Two children’s books at the Seaside Public Library are under scrutiny because of concerns about content, marking the first potential book bans the city has seen in over a decade.

The concerns came to light after City Councilor Steve Dillard mentioned the books at a City Council meeting in late November. The council had been preparing for a routine reappointment of a Library Board member.

“The reason I can’t vote in favor of the person reapplying is because a couple of months ago, I discovered something that’s going on,” Dillard said. “There was a promotion that the library was putting on and I started looking into it and I realized our library is putting sexually explicit materials in the hands of minors.”

The books under fire are “And Tango Makes Three,” a true story published in 2005 about two male penguins who raised an abandoned baby penguin at the Central Park Zoo in New York, and “When Aidan Became a Brother,” a story published in 2019 that details the coming out of a transgender child.

Jennifer Reading, the director of the Seaside Public Library, said the library recently received requests for reconsideration of the two books. She said the Library Board will follow its policies and procedures and review the requests. The Library Board is expected to make a decision after a public meeting in early January.

“It’s important to note that these decisions are not taken lightly and are made to foster a safe and supportive environment for all patrons, especially our younger audience,” Reading said in an email. “We recognize the importance of providing access to varied viewpoints and challenging subjects, but we also bear in mind the need for age-appropriate content and respect for parental concerns.

“The library actively encourages parents to participate in selecting reading materials for their children, offering guidance, recommendations and resources to support informed choices.”

Reading said the “library remains committed to supporting the freedom to read. We actively encourage intellectual exploration and provide access to a wide array of materials representing various viewpoints and experiences. Our policies are designed to facilitate access to information while considering the diverse needs of our community.”

Several people spoke out against the potential book bans at a City Council meeting on Dec. 11.

Jessie Reed, who is a co-founder of Pride in Seaside, said she had read both books and that they did not contain any sexually explicit content.

“We have many families here in Seaside and around Clatsop County with same-sex parents who get up in the morning, get their children ready for school and then go to work all day before coming home to have dinner with their families,” she said. “They’re just the same as any other family here in our community, and their very existence and raising a family together is not sexually explicit.”

The American Library Association reported a record number of book challenges in 2022, a symptom of the growing political and cultural divides across the nation. In the first eight months of this year, the library association reported there were 1,915 challenges to unique titles, a 20% increased compared to the same period last year.