Little v. Llano Co. Sets Up Supreme Court Show Down

Recently, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruling in Little v. Llano County overruled 30 years of precedent and decided that local government can remove books from a public library just because officials do not approve of the content or view point.

The ruling directly conflicts with a similar case decided last year, in GLBT Youth in Iowa Schools Task Force et al v. Reynolds.

In that case the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis held the exact opposite.

One of the bases on which the U.S. Supreme Court can grant review of a case is when there is a direct conflict in the law between circuit courts of appeal on a determinative issue.

Whether the Plaintiffs in Little will request Supreme Court review is not yet known, but there is a considerable likelihood that if they do, the high court might grant review.

Since public and public-school library book challenges and removals have become such a hot topic in many local communities, to understand what is happening just down the road, we need to understand the facts of this case, and what the implications are for our community.

History of the Llano County Library Dispute

It All Started With Flatulence

In the summer of 2021, a community group began working to remove specific children’s books they said were inappropriate from the Llano County library system.

The first books targeted by the group were titles that have been called the “butt and fart” books.

These were “I broke my Butt!” by Dawn McMillan, one of a series of international bestsellers, and “Larry the Farting Leprechaun” by Jane Bexley.

Amber Milum, Llano County’s Library System Director, ordered the books for the library system because she they were appropriate for children and would be entertaining, based on her training as a librarian, the books’ positive reviews, and the library’s selection criteria.

Campaign Against Children’s Books

Rochelle Wells and Rhonda Schneider—who were, at the time, private citizens— began checking the books out of the libraries continually, in order to keep them off the shelves, and inaccessible to young patrons.

Wells asked Llano County officials and library staff—including Director Milum and County Judge Ron Cunningham and County Commissioner Jerry Don Moss — to remove the books altogether.

In response to these complaints, Cunningham and Moss told Milum to remove the “butt and fart” books from the shelves. She complied with their directive.

Commissioner Moss Investigates

At some point that fall, Moss came into the Llano Library to see Head Librian Martina Castelan, who previously served as the children’s librarian.

Moss asked to see the worst-possible book that Castelan thought the library had on the children’s bookshelves.

Although Castelan said she didn’t view any of the books in that section as inappropriate, she concluded, based on complaints they had received about “grooming” in the butt books, that the commissioner was looking for similar material.

Castelan showed Moss potty training, puberty and maturity books, including the book “It’s Perfectly Normal,” which Castelan described as “a general health book … for children 10 to 12,” that, “explores all versions, and all aspects of puberty” including “illustrations of adults in adult situations” in one section of the book.

According to Castelan, Commissioner Moss was “taken aback” by the book, and told Castelan he wouldn’t have wanted his children or grandchildren to read it.

The book was subsequently removed from the library by Director Milum, who acknowledged that she pulled the book for review — based, at least in part, on the public controversy regarding the content of books in the library system.

Matt Krause Stirs the Pot

Around that same time, Matt Krause, then a member of the Texas House of Representatives, circulated to “Selected Superintendents” of school districts in Texas, a 16-page list of book, which allegedly contained topics including:

• Human sexuality
• Sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV
• Sexually-explicit images
• Graphic presentations of sexual behavior, in violation of the law

The memorandum went on to single-out material that might make students “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex, or convey that a student — by virtue of their race or sex — is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”

In early November, Wells and others organized a review of the Krause list to see if Llano had any of those books on the shelves.

On Nov. 8, the county judge directed Milum “immediately” to remove “[a]ny books with photos of naked or sexual conduct, regardless if they are animated or actual photos … until further notice” and to refrain from purchasing any additional books until they had a plan to move forward.”

Culling a Classic

One of the books that Director Milum pulled was the Caldecott-Medal-winning children’s picture book “In the Night Kitchen,” which was included on the Krause list.

Milum testified that she pulled “In the Night Kitchen” based on “inappropriate content” because it contained an illustration of a naked child.

Milum said, while under oath, that she decided to remove the book because it was “old and worn,” and had not been checked out “very much.”

But she also acknowledged that it “had been checked out regularly,” and that there was no record of it being damaged.

In contrast, Martina Castelan testified that even if they were to remove “In the Night Kitchen,” because it was worn, they “would have replaced it with a newer copy” because “it’s a classic.”

The Censors Strike

On Nov.10, former defendant Bonnie Wallace emailed Judge Cunningham, providing him with a list of the books on Krause’s list the Llano County library system possessed.

Wallace asserted “pornographic filth has been discovered” at all three branches of Llano’s libraries.

In response, Cunningham again instructed the library director that “any and all books that depict any type of sexual activity or questionable nudity [be] pulled immediately,” including “books that are available online,” and he further instructed her to advise him personally, along with Commissioner Moss, “when this task has been completed.”

The next day, Wells emailed her group (including Commissioner Moss) with “an update on the status of the books in the library”:

Commissioner Moss and Judge Cunningham have instructed Amber [Milum], the head librarian, to remove certain books, both physical books and ebooks.

There will also be no new books coming in until this is settled. If you go into the library[,] you will see Amber [Milum] and [Martina Castelan] (Children’s librarian) are currently going through the Children’s section, labeling books, and I am assuming also removing the books Commissioner Moss has told them to remove.

Amber was told to get rid of “Lawn Boy” and “Gender Queer” (physical and ebook). Commissioner Moss, we are very grateful for your help in this situation, and all you have done to begin to remedy it!

