Manatee County to push back against 'woke agenda' at new Lakewood Ranch library
As political discourse over books at public schools escalates, Manatee County commissioners have expressed an appetite to push back against a "woke agenda" in the county library system as they prepare to open a new $18 million library in Lakewood Ranch this year.
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After accepting donations from the Friends of Lakewood Ranch Library and the Manatee County Library Foundation, commissioners expressed apprehension that the funds could open the door to a "woke agenda" in the selection of the library materials made available.
"We have used taxpayer money to fund the library system, and I am not comfortable with that being used to also push a woke agenda," Commissioner James Satcher said Tuesday.
The organizations did not require the purchase of any specific library books as part of their agreement for the donation.
The concern was raised amid heated political discourse over the library materials available to children at public schools in Florida, just a week after many Manatee County teachers were forced to cover and remove any classroom libraries for fear of prosecution.
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Tuesday was not the first time Manatee County commissioners have expressed interest in evaluating the direction of the local library system.
Last year, commissioners announced a proposal to potentially sell its Central Library's waterfront property in downtown Bradenton for redevelopment, with the intention of building a new library facility nearby.
The board also scheduled a workshop to discuss future plans for the county's library system at an upcoming meeting. Commissioners said further discussion on library materials would likely be a topic of interest.
"A lot of people share those concerns obviously, it's something that's bubbled up to the surface," Chairman Kevin Van Ostenbridge said.
Shannon Keever, a Manatee County resident who homeschools her children, said the local library system has been a valuable community asset that has helped her educate her kids. She is a member of Women's Voices of Southwest Florida, a local grass-roots organization that was heavily represented at Tuesday's meeting because of concern over a separate vote to rescind Manatee County's ban on the retail sale of cats and dogs.
"I don't think anybody wants like pornography in the libraries, I definitely think that would be inappropriate, so having a discussion about what kind of materials end up in the library is a great idea," she said. "But I definitely think that accepting the money that we can have for the libraries, it's a way for the public to have access to information, and that is, I think, one of the greatest things about living in this county."
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee County discourages "woke agenda" at Lakewood Ranch library
