It Was Only a Matter of Time… Banners are coming for Little Free Libraries
I
guess it was only a matter of time. Book banners have begun targeting Little Free Libraries. You know… those colorful boxes that have sprouted up designed to promote neighborhood book exchanges.
This move is consistent with the agenda of groups like Utah Parents United, Moms for Liberty, and the Family Heritage Alliance, whose influence has resulted in several states’ legislation that threaten teachers and librarians with jail time for making so-called “obscene” material available.
Hayes may be a state representative, but targeting Little Free Libraries clearly trains the threat of prosecution on everyday citizens. In fact, this same Utah Parents United leader states in no uncertain terms that owners of Little Free Libraries should also face prosecution if they make so-called “obscene” material available.
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As policy advocate for the Utah Library Association, Peter Bromberg, points out, it doesn’t really matter if you can defend successfully yourself in court. Having such an accusation levied against you puts a target on you to be vandalized and threatened by book banning advocates in the same way librarians have been in the past several years. [1].
Book banning advocates’ agenda is obviously about more than the parents’ rights they purport to be their concern. Banners are coming for Little Free Libraries. And it’s obviously designed to have a chilling effect on the free expression of citizens across the board.
How can you help resist such efforts?
Find tools to fight back, and support the freedom to read here.
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Endnotes:
[1] Alberty, Erin. “Book banning activists target Little Free Libraries in Utah.” Axios Salt Lake City, Oct. 4, 2024. https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2024/10/04/book-ban-little-free-libraries-utah
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