Ban Books From Homes, Not Libraries
It was ironic that a measurable portion of time was spent during the latest Board of Education meeting on April 4 — School Librarian Day — with residents asserting pros and cons of banning books in our local school libraries.
According to the latest report from the American Library Association, attempted book bans and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge. Setting a record in 2022, the trend is showing no signs of slowing this year with the movement apparently gaining some momentum here in Newtown.
As far as school libraries are concerned, the Associated Press says this year, disagreements about content in school libraries often focused on books with LGBTQ themes. This, as policy makers nationwide consider limiting or banning gender-affirming care and drag shows, allowing the deadnaming of transgender students or adults in the workplace, and other measures targeting LGBTQ people.
This appears to be the case among some advocating for certain books to be removed from our schools.
Ahead of our planned reporting next week on issues raised during the latest school board meeting — and ahead of National Library Week April 23-29 — we reached out to C.H. Booth Library Director and state Library Assoc President Doug Lord along with Superintendent of Schools Chris Melillo for some facts.
When asked about requests to remove books at the Booth Library, Lord responded there were none in 2022 and none so far in 2023. Lord also clarified if an individual was to make such a request, they could not do so anonymously. Further, Lord said any such request would be subject to a codified process he would gladly explain to anyone proposing our community library remove materials.
Speaking for local public school library professionals, the superintendent said there is also a thorough, multi-step process the district follows to review such suggestions. And while we understand this process has been in place for decades, it appears to still be serving the community well.
Melillo also clarified that a couple of the books being targeted in Newtown have drawn little to no interest from students. One of those books, Flamer, is the subject of a growing number of complaints.
And while it has been removed from Newtown Middle School — where as of last week it had been checked out once — it remains in the high school library, where it has never been checked out.
As our newspaper, and the community it serves, continue to focus on how this national issue is creeping into local libraries, we humbly offer two suggestions to those for or against the banning of a library book.
The first is, read it — yes, the entire book — so you can be legitimately informed before you enter the fray. The second is, once you have read it, if you think a book’s content is not appropriate for your child, why not first address your concerns with your child in your own home?
Libraries are sanctuaries that promote and protect diversity of thought, creativity, and truth. Any energy promoting the removal of library materials that may offend a relative handful of community members could be better spent supporting the most stringent and rigorous review possible, involving library professionals, when and if you believe we should all be shielded from accessing certain content.
Or just simply advocate to any impressionable children under your own roof to steer clear of library materials you may find objectionable.
We should not lump public libraries with school libraries. School library materials should be held to a stricter standard that is age appropriate and managed by the public through the school board. In the ‘internet age’ it would seem that e-books would have replaced books on a shelf by now. Problem solved?
Several parents have reached out to me with their concerns about sexually explicit material and a general frustration with a perception of indifference. I have heard from parents who are worried the issues they raise will be met with platitudes, but ultimately be dragged out and to be met with inaction. Some have reason to believe staff are rallying others to dismiss or oppose their concerns, or fear that speaking out publicly will be met with retaliation of some sort – which I hope we all would universally condemn.
Having seen several of the images in question and read some of the passages, I feel most reasonable people would wonder if the intended goals of this material could be accomplished without the explicit content and question the necessity of content in line with what someone would read in a romance novel or see in hentai pornography. It begs the question what was the motivation for selecting such explicit material when surely there are alternatives? Some of these books have age guidelines from the publishers where even they do not recommend it for many students at the schools in question. Knowing that obscenity is a personal and subjective standard, it is natural that some parents may feel differently from a teacher or librarian, and we should strive to consider and respect a parent’s views when it comes to what is best for their children.