She also noted that members of the group would be finishing their review of “that 16-page list [issued by Krause] of CRT and LGBTQ book[s]” and would be “sending a list of the ones that are found to be inappropriate, along with a summary, to Commissioner Moss.”

Entire List Pulled

Director Milum provided staff with a version of the list she edited to add additional information about each book; such as, which staff member had acquired the book, and how often the book had been checked out.

She also instructed staff to pull all of the listed books from the shelves.

At that time, the review was limited exclusively to Wallace’s list.

Among the listed books the librarians pulled for review were They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, (an Oprah Book Club Read) Freakboy, Shine, Spinning, Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen, Gabi, a Girl in Pieces, and Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale, all of which Director Milum removed within a week of receiving the Wallace list, despite not having read any of them herself.

One librarian, Barbara Baker, refused to remove the books from the Kingsland Branch Library, and “told … Milum that removing these books would be censorship,” and that Baker “believed that [Milum’s] order to remove books was illegal.”

Milum later terminated Baker for insubordination and “creating a disturbance,” which she called a “violation of policies,” and “failure to follow instructions.”

Commissioners Court Orders Reviews

In December 2021, the Commissioners Court voted to close all three Llano County library branches for three days to allow the librarians to “check[ their] shelves for ‘inappropriate’ books.”

Director Milum thereafter directed library staff to review all of the material in the children’s section of each branch to identify “inappropriate” material, which she defined as “anything that pertained to nudity and anything [the librarians] deemed inappropriate.”

This review resulted in hundreds of books being pulled from the shelves and placed on a cart in Milum’s office for review.

Library Board Dissolved

In January 2022, Commissioners voted to dissolve the existing Library Advisory Board and to replace it with a new one.

Commissioners voted to appoint numerous book-removal advocates to the new board, including Wells, Schneider, and Wallace.

In an email dated Jan. 19, 2022, Wells emailed Commissioner Moss with minutes from a meeting of the new board.

According to Wells’s records, Milum attended the meeting as a “non-voting member,” but the board “asked that she not be present at all meeting[s], and just on an as-needed basis” noting that meeting minutes would be emailed to her later.

Wells’s email to Commissioner Moss also included a section introduced as “stuff not in the meeting notes,” in which, among other things, she thanked Moss for “making [Milum] remove “It’s Perfectly Normal” and requested that future meetings be closed to all but appointed board members, given that there had been “three or four patrons present and taking notes.”

Library Staff and Public Barred From New Library Board Meetings.

A month later, Milum told Baker and other members of the Llano County Library staff that, “per Judge Cunningham,” they were barred from attending the new Library Advisory Board meetings, and specifically were “not allowed to use their vacation time to do so.”

At a meeting the next day, the board voted to dispense with public comments, and shortly thereafter, voted to close meetings to the public entirely.

Litigation Begins

Plaintiffs filed suit in April of 2022 and moved for a preliminary injunction the next month.

During preliminary hearings, Director Milum acknowledged that the 17 books at issue in this case were pulled from the shelves based on the community group, and Llano County officials’ directives to remove what they saw as “inappropriate” material.

Milum further testified that the ultimate decision to remove the books from the library’s collection was based on standard justifications for weeding library books under the CREW (Continuous Review Evaluation and Weeding) and MUSTIE (Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, Irrelevant, Easily Available Elsewhere) guidelines.

But Head Librarian Castelan offered rebuttal, testifying at length that most of Milum’s removal decisions violated Llano County weeding guidelines.

Llano County Library Violated Guidelines

Specifically, Castelan testified in detail that “I Need a New Butt,” “I Broke My Butt!,” “My Butt Is So Noisy!,” “It’s Perfectly Normal,” “In the Night Kitchen,” “They Called Themselves the K.K.K,” and others were all removed in violation of county weeding policies.

She further testified that “Being Jazz” could have been removed appropriately, because it had not been checked out since 2017, adding that she wouldn’t have removed it, because local libraries only had one or two books pertaining to the experience of being a transgender teenager.

Castelan testified that weeding “Freakboy” was consistent with the applicable guidelines, because it had only been checked out once, in 2016, but noted that books typically are weeded during the library’s annual book culling in August, or for reasons such as accidental damage.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pittman in Austin granted plaintiff’s injunction ordering that the books be returned to the shelves, holding that removing them was a violation of the our’ First-Amendment right to receive information, and that the removal of the books did not constitute government speech.

In its decision issued May 23, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled its precedent holding that citizens have no First-Amended right to receive information about a public library’s collection.

It also held that the decision to include or remove a book from a public library is government speech, to which the First Amendment does not apply.

Little v. Llano County’s Implications

This decision grants complete authority to local governments to determine what books should be in their public library. It also gives elected officials and political activists veto power over trained staff and professional librarians. Professional librarians hold a Master’s Degree in Library Science and are specifically trained in how to design a library collection based on the needs of the community they serve.

If the Little decision stands we can expect to see more volatility over what books and information you can access at your local public library, and what you cannot. Professional librarians are what brings stability to a library collection. If Llano County path becomes a trend, these decisions will no longer be primarily made by local librarians.

Partisan politics, the ebb and flow of the culture wars, and who is in power in Austin will have more control over public libraries than ever before. The fight in Llano County is not really about books. It is about a small group wanting power and control over what the public reads.

This case is one worth watching.

Editor’s Note: Barbara Baker sued Llano County for wrongful termination and First Amendment Retaliation.

She recently settled with Llano County for $225,000.00 https://www.dailytrib.com/2025/03/28/ex-librarian-gets-225k-settlement/