Reading Banned Books as An Act of Resistance

by

Methodist Federation for Social Action

My parents used to joke that my second home growing up was my hometown’s public library. When I learned to ride my bike, I spent my summer vacations waiting for the library to open so I could ride my bike there and spend the whole day reading in the children’s room. I signed myself up for every single program. At the end of the day, I would pack my bags with whatever books I could carry home on my bike. My hometown’s library was the catalyst for me to learn about new places outside of my small town in Indiana. I dreamed about travel, living in big cities, meeting new people, and making a difference in the world, all thanks to the magical worlds that books transported me to. That’s the library's power—it can transport you to new worlds and experiences.

My first job as a teenager was at my local library. As a page, I helped shelve books and put together craft kits for the children’s room. It was the best first job I could have ever asked for. My parents were not surprised to hear that I decided to change my career in my 30s, after nearly 7+ years working in public relations and communications. I decided to go back to graduate school to get my master’s in library and information science. The library was such a cornerstone of my childhood and teenage years, it was not surprising to hear that I wanted to become a youth services librarian to help facilitate the magic of a library for future generations.

Now that I am more established into my adult years, I also see the library as the great equalizer. In sociology, there is the concept of the “third place” outside of our homes and workplaces. In his book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg argues how having a third place is important for our democracy, civil society, and civic engagement, often creating sense of belonging. A third place can be our churches, parks, cafes, and our public libraries. The public library is often one of the last few places in our society with no barrier to cost for people to enter. At public libraries, people can find belonging. Those who need resources can access those services for free with the use of a library card or guest pass. Many libraries are eliminating fines to continue making resources and books accessible. Libraries can be places where like-minded people can gather and share ideas.

Libraries are places where you can learn something new. Libraries are places where you can be exposed to different life experiences and opinions than your own. There is no expectation for you to have to pay for these resources—the library has them available for patrons for free. The more exposed and educated that we become to these varying schools of thought, the better we become as a society, leading us to pave the way and change the world for future generations. Personally, I feel that some people view the possibilities the library offers as a threat to our nation.

Over the last several years, the American Library Association (ALA) has seen an increase in book bans and challenges. In 2022, the ALA reported 1,279 book bans and challenges reported to the association. This number nearly doubled from 2021, when the number of challenged and banned reports was 729. A majority of these challenges come from organized groups such as Moms for Liberty, who organize and circulate lists of multiple titles they aim to ban or censor in public and school libraries. Of the overall number of books challenged, 90% were part of attempts to censor multiple titles using one of these book lists circulated by organized groups. As the United States heads into an election year in 2024, we may continue to see challenges rise across the nation’s public libraries. This banning of books has put librarians on the frontline more than ever to advocate for people’s freedom to read.  

In my Issues of Access, Policy, and Advocacy in Youth Services class, my professor challenged us to consider that if there is a book in your library that offends you, then the library is doing its job. The library is responsible for having a plethora of books that showcase a wide array of opinions and experiences. It is absolutely critical that a library’s collection reflect the community of humankind as a whole. Currently, most of the books being challenged by these organized groups are about LGBTQIA+ people and people of color. By trying to remove these books from libraries, these groups are trying to minimize and erase the very real experiences and challenges of these marginalized groups. Instead of deciding to bypass reading the books themselves or to their families, they are going a step further and trying to restrict and censor these books for all.

Even in the most progressive of areas, libraries are experiencing an increase in pushback for our collections depicting LGBTQIA+ people and people of color. Even in the Chicago suburbs where I work, this is happening. No library is immune to this current wave of book bans. This can feel overwhelming, but there is so much that you can do as a patron to support your libraries during these turbulent times.  

1. Use your library card frequently. Simply by going into your local public library and using its services helps your library and your librarians. Use the resources. Check out books. Come to our free programming. Just by using the library, you will be counted as part of the overall usage statistics, which are then reported back to the local government, showing how the library is an important cornerstone of your community, deserving its funding.

2. Write emails and letters in support of your library. As a librarian-in-training, I promise you that we see every single email that comes in, both the negative and positive. The positive emails, letters, and cards are extremely encouraging, especially during these turbulent times. If you see a display of diverse books highlighting Pride Month, Black History Month, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, etc., take note of that and write an email to your library letting them know how much that meant for you as a patron to see. If you attended a program of any kind at the library that you felt was beneficial for your community, send a note to your librarians thanking us for that. Not only is this encouraging for us to see our patrons value the work we are putting into our communities, we take those emails, letters, and cards to our library board to show how we are making an impact in each of our departments. Your written support helps us show why we deserve the funding that we are asking for each fiscal year.

3. Attend your local public library’s board meetings. The board meetings for libraries are open to the public. Many of these organized groups that are trying to ban and censor books in the library are attending these meetings with an agenda to discredit the library’s collection development policy, striving to get the titles of their book lists banned in what they claim is meant to protect children from sexually explicit and violent material. If you attend your library’s board meeting, you can voice your support for these books and advocate for those books to remain included in the library’s collection. You can organize a group of your friends or members from your church’s Bible study to attend. Together, you can advocate that diverse books stay on your library's shelves.

4. Run for your local library’s board, trustees, or friends of the library group. Some of these organized groups looking to ban books have organized themselves and run for their local library boards. Once in office, they can use their power to get their book-banning agenda in motion, causing havoc for both librarians and the community. In my home state of Indiana, a library in suburban Indianapolis was flipped upside down due to an incredibly restrictive collection development policy implemented by a politically motivated board elected to ban and censor books in youth and teen services. You can give back to your community and advocate for your community’s freedom to read by running for your library’s board, standing up for diverse books, and advocating for financial support for your library.

5. Read banned books, then recommend those books to your friends and family. October 1st-7th is Banned Books Week. During this week, read a banned book, especially a newer one you have never read before. We have compiled a list of banned books using the ALA’s list of some of the most banned books of 2022 in our Bookshop. Share on your social media accounts that you read banned books. Purchase banned books to give out as gifts to your friends and family. Recommend book titles to your network that are on the banned book list. Even better, check out one of these banned books during Banned Book Week from your local library. Just reading a banned book is an act of resistance.

6. Write to your state representatives, encouraging them to consider enacting a law banning book bans. Both Illinois and California have recently passed state legislation that bans books bans. In these two states, libraries will not receive state funding if a book is banned. You can encourage your state legislators to do the same. Illinois has created a website encouraging other states to enact a similar ban on book bans by sharing the legislation they used. You can show up and advocate for your local library by writing to your local representatives and demanding that state legislatures protect the freedom to read for all.

Book bans and pushes for censorship in libraries are not a new phenomena. During the Satanic Panic of the 80s, libraries saw many censorship efforts, even targeting authors such as Judy Blume. During this current wave of book bans and censorship efforts, you can be advocate for not only librarians, but for LGBTQIA+ people, people of color, and for every single person in your community to have the freedom to read.

Jenn Meadows (she/her/hers) is the Development and Communications Coordinator at MFSA. Jenn has over 8 years of experience working in communications and public relations for non-profits and small businesses. She has a passion for justice, seeking to bring that into both her work and her daily life. Jenn is pursuing her Master’s of Library and Information Science at Dominican University. She hopes to one day become a children’s librarian, instilling a love of learning, curiosity, and compassion in our youth. Outside of work and graduate school, Jenn enjoys collecting vinyl and attending live music throughout Chicago.