Columbia County Advocates for Public Education

05/01/2026

For background information, read https://open.substack.com/pub/f2rccc/p/report-to-the-columbia-county-board. Note that emails sent to board members are public records and subject to Open Records Requests.

04/30/2026

In September 2024, the Columbia County Commission passed guidelines that directed the movement of 40+ Young Adult books out of the library's YA Room and into the Adult section, hiding them from their intended audience. The screening tool used was BookLooks (a Moms for Liberty associated database, now absorbed into RatedBooks), which is not a professional library source.

Not one of these books was challenged by a parent of a teenager. They were moved because the Columbia County Board of Commissioners decided to override professional librarians, not because of some parental outcry over the YA Room.

At least three Gr 5 certified librarians resigned in the summer of 2025 citing concerns about professional ethics. All together, Eight Gr 5 certified librarians, including the former director, have left our libraries since those guidelines were originally passed in September 2024. Harlem Library has been without a manager or professional librarian for over a year.

The library board adopted a new Collection Development Policy on January 6, 2026, one that requires professional library standards for placement decisions. Those are the exact standards that were thrown out in September 2024. Those 40+ titles are still misplaced. The board has the authority and the obligation to fix this. We are asking them to follow their own policy.

Read our full report here: https://open.substack.com/pub/f2rccc/p/report-to-the-columbia-county-board?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Columbia County, GA - Government Columbia County Library

03/25/2026

In a letter to the editor, a Martinez grandmother argues that young adult library sections expose kids to more sexually themed content than adult sections and urges parents to guide teens’ reading choices.

👉 Click to read the full column: https://theaugustapress.com/letter-to-the-editor-64/

03/25/2026

03/25/2026

03/25/2026

Vote NO on SB 382 (Caps property tax collections, leaves schools without a revenue substitute) Currently, the GA General Assembly is considering proposals that would cap property tax collections, which serve as the primary source of local revenue for schools. Over time, these proposals would decimat...

03/23/2026

03/23/2026

❌👑 NO KINGS is Saturday, March 28th! Grab a friend and sign up to attend No Kings Augusta: tinyurl.com/y2rfsaut

03/23/2026

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/demand-the-bor-revoke-the-posting-of-public-syllabi-and-curriculum-vitae-policy

Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members: The Georgia Board of Regents passed a policy in May 2025 requiring all institutions within the University System of Georgia (USG) to make available to the public all course syllabi and instructor curriculum vitae by publishing these on univers...

03/21/2026

The Right to Read Act would strengthen literacy by ensuring students have access to books & professional librarians.

The Fight Book Bans Act would protect students’ ability to explore diverse ideas and prevent politically motivated efforts to ban books.

Help support libraries across the country by taking action today!