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Greenbrier legislator’s wife targets Little Free Libraries’ content [1]
['Debra Hale-Shelton', 'Debra Hale-Shelton Is A Reporter For The Arkansas Times. She Has Previously Worked For The Associated Press', 'The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.']
Date: 2023-08-07
Little Free Library lenders may want to be on alert after a state legislator’s wife let folks know she’s monitoring some roadside collections to cull books that don’t match her religious and moral ideals.
Jennifer Meeks, who’s married to Greenbrier Republican Rep. Stephen Meeks, posted on Facebook recently about her effort to replace books that don’t meet her own religious values.
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She wrote: “I have been swapping out books in little free libraries for awhile. I have seen good books, terrible books, toiletries, and needles (yes, needles).
“Recently I have been picking up free Bibles at flea markets and thrift stores. Sometimes I find good devotion books or kids’ Bible stories at a good price to add. Or just great books, and a gospel tract is a nice idea too.”
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She also wrote: “From what I have seen a lot of these books and other things don’t align with Christian values. Today, I saw a bunch of Pride stuff in one. There’s a group of leftists, especially in Conway, who are very active in keeping little libraries well stocked.”
Jennifer Meeks’ post has since either been deleted, or its privacy settings adjusted so that not everyone can see it. But at least one Facebook user thought to take a screenshot, and offered it up with comments from the Faulkner County Coalition for Social Justice.
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Notice the photo of the little free library at the bottom left. It’s the one outside St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Conway. The church is known for such progressive stances as offering books about LGBQT youths in its library after the Conway School Board culled school library collections last year.
Last week, the Facebook page for St. Peter’s Church Little Free Library posted this reminder: “As an official Little Free Library, we operate on the following terms according to the National office. We expect those who use this library to abide by them.”
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The Faulkner County Coalition for Social Justice said donations keep rolling in, plenty to keep their Little Free Libraries well stocked.
“Keep removing them, Jennifer. We won’t stop. We’ve received $1,000+ to supply our community with food, toiletries, reproductive care items, and naloxone. These materials are saving lives. The lives of queer kids who aren’t out to their parents, to the teen that needs Plan B to avoid having a forced pregnancy, to the good neighbor preventing an overdose,” the coalition wrote on social media.
A coalition spokesperson wasn’t sure about the needles Meeks referenced, but said the “opioid overdose kits that we regularly put in the pantries do include needles in them.”
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[1] Url:
https://arktimes.com/news/2023/08/07/greenbrier-le...
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