I am sure the intentions to give students materials they can relate to or to help understand their confusing experiences is well meaning, however many well intended programs often have undesired outcomes. To members of the public I have talked with it seems that some staff feel they are the unilateral gatekeepers of information, who decide what materials are or just as importantly are not offered. Everyone has their own biases, both conscious and unconscious, and decisions made unilaterally are filtered accordingly. This was the case with the politically biased material in conflict with the district’s DEI policy that I recently brought to the Superintendent’s attention. Filtering is also a concern with the discretion to “weed” materials as I saw last summer when a parent alerted me to a dumpsters full of books outside the Middle School, apparently without following Board Policy 3260 regarding disposition of surplus or obsolete materials. In the American Library Association’s literature they use MUSTIE (misleading, ugly, superseded, trivial, irrelevant, or obtained elsewhere) giving librarians guidance to remove materials they deem “trivial” or “irrelevant” very subjective terms. Would removing access to those titles librarians find “trivial” also be considered a “book ban”? What was most striking about my raising questions and concerns about the books being thrown out (as opposed to donated or given away to less affluent communities) was the ‘how dare you’ sentiments online taking offense that I even noticed or called attention to it. Was the decision to move away from Dr Seuss a book ban? The ongoing curriculum audits to remove material others find may objectionable or offensive, is that not a book ban or does the standard change based on who is raising a concern? Staff apparently are empowered by policy to add or remove materials as they see fit, however when some taxpayers question those decisions they have been castigated and even compared to fascists by local activists.
Unlike the staff who seem to control the access to information through their curation, many parents can only reactively respond to what the students have already been sent home with which is the issue with the approach suggested in the above editorial. Families in our community may have different values on different issues. For example, what is appropriate in a secular progressive household may not be something parents in a traditional Muslim or Orthodox household want their children exposed to. Parents have a right and responsibility to raise their children in accordance to their values, and by not giving their concerns consideration it feels dismissive of those values. Children develop at different rates as well and maturity is not constant across a grade level. While the intent maybe to help, the outcome could easily be to the contrary; one can imagine the jeers if someone pulled one of these books out on a bus full of immature student going through puberty. If parents feel something sent home with their student is not appropriate there seems little recourse for their concerns after the fact and for their children there is no way to unsee some of this content which graphically describes quite traumatic issues like sexual bullying.
A simple litmus test would be: “if this content would be inappropriate for public discourse during a board meeting, why would it be appropriate for middle school children?” It would be quite easy to test.
“the superintendent said there is also a thorough, multi-step process the district follows to review such suggestions”.. is there also a process to allow pornography in school libraries? Who decided to put these books in the school? Removing graphic sexual content in “literary” form is not “banning”. If parents want their children to read these, they can purchase them.
Thanks for addressing this. While you and I both respect First Amendment Protections, I believe there are a few flaws in your argument:
– My understanding is that most parents concerned about these books are concerned that these books are in PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARIES. If the Booth Library sees a need to keep these books on their shelves most parents would respect that right, while still insisting that these materials are inappropriate for schoolchildren and should be kept out of public schools.
– Parents objecting to these books in Public School Libraries aren’t simply concerned about their OWN children’s exposure to this material, but in fact concerned about EVERY child’s reaction when seeing this obscenity. Simply banning it from my home doesn’t solve the problem when the problem involves EVERY child.
– Parents objecting to these books in Public School Libraries aren’t simply concerned about a particular sexual persuasion or act, but in fact concerned about EVERY graphic depiction of ANY sexual persuasion or act depicted in these materials.
I am really disappointed that in this particular instance the larger community is NOT asked to respect the sensitivities of the minority group when they feel slighted and are concerned about the emotional distress of our children.
As the editorial aptly states, parents can instruct their children about what books they find appropriate, and why. Even better, read books with your child and discuss your point of view. School libraries, like schools themselves, collect books by age, and Booth Library has separate age sections, so it isn’t likely that a child will read a book wildly out of age range. (Children under 12 shouldn’t even be in the public library unsupervised, according to Booth’s policy.) But even if by chance a child sees or reads something mature in a teen novel, then what? The child doesn’t die, become “sexualized,” or “turn” gay.
As book challenges and bans have played out around the country, please understand that one book with mature content is never the only book. It is only Step 1 in a censorship crusade. As PEN America notes, more than half the books being banned are for teens or adults, and fully 40% are not about sex or gender at all, but about people of color. Children need books that reflect the wider world they will live in very soon. Trust your librarians, and your children, to make good book choices. And Step 1 should always be to speak to the librarian if you have any concerns.
Step 1 in the insidious infiltration of the libraries (and student’s minds) is to find support from folks who have a ‘all are welcome’ attitude regarding mature content. Step 1 should always be to speak with the librarian’s boss. Which is what the discussions at the BoE are doing.