This month, I’ve been thinking about libraries. I realized a few weeks ago that I hadn’t visited mine in a while, so I decided to work remotely and grab some books on my to-read list. Since then, it’s become a weekly Friday routine: I show up, grab a booth, and get absorbed in work soundtracked by the new music. Every time I am reminded of my past self, walking to the local library from my dad’s office to spend entire days among books.
Lately, libraries have been in the news over efforts to declare their materials as “acceptable” or “obscene.” In 2023, 158 bills were introduced across 37 state legislatures to limit library materials. As of March 31st, 2024, 119 bills have already been introduced in 29 states, and there will be more on the way.
From the Georgia State Senate voting to sever ties with the American Library Association to Utah Governor Spencer Cox signing a bill making it easier to ban books in schools, these acts are cut from the same cloth. They are attacks on free media that reflect an escalation from cultural division to outright censorship. In a movement akin to the Satanic Panic, kids and adults alike are being limited from content deemed too radical.
This moment of demonizing one of our most vital public institutions is not the first or last of its kind. But protecting our libraries and their communities requires a shared understanding of why they’re so important (aka punk as hell.)
An uber-abridged history of U.S. censorship
Book bans and media censorship are a tale as old as America’s colonialist roots. The Massachusetts Puritans wasted no time banning New English Canaan in 1637. The reasons may vary, but “obscene” remains a consistent label to attack media that generally fails to uphold our white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.
The earliest libraries reinforced their white, upper-class, educated male target demographic. Up north, they were venues to “Americanize” immigrants in the early 1900s. In the Jim Crow-era South, segregation limited access and resources for Black communities. Banned materials encouraged interracial relationships and were unsympathetic to the Confederacy. This led to the Civil War being reframed as the “War of Northern Aggression” in school textbooks — not unlike the revisionism currently being played out in classrooms by groups like Moms for Liberty.
In recent decades, libraries have improved accessibility despite bans on “anti-American” and “anti-Christian” materials. Many book challenges in the early 1980s led to the founding of Banned Book Week. For over 40 years, they have raised awareness of challenged books and First Amendment rights. Their “Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022” have been targeted due to their LGBTQIA+ content.
John Green, author of the #5 most-banned book of 2022, Looking for Alaska, has spoken at length about his perspective as a writer of challenged texts. As the current wave of book bans took off in 2022, he offered a poignant reflection:
“Books are a threat to many power structures because [they] want us to see other people — especially [those] marginalized because of race, sexuality, gender identity, or mental illness — as less than fully human.”
From the perspective of those seeking to ban these materials, there is often a fear of losing control over what is culturally acceptable. In doing so, they undermine the last bastion of factual knowledge to affirm and support marginalized people. One librarian said the “most memorable” question they had been asked was a student requesting “resources on HIV and AIDS to educate themselves and support a friend who had been recently diagnosed.”
Unsurprisingly, content deemed “provocative” often fights our norms for who has value and who doesn’t. What makes our repeated history of subjective opposition so foolish is that it’s self-defeating. As Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, puts it, “If you tell young people what they can’t do, especially if they can’t read something, their first instinct is, ‘“I want to see what’s in this book.’”
Why libraries are vital resources (and punk AF)
The fight to ban books distracts from the intrinsic value libraries bring to our communities. A 2013 Florida study found that every tax dollar invested in libraries led to a return of $10.18, supporting 192,000 jobs and achieving a total statewide impact of $6.57 billion. According to a 2013 IMLS report, small and rural libraries make up 80.5% of public library systems in the U.S. The vast majority serve areas with under 25,000 residents.
And yet, libraries offer more than purely economic value. Their status as a radical public good all but laughs in the face of a capitalist system. Many have gone fee-free to limit obstacles to library access, particularly for low-income homes. A growing number have invested in new MakerSpaces to provide resources like laser cutting, 3D printing, and more. Nearly 1,700 U.S. libraries were funded by an industrialist who despised inherited wealth.
If you pitched public libraries as they currently exist, you’d get laughed out of the room (let alone get funding for over 9,000). Thankfully, we have thousands of libraries that connect community needs with resources to serve them:
Public bathrooms
Art and multimedia events
Tech and literary education
Podcast and music recording
Vaccine clinics and healthcare access
Emergency warming and cooling centers
Food distribution events and seed libraries
Free summer programs for kids and families
Community meeting space for clubs and organizations
Libraries also bridge the gaps in a music scene by hosting concerts and all-ages basement shows. Others are valuable archives for local music, inspiring the next generation to express themselves in sound. Even just using their WiFi to listen to new albums and work is punk as hell (but maybe not as much as requesting new CDs from your librarians).
Like punk rock, libraries are born from a desire for free thought and social rights. They offer information on many subjects, from all perspectives. Their world-changing ideas are meant to be shared with the community. Restricting access to information affects us all, not only those deemed susceptible to “obscene” content.
What can we do to protect our libraries?
Let’s start by reveling in the fact that these book bans are widely unpopular. Not only are 71 percent of voters against them but readership of banned books has increased. Better yet, 54 percent of Gen Z and Millennials have visited a local library in the past year.
There are countless ways to support your local library; here’s a distilled list:
1. Get a free library card
Being a resident of your city or county gives you immediate access to countless resources — USE IT!
2. Check-out items often
Using books and materials validates funding for your library. The more you use, the more data libraries have to justify and expand their budgets. So don’t be afraid to check out items you may not finish!
3. Attend events and programs
Creating curated programs for kids and adults takes time and resources. With consistent engagement, libraries can maintain full schedules for all audiences.
4. Donate to your favorite library
Offering financial support and donating books are the tip of the iceberg. Libraries need volunteers to provide time and help. Giving 1-2 hours of your time can offer a clear view into how your library functions.
5. Support your local Friends of the Library organization
These nonprofits help fund programs, services, and materials with larger-scale donations. They also have events and volunteer opportunities to support.
6. Tell your local librarians how great they are
It might seem small, but even a small gesture of gratitude can reflect how you value their work.
7. Email your library director and share what you love about the library
Don’t stop at your librarian! Tell their boss exactly why their workers and available resources are outstanding.
8. Tell local officials how important your library is
Your city or town council is your closest point of legislative contact. They dictate how much money goes to your library, including how much librarians are paid.
I get it, public speaking is nerve-wracking. Here’s a motivating fact: Only three states pay library workers a living wage on average. That can only change with citizen input.
Not sure if your local library is fighting with book bans or want to know more?
Ask your local librarian!
Check out Book Riot’s updated anti-censorship list.
Use Unite Against Book Ban’s Toolkit to push back against book bans.
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