Library budget to be discussed
By John Labriola - The Citrus County Library Advisory Board will be meeting later this month to discuss and vote on the proposed 2025-26 library budget after hearing from the public.
The meeting will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 9 a.m. in Room 166 of the Lecanto Government Building, 3600 W Sovereign Path, Lecanto, FL 34461.
At $5.6 million, the library budget is more than $1 million higher than what was actually spent last year. It includes a $322,570 line item to purchase 1,300 books a month for the library system while removing an equal number of books every month to make room for them. The large volume of purchases means the vast majority of books don't get vetted, which increases the chances of highly inappropriate materials slipping into the children's section. Last year, the pornographic LGBT teen novel "Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)" was removed from the shelves after Commissioner Diana Finegan brought it up at a commission meeting.
The proposed library budget also includes a $3,300 annual subscription to the magazine BookPage. A woke monthly publication with multiple copies available at each library, BookPage specializes in recommending books with LGBT, DEI, CRT and witchcraft themes.

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