A bill to abolish the Arkansas State Library and the State Library Board cleared an initial hurdle in the legislature yesterday. Senate Bill 536 would transfer the duties of both entities to the state Department of Education. The bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Dan Sullivan, said libraries should be more accountable to the legislature.
The bill would withhold state funding to libraries that do not meet certain criteria, including withholding “age inappropriate materials” from minors. Allie Stevens Gosselink, director of the Calhoun County Library System, spoke against the bill’s requirement for libraries to be open a minimum number of hours each year to receive state funds.
An earlier bill sponsored by Sullivan would have also disbanded the oversight board for Arkansas PBS, though the current bill no longer mentions the broadcaster. The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
