Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed a bill that requires public libraries to develop a way to let parents and guardians restrict their children's access to sexually explicit material.

Louisiana Illuminator reported Friday that Edwards had said previously the bill wasn't necessary, but that he signed it anyway.

Setting up a dual card system was a major part of a proposal brought forth by Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek. The law also requires libraries to develop formal polices on how to define and limit access to sexually explicit material.

The president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians, Amanda Jones, had said at the Baton Rouge Press Club in June that there were better means to addressing access to sensitive materials by minors.

"If you are a parent and you are with your child, those systems shouldn't be needed," Jones said.

During the debate this spring, the bill's proponents said parents should feel comfortable when dropping off children off at libraries — and not worry about what they'll find.

"Libraries aren't daycare systems," Jones said at the Press Club. "If you're dropping off your child unaccompanied at the library, that's your own fault if your child wanders into the adult section."

She said then that she often goes to her library in Livingston Parish with her 16-year-old child and that they discuss books they come across.

"When you see something like SB7 that blankets across the state, in systems that aren't having problems, you're creating a solution in search of a problem that didn't even exist," she said.

The new law will take effect Aug. 1.