URGENT UPDATE – March 5, 2026

The Pickens County Library Board of Trustees has just announced a Special Called Meeting for tomorrow, Friday, March 6th at 5:30 PM at the Hampton Memorial Library.

This meeting was called with minimal notice, and because it is a "Special Called" meeting, there is NO public comment forum. The Board is attempting to make major decisions about the future of our library while preventing the community from speaking.

What is on the Agenda? Because of the massive pressure we have put on them, the Board is finally considering two major motions:

Motion to Restart all cancelled youth programs.
Motion to PAUSE the Collection Policy implementation (the $160,000 manual audit) until an Interim Director is hired.
The "$160,000 Vagueness Tax" is still the threat. While a "pause" is a temporary victory, we must ensure it becomes a permanent return to objective, data-driven standards. By trying to redefine "Young Adult" as 18–25, this Board is intentionally breaking the library's automated systems, forcing a manual labor crisis that diverts $160,000 in taxpayer wages away from our children and into the hands of political censors.

I Have Taken Action on Your Behalf Since the Board has denied us a voice at tomorrow's podium, I have submitted a Formal Evidence Brief via email to every member of the Library Board, the Pickens County Council, and our local news outlets. This brief contains the legal, fiscal, and academic proof that their current path is a violation of professional standards and a waste of public funds. will post email below.

What You Can Do:

Show Up Tomorrow: They may have removed the public forum, but they cannot remove the public. Fill the room at 5:30 PM tomorrow at Hampton Memorial Library. Let them see that we are watching every move they make.
Email the Board: If you cannot attend, send your own message to boardclerk@pcls.fyi. Demand they vote YES on restarting programs and YES on pausing the policy, but insist on a permanent return to the professional standards taught by the University of South Carolina.
We are winning. The fact that they are meeting on a Friday night to "restart" programs proves they are feeling the pressure. Don't let up now.

There is also a petition by the AFFA in our favor. Please go support it as well as it has already amassed over 500 signatures. see the petition HERE 

For Freedom to Read and Fiscal Responsibility,

Gus Edmundson


Sent Email:

Dear Members of the Board,

As you convene for tomorrow's 3/6/2026 Special Called Meeting, I am submitting this formal evidence brief regarding Items 3 and 4 on your agenda. While the motions to restart youth programs and pause the current collection policy are necessary steps, a temporary "pause" is insufficient. The Board must permanently return to objective, data-driven standards to protect the taxpayers and the constitutional rights of Pickens County citizens.

Please consider the following points as part of the official record for this meeting:

1. The "Broken Metat-Data" Trap: Forcing a Manual Audit
The proposed policy attempts to redefine the "Young Adult" (YA) category as ages 18 to 25. This is a direct contradiction of the Industry and Professional Standards used by publishers, national databases, the Library of Congress and our own SCLENDS cataloging system, which define YA for the 12-to-18 age range.

The Consequence: Because the Board’s definition "breaks" the automated metadata we already pay for, the library can no longer rely on efficient, computer-driven audits.
The "Vagueness Tax": This policy effectively un-catalogs our library. It forces professional staff to physically touch and manually review every single book to see if it fits the Board’s new, non-standard definition.
The Waste: We are paying $160,000 to have humans do what a computer already does for free, simply because the Board has chosen a definition that does not exist in the professional world.
2. The Fiscal Reality: The "$160,000 Vagueness Tax"
By implementing a policy that forces a manual, subjective review process over the automated SCLENDS metadata we already pay for, this Board is committing to an estimated $160,000 in diverted taxpayer wages.

The Question: Why is a manual audit—which requires hundreds of hours of staff time away from public service—a better use of our limited budget than the free, professional metadata already in our system? Spending six figures to "re-discover" what professional catalogers have already categorized is a failure of fiscal stewardship.
3. The Legal Reality: SC Code 16-15-375 and the 1st Amendment
The opposition often cites "protection," but South Carolina law has a very strict definition of what is "Harmful to Minors."

The Law: SC Code 16-15-375 requires that material be judged "taken as a whole." Most books you are targeting are National Award Winners with documented literary value.
The Precedent: In Board of Education v. Pico, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protects the "right to receive information." Moving a book written for a 14-year-old to an "Adult 18-25" section based on a subjective definition is a "content-based restriction" that invites federal litigation.
4. The Academic Reality: Professional Malpractice
Our librarians are trained at the University of South Carolina, where the MLIS curriculum (Course ISCI 757) defines "Young Adult" as ages 13-19.

The Conflict: There is no South Carolina law that defines "Young Adult" as 18-25. That definition exists only in an optional guidance memo.
The Impact: Forcing staff to ignore their professional accreditation to follow a non-binding memo constitutes a mandate for professional malpractice.
5. The Theological Reality: Stewardship and a Sound Mind
Many in our community cite faith as a reason for these restrictions. However, true stewardship of a public institution requires the "Sound Mind" mentioned in 2 Timothy 1:7.

Stewardship: We are called to be good stewards of public resources. Implementing a policy that forces $160,000 on a manual audit when a free solution exists is a violation of that stewardship.
Truth and Justice: We are called to "provide things honest in the sight of all men" (Romans 12:17). It is not honest to claim "state law" requires an 18-25 category when no such law exists. It is not just to deprive a 15-year-old of a book written to help them navigate a complex world.
The "Pharisee" Trap: Prioritizing the "letter" of a non-binding memo over the "spirit" of public service creates barriers that a "servant-leader" should work to remove.
6. Critical Questions for the Record
I request that the Board provide written or public answers to the following:

Authority: Can you name the specific SC statute—not a memo—that defines "Young Adult" as 18-25?
Malpractice: Is this Board instructing staff to ignore their USC MLIS training in favor of subjective board definitions?
Inconsistency: Why is the Library Board creating a standard more restrictive than the Pickens County School District, which allows 12-year-olds access to YA books under Regulation 43-170?
Literary Value: Does this Board believe that National Book Award winners lack "serious literary value" as required by the SC criminal code?
Efficiency: Why is a manual audit a better use of $160,000 than the free SCLENDS metadata?
I urge the Board to vote YES on Item 4 to pause this policy and to ensure that the Interim Director candidate is a certified professional who will restore our library to the objective, data-driven standards taught by our state’s flagship university. Or better yet bring back Director Howard as she clearly understood the legal and dangerous precedent this policy would create and allow her to push and use the metatdata already available to our library to make sure we are both in compliance with proviso 27.1 AND allowing a diverse and needed perspectives in our YA section of the library

Respectfully,

Agustin Edmundson

Pickens County Taxpayer