A public library’s mission requires that all ideas and opinions are represented.

A vibrant democracy requires a robust exchange of ideas, and freedom even for those ideas considered fringe or offensive. Public libraries have a mission to provide a space where citizens are free to discover these thoughts and ideas and form their own opinions. Thus, libraries have historically served as a significant foundation of a democratic and free American society. Even with the advent of the Internet, this is still true today.

The city of Lewiston has a library and it is referred to as the Lewiston Public Library. The Lewiston Public Library is a line item in the city budget, funded in large part by local taxes or other sources of state and federal income.

Recently, JoAnn Karkos attempted to remove a book titled “It’s Perfectly Normal.” Her efforts generated a significant discussion both on the propriety of our public library possessing that book, and the methods she utilized to remove the book. The Sun Journal weighed with an editorial criticizing Karkos for attempting to permanently remove the book on her own volition, even before she presented her concerns to the library board.

The editorial also invoked “separation of church and state” to dismiss Karkos’ concerns because she is Catholic and was alerted to the book’s content by a Catholic advocacy group. While we certainly have a separation of church and state, this is meant to safeguard the ability of all people to influence the moral direction of our society.

No religious institution can or ought to decide what books belong in public libraries. Karkos was not acting on behalf of any religious denomination. No religious institution has the right to insist she take such action.

But people formed by their religious beliefs have as much right to voice their concerns and choices in the public sphere as people with no religious belief. The fact that many believe in God and allow that belief to shape our lives should not devalue anyone’s opinions. If religious belief negates our ability to speak our minds, then fine, keep your books but return our tax dollars to us.

Separation of church and state is not an issue in this situation. This is often used simply as a smoke screen to avoid discussing the real issues. This real issue relates directly to a public library’s mission. The present controversy pertains to whether this particular book belongs in a public library. If a library continues to serve the mission mentioned above, the answer to this question is “yes,” but with two important caveats.

There is an adage that states, “Adults can talk about anything, so long as we talk about it like adults.” Let me apply that adage to this situation.

I recently visited the Lewiston Public Library to see “It’s Perfectly Normal.” The librarian directed me to the children’s section, where the book was available at the librarian’s desk. Apparently, this book had previously been on the shelf with other children’s books.

Although I spent only a very few minutes browsing this book, it became clear to me that this is not an appropriate book for young children to learn about sex. If it has a proper function, it is a book for parents to teach young children about sex. This book belongs in a section intended for parenting skills. This particular book also needs to be placed on a higher shelf where younger arms can’t reach.

This follows the same logic that decides that physics is taught in high school and not in lower elementary grades. Educators understand that “Age appropriate determines age accessibility.” The same wisdom applies here as well.

The second caveat also involves a public library’s mission. “It’s Perfectly Normal” presents moral views that are acceptable to some families of our Lewiston community, and unacceptable to other Lewiston families. If a public library has a mission to present several moral viewpoints on a particular subject, then our public library should have other books assisting parents in teaching sex to young children. These should include books from many religious, moral, and other professional points of view.

Forming children’s understanding of their bodies and sexual personalities requires the availability of many points of view. Perhaps the Lewiston Public Library already provides such an array. If not, its mission requires them to purchase more books.

The Rev. Michael Seavey is pastor of St. Joseph and St. Patrick parishes in Lewiston.