And so it begins… Department of Education rescinds guidance on book bans.

Department of Education rescinds guidance on book bans

A
nd so it begins…  as of January 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has rescinded all guidance indicating that school districts’ implementation of book bans could violate civil rights laws.

The agency has also eliminated President Biden’s recently-created position of book ban coordinator.[1] Responsibilities of this now-abolished post entailed the development of training for schools regarding how book bans that target specific communities conceivably run counter to federal civil rights laws – specifically Title VI and Title IX of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.[2]

Title VI and Title IX are foundational civil rights laws. And, they were enacted to ensure that students are free from discrimination in educational settings.

Title VI:

It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.[3] Note that, unlike Title IX, Title VI’s protections are not limited to “education” programs and activities.[4]

Title IX:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…  Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination “on the basis of sex” includes discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.[5]

Congress consciously modeled Title IX on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[6] And, together these laws are consequential tools aimed at ensuring that schools remain places where every student can learn and thrive without fear of harassment or exclusion.

Department of Education rescinds guidance on book bans

A Case Study in
How the System Used to Work

An investigation by the OCR into the removal of books featuring LGBTQ+ and racial minority characters at Forsyth County Schools in Georgia serves as a case study for how the now-dismantled system worked.

First, it’s important to note that a significant number of the books recently removed from school and library shelves were challenged on the basis of containing LGBTQ+ themes or because they address race and racism.

More than half of attempted book bans over the past several years were works containing LGBTQ+ themes and content. Forty percent were books that revolve around protagonists or secondary characters of color. And 21% of those challenged address issues of race or racism. [7]

The OCR found that removing books featuring LGBTQ+ and racial minority characters created a hostile environment for students. During this probe, LGBTQ+ students and their families reported fear over losing a sense of safety because their school environment became “more harsh,” that is to say abusive, “in the aftermath of the book removals.”[8]

In the same report, students of color indicated that eliminating books with diverse characters made it difficult to see themselves represented in their school libraries. Lack of representation isn’t simply a matter of not getting enough attention. Rendering a population invisible within society effectively silences minority voices.[9]

The OCR ultimately concluded that the book bans, combined with lack of communication throughout the challenge process, as well as ongoing discourse from district leadership about LGBTQ and racial issues, constituted a violation of the students’ civil rights.[10]

The complaint was ultimately settled with a resolution agreement between the Forsyth County School District and the OCR. Among other things, the resolution lays the foundation for improved communication between all parties involved.

But more importantly, it establishes a process for improving school climate and addressing “harassment based on sex, race, color or national origin.”[11]  And ultimately, this resolution agreement deters the violation of students’ civil rights.

Department of Education rescinds guidance on book bans

Such investigations
will no longer be happening.

 Rather than addressing such documented harms, the Department of Education under the Trump Administration has rescinded all department guidance pertaining to book bans and how removing books from school libraries could violate students’ civil rights.

And they didn’t waste any time doing it – the process was set in motion on Inauguration Day. Not only that… as we speak, the Trump administration is drafting an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education entirely.[12]

Trump’s OCR has dismissed the 17 cases heretofore under investigation, stating it was ending “Biden’s book ban hoax.”[13]

But, book bans in United States’ public school classrooms and libraries are anything but a hoax. The free expression advocacy group Pen America has tracked nearly 16,000 book ban attempts in public schools across the nation since 2021.[14]

Department of Education rescinds guidance on book bans

Why is the Department of Education
no longer taking on book bans?

Why has the Office for Civil Rights been stripped of its ability to hold districts accountable for these actions? Why isn’t it addressing censorship – which silences students and impedes their access to education – a priority for this administration?

Why is the Trump administration preparing to dismantle the Department of Education – whose mission is to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access” – altogether?[15]

Suppressing access to information is a tactic that’s been used before in this country. As pointed out by Henry Ward Beecher, the slave-holding class in the antebellum south “realized that allowing non-slaveholders access to information would disrupt their own fortunes, and thus imposed a strict system of censorship throughout the region.”[16]

Beecher also noted that schoolbooks containing accurate material about the evils of slavery “were expunged” because it’s understood that “youthful impressions [are] the most lasting.”[17]

We see this tactic being employed again today. Confirmed by the fact that 16% of books banned in recent years are history books or biographies.[18]

Beecher put the situation, both then and now, in a nutshell with his statement that ignorance (that is… lacking information or particular knowledge) can become an institution, one that can be legislated. Sound familiar?

As he also pointed out:

Knowledge is not only power… but powder also, liable to blow false institutions to atoms.[19]

It seems we have our answer as to why the current Office of Civil Rights is no longer taking on book bans and censorship. Especially when considered in light of the fact that 10% of books recently banned in American school districts contained themes of rights and activism. It’s because, as Beecher noted and we learned from Schoolhouse Rock, knowledge is power.[20]

Department of Education rescinds guidance on book bans

What’s the purported motive
for these recent actions?  

