Mat-Su won't shelve two children's books its library board flagged before purchase

Mat-Su Borough libraries won't shelve two children's books that library board members flagged, at least for now: "The Gender Wheel" by Maya Gonzalez and "Families, Families, Families!" by Suzanne Lang.

Community Development Director Jillian Morrissey, who has the final say, turned both down in an Oct. 1 memo. Residents can still borrow either one through interlibrary loan, she wrote.

"The Gender Wheel," a nonfiction book for readers 11 and up, "does not address an identified gap in the collection and there is no documented patron interest," Morrissey wrote. "Families, Families, Families!" is a picture book, and she noted it's available from at least four other Alaska libraries. Both were on the Talkeetna library's purchase list.

The same memo approved most of the other flagged titles it covered. Morrissey signed off on nine, including two Veronica Roth novels and Rex Ogle's "Absent," citing literary quality and reader demand, and directed that most of them be shelved in the adult collection. She put one on hold. She also turned down two others: one because its author has a limited publishing history, and one because the libraries already have copies.

Under the borough's collection policy, updated in June, any library board member can flag a book on a library's purchase list. The board takes an advisory vote, and the director decides. Board members Julie Endle and Mark Spohn flagged "The Gender Wheel," and Martha Kincaid flagged "Families, Families, Families!"

Flagged books are a small share of what the libraries buy. Of 6,244 items ordered from September 2025 through August 2026, board members flagged 40, according to the board's report to the Assembly.

Borough Manager Mike Brown has acknowledged one misstep. He told the Assembly on Oct. 6 that he had "made some directing changes" that led to decisions on 11 flagged books that "should have gone back to the board for their formal review." He called it "my mistake," but said he didn't think board review would have changed the outcome, since the books aren't in the libraries.

On Nov. 10, the board will take up a book that's already on the shelf. It will decide whether to recommend removing "Let's Talk About It" by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan from the Willow library. The book survived a challenge in 2023, when the director kept it and moved it to the adult collection. Those decisions stand for three years, and a new request to reconsider it was filed June 2, three years to the day later. As with purchases, the board's vote is advisory.

The same agenda lists a discussion of replacing or removing Wasilla board member Laura Anderson.