Hamilton East Public Library board to vote on board officers

NOTE: The board meeting streamed above may include discussions of sex acts or displays of explicit images used in books.

THE LATEST: During Thursday's Hamilton East Public Library board meeting, members suspended the collection development policy that has led to books being moved out of the teen section.

Policy suspended:Library staff have been reviewing and reshelving books for months. Now the policy is suspended.

EARLIER: The Hamilton East Public Library Board meets Thursday for the first time since a series of controversies arose over a matter of weeks, including the discovery that John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars" had been moved to the library's adult collection and the Noblesville School Board's decision to unseat the current board president.

Board President Laura Alerding, who will oversee her last meeting Thursday, will likely be replaced as leader by a fellow board member as they seek a change-up of officers, according to the agenda. The board's nominating committee will hold a meeting at 2 p.m., followed by the full board meeting at 3 p.m.

The helm of the seven-member board remains up in the air but became a focal point for the public after two board members, Alerding and Ray Maddalone, met with attorneys at a Fishers coffee shop, sparking speculation that Maddalone would succeed Alerding and raising questions about whether the meeting violated the Open Door Law.

Public Access Counselor Luke Britt told IndyStar that five complaints have been filed against the HEPL Board, with at least three tied to last week's meeting.

What else is up for discussion? Board members will publicly debate how "The Fault in Our Stars" came to be moved to the library's adult collection as a result of the board's policy that places "inappropriate" books for teen readers in that section.

Green, who wrote the young adult novel, has challenged the board to return not only his books to the teen section, but those of other authors as well.

"Award-winning classics of YA lit by everyone from Nic Stone to Judy Blume continue to be wrong shelved by a ridiculous policy that embarrasses Central Indiana," Green wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Change the policy not just for TFIOS, but for all."

Alerding blamed the removal on the library staff and director Edra Waterman, who she said had misinterpreted the board’s new book relocation policy.

Rachel Fradette is a suburban education reporter at IndyStar. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @Rachel_Fradette.