Chairman of Arkansas Library Board discusses bill which would move control to Dept. of Education

Last week, the Arkansas Senate passed a bill that would transfer the powers and duties of the Arkansas Educational Television Commission and the State Library Board to the Department of Education. The bill has now moved to the Arkansas House of Representatives, where it awaits discussion in committee.
Senate Bill 184 passed on the Senate floor with 23 yeas, eight nays, three non-voting, and one excused. Sen. Scott Flippo, who represents District 23, voted in favor of the bill. Sen. Missy Irvin, who represents District 24, did not vote.

Mountain Home resident Deborah Knox serves as the current chair of the Arkansas State Library Board. She spoke with KTLO, Classic Hits, and The Boot News, stating that the primary function of the State Library Board is to oversee state and federal funds that support libraries across the state.

According to Knox, state funding is distributed quarterly to libraries based on the population they serve. Additional funding is allocated through scholarships for library employees pursuing a master’s degree in library science, as directors are required to hold this degree.

Federal funds are not paid directly to libraries but are used to purchase databases accessible to all libraries. Federal funding also helps libraries secure broadband internet access at a reduced rate.

Knox said that since former state Sen. Jason Rapert of Conway was appointed to the Arkansas Library Board, he has repeatedly moved to withhold state aid to public libraries, citing concerns that children were being exposed to pornography in public libraries. However, a review of public libraries found that the questioned materials were located in adult and young adult sections, where they were not accessible to children.

She added that Rapert also made motions at every board meeting to withhold funding from three libraries that sued the state over Act 372, a law that made it a felony for library staff to allow children access to pornography. His motions failed.

Most recently, Rapert reportedly made a motion to withhold scholarship assistance for students pursuing a master’s degree in library science. That motion also failed.

It is alleged that Rapert solicited Sen. Dan Sullivan to sponsor a bill to dissolve the Arkansas Library Board and transfer its functions to the Department of Education, potentially allowing the state to withhold scholarship assistance and cut ties with the American Library Association.

In a statement to KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News Knox says she has “been dismayed at his (Rapert) uniformed and misguided attempts to bend public libraries to his will. I will be very disappointed and disheartened if Mr. Sullivan’s Bill Number 184 is approved by the House. It has already passed in the Senate. I feel that Mr. Rapert has contrived a threat which doesn’t exist, and now, legislators who are seeing only one side of an issue are falling in line to abolish a very worthy public body.”

In part two, Sen. Scott Flippo will discuss with KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News why he voted in support of Senate Bill 184.

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