ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – The Friends of the South Carolina Libraries recently honored Gary Simrill ‘91 of Winthrop University and two legislators for helping defeat in June 2022 an amendment to the State Budget Bill that would have opened libraries to the threat of legal censorship.
At the time, Simrill was a legislator representing Rock Hill in the House 46 seat and served as Majority House leader. He has since retired after 30 years and joined Winthrop, where he serves his alma mater as special assistant to the president for community engagement.
Also recognized were Reps. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, and Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, for their help in stopping Amendment 32.
The amendment stipulated that before county libraries are funded, they must certify that they do not offer in the children’s section any books or materials that would appeal to the “prurient interest” of children under the age of 13, and that such materials are made available only with explicit parental consent.
Simrill said his decision to oppose Amendment 32 came down to his strong belief in local control. “We have a board of library trustees, who are appointed by the York County Council, and that is where such decisions should reside,” he said.
While parents understandably want to protect their children from inappropriate material, opening the door to censorship would have been dangerous, according to librarians.
Jason Hyatt, then director of the York County Library, said the library follows set procedures for selecting and distributing books and other materials. Also, no child may be issued a library card without his or her parent’s permission, and librarians encourage parents to be involved with their child's reading. If a parent or any citizen has a concern about a book, York County’s libraries have procedures by which patrons may request that the material be removed or reclassified, Hyatt said.
In response to a request from the S.C. State Library, members of the Friends of York County Library sent e-mails and made phone calls to members of the Conference Committee, asking them to oppose Amendment 32.
Their actions on the Conference Committee facilitated passage of the Budget Bill, which also redefined the $2.25 per capita funding for public libraries as “recurring funds” and increased the minimum grant for county library systems to $150,000 per year from $100,000.
For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at longshawj@winthrop.edu or 803/323-2404, or Terry Plumb of the Friends of York County Library at terry.plumb@gmail.com.
