York County library meeting ends without vote as board debates anti-LGBTQ policy
A packed York County Library board meeting Thursday ended without a decision on a book policy modeled after one in Greenville County that prompted an ACLU lawsuit.
The policy could move books with LGBTQ content from the children and teen sections to the adult section. After a public comment section where most speakers expressed concerns about the policy, the board met behind closed doors with the county attorney to discuss the policy. When members returned, they took no action and gave no update before moving on to unrelated business.
The proposal, exact details of which are still unseen by the public, would mirror Greenville’s policy. At a June policy committee meeting, chair Dennis Getter said he wanted to “copy and paste” those rules for York County.
Stephanie Griffith, a member of advocacy group Support York County Libraries, said the board has not discussed the policy proposal openly since concerned residents made them aware of the lawsuit in Greenville County. The federal lawsuit alleges the policy violates the First Amendment.
“After that, all of their workshops have been 15 minutes long, and they do not discuss anything,” Griffith said. “They type things up and they hand them around to the three policy members and the library director, and they read them. And then they say, ‘do we agree with this?’ And that’s the only verbalization at those workshops.”
Griffith said she and others have filed public record requests for the policy but nothing has been released.
Lacey Layne, also with Support York County Libraries, said the secrecy is intentional.
“The intentional lack of transparency has been very frustrating for community members that care deeply about the library and about these discriminatory proposed policy changes,” she said.
Thursday’s meeting was packed, with the library’s room at full capacity and some people left to stand outside. While most people opposed the policy, there were some who said they supported the change. According to emails obtained by The Herald, the York County GOP and Moms for Liberty chapter urged members to attend the meeting even before the agenda with the policy and capacity information was posted on Wednesday.
While it is unclear why the board hasn’t voted on the policy, Layne and Griffith pointed to the board’s decision last month to purchase additional liability insurance as a sign members may expect legal challenges.
When questioned by board member Terry Plumb in July about why the board needs insurance outside of what the county covers, chair Timothy Steele read directly from the South Carolina state library manual. He said library members are at risk of lawsuits and need to protect themselves from potential legal fees. When Plumb further questioned the county attorney, he was told details could only be shared in a closed session.
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 4:42 PM with the headline "York County library meeting ends without vote as board debates anti-LGBTQ policy."