The OCR’s press release cites “fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education” as the motive behind these recent actions.[21]

There’s no question that parents deserve a say in shaping their children’s education, especially when it comes to matters revolving around their moral and religious beliefs. But, parents already have that right.

Parents’ legal right “to control the education of their own” pupils was established by the Supreme Court in 1923 with the case Meyer v Nebraska.[22]

Ironically, Meyer v Nebraska revolves around the state of Nebraska’s ban (and yes, that is the word used in the judicial opinion) on forms of education pertaining to marginalized groups.  In this case, the immigrant population generally was targeted, and those of German heritage in particular – in an effort to “foster a homogeneous people.”[23]

The irony lies in the fact that the ruling which establishes the right Trump’s Department of Education purports to be upholding when books with LGBTQ+ themes or discussions of racism are banned, actually finds that restricting education for and about such minority populations is unconstitutional.

Be that as it may…   the right “to control the education of their own” students has long been exercised by parents who have objected to some of the material their children read or view. [24] And, there are ways to do it without trampling on the rights of others. But the day when that conversation was relevant has unfortunately passed.

The fact of the matter is, in its current configuration the Department of Education is no longer in the business of ensuring students’ access to information which, needless to say, is the foundation of a well-rounded education.

What can we do about it?

 What can we do about it? As children’s writer James Howe points out:

Banning books is just another form of bullying. It’s all about fear and an assumption of power. The key is to address the fear and deny the power.[25]

Needless to say, we should make our voices heard at PTA and school board meetings, especially those of our students – whose right to education and information is being infringed upon. Vote in local elections. Run for your local school board.

These actions are important undertakings to be sure. But not everyone has the resources to run for a seat on their school board. That’s what book banners are counting on, as evinced by the recent influx of political money into those elections.

But there’s a “work-around” as it were to ensure your child’s access to information and the well-rounded education they have a right to. And that is to turn the parental rights book banners invoke on its head. Ex-school teacher Stephen King nails it as the expression goes with his advice to:

…run, don’t walk, to the nearest non-school library or to the local bookstore and get whatever it was that they banned. Read whatever they’re trying to keep out of your [student’s] eyes and your [student’s] brain, because that’s exactly what [they] need to know…   controversy and surprise – sometimes even shock – are often the whetstone on which young minds are sharpened.[26]

Deny book banners the power to control and impoverish your student’s education. Take the bull by the proverbial horns. Fire up family reading nights and feature banned books. Visit the public library with your student and check out the books your district has removed from its classrooms or library shelves. Organize a banned book club for your teens.

Department of Education rescinds guidance on book bans

Any book worth banning
is a book worth reading.

As science fiction legend Isaac Asimov so astutely put it, “any book worth banning is a book worth reading.”[27] Studies show that when allowed to read books with difficult or “disturbing” subject matter, students who previously read little or nothing “started reading like crazy,” both in and out of school.[28]

Not surprisingly these students’ reading achievement improved. That’s no small consideration, given that the most recent reading scores on “the nation’s report card” (for 2024) have plummeted to a historic low.[29]

We’re undoubtedly still playing catch-up from the Covid pandemic. Both math and reading scores are still below pre-pandemic levels. But it’s significant to note that only the reading scores have dropped since the previous assessment period.

Why the disparity?  Well…  when we ban books, we tie one arm behind educators’ backs, because they have fewer resources at their disposal to help teach our kids to read at a proficient level. Moreover, a diverse library is one of the best – if not the best – tool in a teacher’s arsenal.

A recent survey of educators from all 50 states found that when diverse books are added to classroom libraries, student reading time increased by 4 hours per week on average. As a result, students’ reading scores increased to three points higher (+9) than the national expected average yearly gains. The lowest scoring students made the greatest gains (+11).

Teachers in this survey indicate that for every additional bilingual book added to their classroom library, their students’ reading assessment scores increased by seven points on average.

They further stated that for every additional LGBTQ+ book added to their classroom library, their students’ reading assessment scores increased by 4.5 points on average. [30]

In addition to improved assessment scores, students in a study of middle-schoolers also report improved self-control, as well as  developing more, and stronger, friendships and family relationships. And, students report being “happier. Yes, happier.” [31] This, of course, is the polar opposite of the baloney banners spout to frighten parents into falling in line.

Department of Education rescinds guidance on book bans

The bottom line…

Rather than succumbing to a policy of restricted information and diminished education, “control the education of your own” by making sure your students have access to books that are being removed from classroom and school library shelves. Reading the types of books targeted by these bans fosters critical thinking, trains perspective-taking, and engenders empathy.[32]

Not only are these skills that students are going to need in order to be whole, successful adults, they’re essential social skills for an informed citizenry in a democratic society. Let’s make sure the next generation of American citizens is equipped with them.

Be sure to take a look at our
“Fight Book Bans” segment.

Don’t miss our Case Study on
how to push back against book bans.

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#Department of Education  #book bans
#state-sponsored censorship  #banned books

Endnotes:

[1] Press Release. “U.S. Department of Education Ends Bien’s Book Ban Hoax.” U.S. Department of Education. January 24, 2025.

