Llano County Library System regains state accreditation
Members of the Llano County Commissioners Court pose for a photo with Llano County Library System Director Amber Milum (center) after the county received reaccreditation with the state following a two-year gap in services. Pictured from left are Precinct 1 Commissioner Peter Jones, Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Don Moss, Milum, Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham, Precinct 2 Commissioner Linda Raschke, and Precinct 3 Commissioner Brent Richards. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
The Llano County Library System is now reaccredited with the state after losing its status in 2023 amid funding cuts made in the wake of a federal lawsuit over alleged censorship in the county’s libraries.
As of Sept. 1, the library system is back in the good graces of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The change came after the county upped its spending on its libraries for the 2024-25 fiscal year, satisfying the state’s requirements for accreditation.
With the reaccreditation, the Llano County Library System can again participate in the statewide Interlibrary Loan Program, offer patrons access to the TexShare book database, and be eligible for federal E-rate discounts and state and federal grants. All of these privileges were revoked from Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31 of this year due to the county’s null accreditation status.
“It feels really great,” library system Director Amber Milum told DailyTrib.com. “I’m glad that we are able to offer more resources (for our patrons).”
The Llano County Library System, which includes libraries in Llano, Kingsland, and Buchanan Dam, lost its accreditation mostly due to the county’s funding cuts and freeze on new book purchases that led to a federal censorship lawsuit in April 2022. At the time, the library system removed several books dealing with race, sexuality, and farts from its shelves, which the suit’s plaintiffs claimed violated their First and 14th amendment rights.
(See the full list of removed books in the September 2024 DailyTrib.com story “Full appeals court hears library case.”)
According to Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham, to remedy the spending deficit and regain accreditation, the county spent about $472,000 on library system upgrades and purchased over $15,000 worth of new books through its online CloudLibrary system.
The Commissioners Court approved the pursuit of reaccreditation during a March 18 meeting.
LAWSUIT
On May 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a decision that sided with the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, who wanted the removed books to be put back in circulation. The reversal allowed the books to be kept off of library shelves.
Members of the Llano County Commissioners Court, save for Precinct 3 Commissioner Brent Richards, who was not serving at the time of the lawsuit, along with Milum, are all named as defendents in the federal lawsuit.
The plaintiffs, a group of Llano County residents, have until Sept. 22 to file an appeal of the Fifth Circuit court’s decision and request the case be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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I’m curious as to how the $472,000 in “improvements” was spent. This is the first I have heard of that and would exceed the entire library budget for fiscal year 2022-2023, the last year I can find online. It’s commendable that the County purchased $15,000 in virtual reading materials to get out of jail with the Texas State Library. Wouldn’t it be nice if it bought done actual new books to serve their patrons at the three branches who haven’t had anything new to read for three years.