operate
within the bounds of Kansas law governing public libraries and regional
systems. While the Kansas Public Library Handbook does not itself carry the force
of law, it constitutes official, publicly funded government guidance intended
to implement statutory duties.
Each member library
remains a governmental entity subject to Kansas law, and participation in the
consortium represents an extension of local library operations, not the
creation of separate governing authorities. Neither the consortium nor its
member libraries may rely on consent, contractual agreement, or voluntary
participation to shield unlawful policies from enforcement or corrective
action.
Nothing in the Public
Library Handbook or Kansas statute authorizes a director to refuse a request or
reroute it solely because another library bought the title. A public library
does not have the lawful authority to defer responsibility or duties once their
patrons are granted access to the materials.
Direct conflict with
Kansas Harmful to Minors Law...
The Kansas Harmful to
Minors law (K.S.A. 21-6402) prohibits knowingly distributing, presenting, or
making available material that is harmful to minors (appeals to prurient
interest of minors, patently offensive s*xual conduct descriptions, and lack of
serious value). The consortium policy barring reconsideration of shared digital
materials directly conflicts with the law by preventing or redirecting evaluation
of material made available to minors. Any such policy conflicts with K.S.A. 21-6402 Harmful to Minors, undermines the
statutory librarian defense, preempts local board authority under K.S.A.
12-1225, exceeds regional system powers under K.S.A. 75-2547 et seq.,
and is ultra vires, void, and unenforceable. The statute
requires accountability at the point of access, being at the library serving
the minor. There are no exceptions in the law for shared digital materials.
Your kid gets to see it
whether you like it or not...
The policy “Shared digital
materials cannot be reconsidered” is a categorical elimination of review for
the largest and fastest growing category of access. The practical effect is no
local review of shared digital content, no local ability to restrict, reclassify,
or remove content for minors, no governing board oversight where the minor
lives, and effectively no reconsideration process at all for most titles
offered by all of the libraries in the consortium across the entire
state. Kansas law gives no authority to the consortium to prevent
reconsideration of any library materials.
The Sunflower eLibrary
policy ensures no reconsideration body has authority over shared
digital materials and is incompatible with the statutory design. By creating an
unauthorized digital exemption and refusing statutory review at the point of
access, whether that be on a library computer or on a personal device accessing
the library patron account, the consortium policy flies in the face of the
legislative intent.
Sunflower says the Library
Board of Directors cannot object, either...
The law holds the Board of
Directors responsible, not the Library Director who is following the Board
approved policy, so the consortium policy undermines the statutory librarian
defense under K.S.A. 21-6401(g)(2) (Safe Harbor) by
cutting out board-approved governance. The consortium policy is used by local
libraries to shield digital materials offered to minors from reconsideration,
but it in effect increases the risks to the Directors by removing the protection
of this law.
By stripping local boards
of authority to reconsider shared digital materials, the consortium rule
exceeds delegated authority and conflicts with K.S.A. 12-1225’s (Library Board
Powers and Duties) allocation of governance responsibility. A consortium policy
cannot lawfully remove board oversight without express statutory delegation.
The policy surpasses the
service-coordination limits of K.S.A. 75-2547 et seq. (Regional
Library Systems Scope of Authority) which does not authorize Sunflower eLibrary
to preempt locally accessed content governance, nor elimination of local
complaint procedures, nor allows the library to use the policy of a consortium
to override the guidance of the Handbook regarding reconsideration (which
allows no exceptions for shared digital materials).
The Consortium operates
outside the law...
No statute authorizes
denial of reconsideration based on ownership, licensing structure, or
consortium participation. A library consortium that bans reconsideration of
materials without statutory authority is ultra
vires (Latin for “beyond powers”). A public library board that adopts a
policy that contradicts state law is ultra vires and
cannot defer responsibility to the consortium who is already in violation of
statute by banning reconsideration of shared library materials at the point of
access.
The Sunflower eLibrary policy—as applied—is ultra vires,
void, and unenforceable. It conflicts with statutory reconsideration
requirements, protections for minors, and local board governance. The
redirection defense creates an intentional barrier that effectively nullifies
patron rights for shared digital content.
Local boards remain ultimately responsible and cannot lawfully defer to the
consortium or rely on private ALA guidance. Patrons retain the right to request
reconsideration directly from their local board for any accessible material.
Almost half of the public libraries in Kansas have adopted
the Sunflower eLibrary policy as an active defense for refusing reconsideration
requests and all patrons who use those libraries have been misled by these
policies to accept that they have no right to request reconsideration of any of
those shared materials, all in violation of Kansas law.
Kansas law—not consortium policies, not private lobby guidance—has the final word. Kansas statutes do not bend to voluntary agreements that strip away statutory rights and parental oversight. Communities have the right and responsibility to protect children, and no shell game of deflection and misdirection can lawfully deny that role.
Resources include:
Statutes
(Kansas Statutes Annotated)
- K.S.A. 12-1218 — Establishment and governance of public libraries
- K.S.A. 12-1225 — Powers and duties of public library boards
- K.S.A. 12-1227 — Library board authority (related
provisions)
- K.S.A. 12-1260 — Library district provisions
- K.S.A. 21-6402 — Harmful materials to minors
- K.S.A. 21-6401(g)(2) — Librarian safe harbor / board-approved
policy defense
- K.S.A. 75-2547 et seq. — Regional systems of cooperating libraries
- K.S.A. Chapter 12, Article 12 — Public libraries
- K.S.A. Chapter 75 — State agencies and public administration
- SB 394 — Child Internet Protection Act
- State Library and Regional System Regulations K.A.R. Agency 54
Official
Government Guidance & Regional Library Sources
- Kansas Public Library Handbook (2017), pp. 18–19
- State Library of Kansas — library.ks.gov
- Kansas Revisor of Statutes — ksrevisor.gov
- Kansas Government Information Library — kgi.contentdm.oclc.org
- Kansas Regional Library Systems — mykansaslibrary.org
- Kansas Public Library Handbook (2020)
- Guidelines for Kansas Public Libraries
- Kansas Public Library Trustee Manual
- Hays Public Library
- American Library Association
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Follow @OccupyLibraries Follow @SafeLibraries Follow @WLibraryA
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WorldLibraryAssociation.org
Legal Defense for SLAPP Suits Against Free Speech
I agree 200% on this.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Kelly Ancar is the new writer at SafeLibraries, and I'm happy to see she's already making a hit. Follow her on X at @patriotesse.
DeleteDigital consortia are convenient for patrons and expand a library's collection, which is handy for small library systems. But they also enable libraries to avoid accountability for giving age-inappropriate materials to minors, and are another means for ALA and its allies to adultify kids. State attorneys general need to take a look at this.
ReplyDeleteAgree. Thanks for commenting.
Delete