Does any rational person actually think it is worth $60,000 of taxpayers money — and, more importantly, more than 1,400 hours of staff time — to delve into the minutiae of how Utah public schools go about buying books for their libraries?

A majority of the Utah State Board of Education has been convinced to have its staff, and local school district and charter school librarians and administrators around the state, do exactly that.

But, as the final details of the project have not been spelled out, there is still time for the board to call off this wild woozle hunt. Literate Utahns can speak out by contacting the board at board@schools.utah.gov or writing to the agency through PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84114-4200.

One board member, Emily Green, pushed the idea because, apparently, she envisions a malevolent pipeline between major American publishing houses — i.e. purveyors of porn — and Utah school librarians. Otherwise, how could the 37 books so far banned from all state schools have made it onto the shelves in the first place?

Maybe because a lot of them are considered literature from top-flight authors, such as Stephen King, Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut and Margaret Atwood. Or because they have been noted as hugely popular novels among some teenage readers, such as the Court of Thorns and Roses fantasy series by Sarah Maas.

Or they have been on library, bookstore and private shelves since long before the Utah Legislature passed its embarrassing book ban law.

In the large scheme of things, $60,000 may not seem like much. But it would cover a year’s pay for a teacher somewhere in the state. And the time spent by state and local officials answering all the invasive questions about how books are purchased would be much better spent getting our children to read books, not fear them.

The board should drop this foolish scheme before it goes any further.

Note to readers • Editorial board member Gretchen Zaitzeff has recused herself from this editorial.

Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.