Keep Freedom On The Shelves

My dream for as long as I can remember has been to become a librarian. The uptick in book challenges and book banning has felt like a slow torch burning my dream, our intellectual freedom and certain books on the stake. Imagine that every time you walked into a library and found a book that intrigued you, but someone else in your community, who you have no ties to, had to give you the ok to read it. I almost said they would need to read it first, but likely they would just skim it to find words and themes they did not personally like and judge from there. Is the author queer or black? Is the book giving a perspective the challenger isn't familiar with or doesn't agree with? Is the writing giving a voice to the marginalized groups who are often silenced? This is what infringement on our intellectual freedom feels like. This is what censorship looks like. This is what we must combat. There is a long history of book banning that has led us to this moment, but there has been a recent resurgence of book challenges in the early 2020s. I want this blog to be a source of information, resources and inspiration to take action against censorship, bigotry and violation of rights.

Here's a bit of history on book banning:

So what's "intellectual freedom"? 

It's the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. This includes but is not limited to researching current presidential candidates, reading about the civil war, or simply reading a book for joy that you picked up from your public library. 

Book Banning is infringing on this right.

Click here for a conversation between Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and WYNC's host about intellectual freedom and the impact of censorship on public libraries. “All library users have a First Amendment right to enter and use public libraries, and all users have a right to access and read the books that have been selected to be on the shelf,” Caldwell-Stone said. “It is believed to be a First Amendment violation to remove those books because of the views, the topics, [and] the ideas expressed in those books.” 

What does this have to do with public libraries?

There should not be any biased information given in a public library, if a patron needs assistance or needs information. Going back to our presidential candidates example, if you went to your public library and asked for information about all presidential candidates and only received information about half of the candidates, then you’d probably feel you were missing information about all of the candidates. It would be difficult to make an informed decision on who to vote for if you only had information supporting one side of the argument. Public libraries are not permitted to give this biased information and must follow the Library Bill of Rights, which includes:

"I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation."

and

"II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval."

Some librarians are even being threatened and pushed out of positions for upholding intellectual freedom. Threats of defunding and accessibility to challenged books are at stake. Public libraries are protected public forums, meant to serve everyone with help from the shield of the first amendment right but those who are challenging books and demanding censorship are waging a war against these rights, against this safe place and attempting to force out books and ideas that do not fit their personal narrative, such as LGBTQIA+ and POC stories and viewpoints. 

Who's being censored most?

According to the American Library Association, those most affected by these bans are authors who are members of LGBTQIA+ community and/or people of color as well as books geared toward these marginalized groups. In 2022, "A record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color" (ALA). Most book challenges happen in school libraries or classrooms but in 2022 "41% of book challenges targeted materials in public libraries" (ALA).  According to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, the book challengers/banners have a nefarious goal, “Their aim is to suppress the voices of those traditionally excluded from our nation’s conversations, such as people in the LGBTQIA+ community or people of color. Each attempt to ban a book by one of these groups represents a direct attack on every person’s constitutionally protected right to freely choose what books to read and what ideas to explore. The choice of what to read must be left to the reader or, in the case of children, to parents. That choice does not belong to self-appointed book police" (ALA). 

At the time of writing, the 2022 top 10 most challenged books list has not been released by the ALA, but will be soon during national library week! I will go over those in more detail on an upcoming post. 

Book challenges are happening all across the U.S. in public libraries. Intellectual freedom is vital to our democratic process, ability to make informed decisions and solve problems. The importance of intellectual freedom extends past non-fiction and into fiction as well. There should be a variety of representations of people, cultures and experiences  in fiction and nonfiction books available for anyone who steps into a public library. If you want to dive into a book to experience a world other than your own, or if you want to find characters and plots that mirror your own life experiences, you should have the intellectual freedom to do so.

I want to end on a positive note, because some libraries and individuals are taking it into their own hands to help preserve intellectual freedom and our first amendment rights! New York Public Library, for example, made banned books available for free for everyone last year (NPR). Public librarians are blocking bans, daily and upholding intellectual freedom. Banned and challenged book writers, like George M. Johnson, author of All Boys Aren't Blue, are also speaking out and staying strong in these trying times with inspiring, powerful and comforting words, like "I will never stop writing our story" (NPR). So with that, we cannot stop READING the stories that are being threatened, so find a banned book online, at your local library, or at a used book store (I was thrilled to find This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson at a local used book store last weekend!). You can also go to unite against book bans and join the campaign!