Solano County Grand Jury
• 2023-2024
• Agency Response
Response to:
Solano County Library
Dear Honorable Presiding Judge Jones: Pursuant to Penal Code §933 and §933.05, I am providing the following responses*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 4 findings
F1
Page 1
- Not all public school libraries publicize policies and procedures to address how a request to ban a book is implemented. RESPONSE TO FINDING 1 - As to the one public school library that is operated by Solano County Library, Solano County Library partially disagrees with the finding as it has policies and procedures in place for requests for reconsideration which are posted to its staff intranet but not fully on its public website.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Page 1
- All public school libraries within the County update (or create) and publicize uniform policies and procedures on how to reject inappropriate book banning proposals.
F2
Page 1
- Public school libraries run the risk of monetary fines if they do not comply with the new regulations by July 2025, incurring potential fiscal risk. RESPONSE TO FINDING 2 - As to the one public school library that is operated by Solano County Library, Solano County Library agrees with the finding affecting public school district libraries as detailed in CA AB 1078.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Page 1
- All public school libraries adopt uniform policies and procedures incorporating requirements of the new law by July 2025, thereby avoiding the possibility of future fines.
F3
Page 2
- Not all school library staff members have been properly trained to address the general public's interest in requests for banning, which may lead to further issues in implementing the new regulations. RESPONSE TO FINDING 3 - As to the one public school library that is operated by Solano County Library, Solano County Library partially disagrees with the finding as appropriate staff are trained on the request for reconsideration process, which does not include every library staff member.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Page 2
- Implement appropriate training for all staff members who will need to address the issue when approached by the public. <b>RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATION 3</b> – This recommendation has been implemented as the County Library has provided training to appropriate staff on its request for reconsideration process.
F4
Page 2
- Not all public school libraries have standing panels or committees with librarians who are qualified for each genre of books to respond to requests for banning, which could lead to inconsistent application of the new regulations. <b>RESPONSE TO FINDING 4</b> - Solano County Library partially disagrees with the finding as Solano County Library convenes a review panel of age appropriate subject matter experts to respond to requests for reconsideration.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Page 2
- All public school libraries within the County establish standing panels or committees who respond to requests for banning, consisting of members familiar with library literature and knowledge of requirements of the new regulation. <b>RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATION 4</b> - This recommendation has been implemented as Solano County Library has a process inclusive of panel review for all requests for reconsideration. Respectfully Submitted, Suzanne Olawski Director of Library Services CC: Grand Jury Bill Emlen, County Administrator Go Anywhere From Here 2 SOLANOLIBRARY.COM
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.