The Central Arkansas Library System's executive director has pledged that the library system will defend employees who might be charged under a new state law that exposes library personnel to criminal charges for "knowingly" distributing material found to be obscene.

Senate Bill 81, which Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed on Thursday, removes existing language from state law that shields library personnel as well as school employees from prosecution for disseminating obscene material.

A person who loans out from a public library material found to be obscene could be charged with a Class D felony under the law. The legislation also creates a new Class A misdemeanor offense for knowingly furnishing a "harmful item" to a minor.

Additionally, it establishes parameters for citizens to challenge the appropriateness of material available to the public that is held in school or public libraries. Successful challenges could result in material being relocated to an area not accessible to minors.

Decisions not to relocate the challenged material could be appealed to a school district's board, in the case of a school library, or the governing body of a city or county, in the case of municipal or county libraries.

Central Arkansas Library System Executive Director Nate Coulter's statements came before Sanders' office announced on Friday that the governor had signed into law SB81 along with many other pieces of legislation the day before.

The legislation affecting schools and...

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