Huntington Beach’s censorship battle appears set to continue as the city prepares to appeal a court order to remove a youth-restricted books section at its public library branches.
The City Council recently voted in closed session to appeal the Orange County Superior Court’s ruling that the city’s book restriction policy violated the state’s Freedom to Read Act. Judge Lindsey Martinez ruled on Sept. 5 that the city can’t restrict minors from accessing books with sexual content at the Huntington Beach Central Library, a decision stemming from a February lawsuit filed by local nonprofit Alianza Translatinx and three Huntington Beach residents.
City Attorney Mike Vigliotta said at the Oct. 21 meeting that outside counsel is working on the appeal at no cost to the city.
In 2023, the City Council passed a resolution directing library staff to relocate children’s books with contain sexual content to a “youth restricted books” section on the fourth floor. Titles on the restricted shelf required an adult library card or a special youth card to check out. The ordinance also allowed a community review board to be established and tasked with vetting the purchase of books for content it deemed inappropriate. The board was never seated.
Surf City voters repealed the review board in a special election in June.
Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark, who introduced the 2023 resolution, said the city has not yet filed the new appeal and she didn’t want to speak at length about pending litigation.
“I believe the judge’s opinion was too broad and (there is a) need to look into it further,” she said. “The appeal is just for us to have a second look.”
Erin Spivey, a former librarian and one of the plaintiffs in the case, said she was “incredibly unsurprised” by the city’s decision to appeal, but called its legal strategy “confusing.”
The city had argued in court that the repeal of the book review committee in the special election made the lawsuit unnecessary, Spivey said.
“They argued in court that it’s moot, so why are they appealing it now?” Spivey said. “The city continues to flaunt the will of the people, California state laws and the constitution.”
Judge Martinez signed a writ of mandate on Oct. 7 that ordered the city to dismantle the restricted section, return the books to their original locations and restore the teen section at the library. The order, which was crafted by the plaintiffs, also established legal protections for librarians against pushback from the city.
As of now, the restricted books section remains intact on the library’s fourth floor.