I read with regret The Day’s article published June 29: “Old Lyme library urged to remove two sex-ed books from the teen area.” If it were written five years ago, I would have been in utter disbelief. But such are the times that we live in. Book banning has returned with a vengeance.

As a 40-year resident in town, our schools and library have been a source of pride for me. The library director and her staff are specifically trained professionals who take the utmost care in screening books that go on their shelves. Yet their advanced skills did not give pause to a group of citizens and a few elected officials from signing a letter that called for removal of both books from the young adult shelves (ages 11-19).

By all means the signatories who object to the books’ contents have every right to keep their children from reading them, but how dare they presume to keep their neighbors’ children from reading them. The “young adults” section in the library includes ages 18 and 19. Good luck with denying them the right to read what they wish.

Roger Hurley

Old Lyme