POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN

The following are excerpts from a special report, The State of America’s Libraries, released today by the American Library Association. 

Librarians have always been on the front lines in the fight to protect the freedom to read. But in 2021, libraries found themselves at the center of attacks orchestrated by conservative parent groups and right-wing media that targeted books about race, gender, and LGBTQIA+ issues for removal from public and school library shelves and, in some cases, included threats of book burning.

The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), which tracks book challenges and releases the “Top 10 Most Challenged Books” list each year, determined that in one three-month period alone, between September 1 and November 30, 2021, more than 330 unique cases were reported, doubling the number of reports from 2020 (156 challenges) and putting 2021 totals on pace to break records with 729 challenges to 1,597 books.

AN UNPRECEDENTED UPTICK
Although many bans and challenges originated from parents, in some cases law enforcement and state legislators  got involved.

In Wyoming, a group of residents led by a local pastor filed criminal complaints with local prosecutors, requiring the appointment of a special prosecutor who weighed the possibility of prosecuting public library officials for shelving books some said were obscene in sections intended for children and young adults. The books claimed to be in violation of the law included This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson, How Do You Make a Baby by Anna Fiske, Doing It by Hannah Witton, Sex is a Funny Word by Corey Silverberg, and Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy by Andrew P. Smiler.

In November, the Associated Press reported that no charges would be filed.

The special prosecutor, Weston County Attorney Michael Stulken, wrote to Campbell County Sheriff Scot Matheny that “[he] cannot ethically bring criminal charges if the facts surrounding a certain matter are not supported by probable cause.” He concluded that the books in question were not obscene and that there was no basis in law for the criminal prosecution of the library staff who had presented the books to the public.

Elsewhere, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called for the state’s school boards to remove books he called “pornography.” Abbott also urged state education officials to keep books with “obscene” content out of public schools.

Meanwhile, Texas State Rep. Matt Krause sponsored a Texas House bill prohibiting schools from teaching lessons  that might make students feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress” because of their
race. Krause also wrote to a number of Texas school districts, demanding to know if the districts’ libraries included any of the 849 books listed in his letter. The list, comprising primarily books that address the experiences of Black and
LGBTQIA+ people, spurred a number school and public libraries to remove books from library shelves.

Librarian Angie Manfredi put the situation in perspective when she said that some of the book-ban backers don’t want
children to learn about the experiences of underrepresented groups, including African Americans and LGBTQIA+ people.

PUSHING BACK
But librarians spoke up in defense of the freedom to read.

Carolyn Foote, a retired school librarian in Austin, Texas, and three other library professionals are leading a grassroots effort, #FReadom, to push back against censorship efforts and support school librarians.

“[The censorship effort] was so clearly targeting LGBTQ students; it was so clearly targeting race. I don’t want  students to feel like they are less than. That’s what brought me to this,” Foote told CNN.

The Virginia Library Association wrote a letter to the Spotsylvania County School Board and the school division’s
superintendent that condemned removing books from the shelves of school libraries without proper consideration and
called it a violation of a student’s First Amendment rights.

Moreover, the association spotlighted the work and professionalism of school librarians, noting that “developing a collection for a school library is a process, one that is worked on every day by your collection specialists. They evaluate thousands of titles each year, looking to ensure their accuracy, timeliness, value, and connection to the curriculum.”

The students and parents are also standing up and pushing back. Students at the Central York High School in southern Pennsylvania protested to reinstate materials that had been removed from their library’s collection, including a children’s book about Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography, and CNN’s Sesame Street town hall on racism. Parents and students fought back in Texas, protested in Florida, and fought for the freedom to read in Missouri; organizations donated banned books; and celebrities like LeVar Burton encouraged the masses to read banned books.

“For those of us on that list, it’s not a badge of honor,” Jason Reynolds said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
in December 2021. “People always say, ‘Congratulations. You’re doing something right.’ It’s like, yeah, but at the
same time, there’s been access cut for all the young people who might need these books and where they might only get them in schools. You can’t take for granted that there might not be a library or bookstore in everybody’s  community or that there may not be a $20 bill to go buy that book that they no longer have access to because of these bannings.”

CENTERING EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
Books that are frequent targets for bans include those that deal with racism and racial justice as well as stories that center the lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

But just as libraries are pushing back against attempts to censor diverse books, they are getting more innovative about supporting equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts in their buildings or communities by prioritizing EDI-specific programming, as well.

Bethlehem (PA) Area Public Library’s oral history project, “Voices from the African Diaspora: The Black Experience in Bethlehem, Pa.,” for example, sought to document the history of Bethlehem’s Black community in a majority-white  town, telling the stories of community members like Sharon King, whose mother was the town’s first Black police officer.

Diverse library programming also raised awareness about annual cultural celebrations, such as the Monroe County (IN) Library’s Lunar New Year commemoration.

Sometimes, EDI programming requires communities to confront painful histories. George D. Oberle, director of the Center for Mason Legacies, history librarian, and assistant professor at George Mason University, established a research center to examine the legacy of the university’s namesake, his ancestors and heirs, and the people he enslaved. Outcomes from this work include numerous educational resources for the GMU community, including a robust website with an array of primary source materials and a memorial recognizing the individuals enslaved by George Mason in the center of campus.

FIGHTING DISINFORMATION
Studies have shown that libraries are among the most trusted institutions in our country. That’s why libraries took a leading role in providing accurate information to communities during the pandemic, even as a secondary pestilence continued to threaten the nation: disinformation.

It showed up in many variants, ranging from disinformation about COVID-19, including its origins, to false news about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and the January 6 insurrection.

The World Health Organization refers to the phenomenon as an “infodemic,” an overabundance of information, some accurate and some not, that undermines trust and makes it difficult for people trying to find reliable sources.

Although disinformation has been exacerbated by the conditions of the pandemic, the problem is not new. And libraries and library professionals found themselves in unique positions to help users access reliable information about topics ranging from election security to mRNA vaccines.

Nicole A. Cooke, the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair and an associate professor at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina, believes that the profession offers essential tools to thwart
disinformation attempts.

Speaking in August 2021, Cooke said, “Knowledge of information behavior and meta literacy skills can aid LIS professionals and the public in combating the effects of fake news.”

Partnerships with academia offer one positive way forward. Iowa State University’s Greenlee School of Journalism held a virtual fake news workshop at the Ames Public Library. During the event, “Facing Facts: The Truth About Fake News and What To Do About It,” graduate students in psychology discussed the “subconscious power of fake news and how our brains operate under it.”

Contributing editor Hank Reichman is professor emeritus of history at California State University, East Bay; former AAUP vice-president and president of the AAUP Foundation; and from 2012-2021 Chair of AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure. His book, The Future of Academic Freedom, based in part on posts to this blog, was published in 2019.  His Understanding Academic Freedom has recently been published.