Arundel, Kara. “Education Department rescinds Biden-era Book ban guidance.” Jan 24, 2025. K-12 Dive.com
https://www.k12dive.com/news/school-book-bans-Education-Department-civil-rights/738310/

[2] Merod, Anna. “Ed Dept to appoint coordinator to take on book bans nationwide.” June 8, 2023. K-12Dive.com
https://www.k12dive.com/news/education-department-coordinator-addressing-book-ban/652458/

[3] U.S. Department of Justice/ Civil Rights Division. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Overview of Title VI:  https://www.justice.gov/crt/fcs/TitleVI

EveryLibrary Objects to Trump Administration Calling Book Bans a Hoax. January 24, 2025.
https://www.everylibrary.org/trump_administration_ends_school_book_ban_consent_decree

[4] U.S. Department of Justice/ Civil Rights Division. Title IX. Title IX Legal Manual
 https://www.justice.gov/crt/title-ix

[5] U.S. Department of Justice/ Civil Rights Division. Title IX. Title IX Legal Manual.
https://www.justice.gov/crt/title-ix

[6] U.S. Department of Justice/ Civil Rights Division. Title IX. Title IX Legal Manual
https://www.justice.gov/crt/title-ix

EveryLibrary Objects to Trump Administration Calling Book Bans a Hoax. January 24, 2025. EveryLibrary.com
https://www.everylibrary.org/trump_administration_ends_school_book_ban_consent_decree

[7] Arkin, Daniel. “More than half of 2023’s most challenged books have LGBTQ themes.” April 11, 2024. NBCnews.com
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/banned-books-lgbtq-library-association-rcna146236

Heeter, Jonathan. “Three Facts and a Fiction: Challenging Books,”

[8] Landmark Civil Rights Agreement Over Book Bans in Forsyth County (GA) Schools. May 21, 2023. EveryLibrary.com https://www.everylibrary.org/landmark_school_book_ban_civil_rights

[9] EveryLibrary Objects to Trump Administration Calling Book Bans a Hoax. January 24, 2025.
https://www.everylibrary.org/trump_administration_ends_school_book_ban_consent_decree

Letter of Advisement to Forsyth County Schools Superintendent. United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, Region IV.

[10] Landmark Civil Rights Agreement Over Book Bans in Forsyth County (GA) Schools. May 21, 2023. EveryLibrary.com https://www.everylibrary.org/landmark_school_book_ban_civil_rights

[11]  Resolution Agreement. Forsyth County Schools. Complaint No. 04-22-1281. United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights

Letter of Advisement to Forsyth County Schools Superintendent. United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, Region IV.

[12] U.S. Department of Education. Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Ends Biden’s Book Ban Hoax. January 24, 2025.

Mason, Jeff. “Trump seeks executive order, cooperation with Congress to shut Education Department.” Reuters.com February 4, 2025.

[13] U.S. Department of Education. Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Ends Biden’s Book Ban Hoax. January 24, 2025.

[14] Alfonseca, Kiara. “Department of Education dismisses book ban complaints, ends guidance.” ABCNews 
https://abcnews.go.com/US/department-education-dismisses-book-ban-investigations-ends-guidance/story?id=118098825

[15] U.S. Department of Education. “Mission of the U.S. Department of Education.”
https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/mission-of-the-us-department-of-education

[16]Beecher, Henry Ward. “Anti-Slavery Lectures,” The New York Times, January 17, 1855.
https://www.nytimes.com/1855/01/17/archives/antislavery-lectures.html

[17] Beecher, Henry Ward. “Anti-Slavery Lectures.” The New York Times. January 19, 1854.
https://www.nytimes.com/1854/01/19/archives/newyork-city-antislavery-lectures.html

[18] Book Banning, Curriculum Restrictions, and the Politicization of U.S. Schools Report. September 19, 2022.

[19]Beecher, Henry Ward. “Anti-Slavery Lectures,” The New York Times, January 17, 1855.
https://www.nytimes.com/1855/01/17/archives/antislavery-lectures.html

[20] O’Kane, Caitlin. “Over 1,600 books were banned in U.S. school districts in one year – and the number is increasing.” September 20, 2022. CBSnews.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/banned-books-list-increased-schools-ban-critical-race-theory-sexuality-pen-america-report/

[21] U.S. Department of Education. Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Ends Biden’s Book Ban Hoax. January 24, 2025.

[22] “Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923).” Justia U.S. Supreme Court.
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/262/390/

[23] “Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923).” Justia U.S. Supreme Court.
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/262/390/

[24] “Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923).” Justia U.S. Supreme Court.
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/262/390/

[25] “Read Harder Challenge 2025.” Book Riot.
https://bookriot.com/support-banned-books-week-quotes-censorship/

[26] Stephen King Quotable Quote. Goodreads.

King, Stephen. “The Book-Banners: Adventure in Censorship is Stranger Than Fiction.”
https://stephenking.com/works/essay/book-banners-adventure-in-censorship-is-stranger-than-fiction.html

[27] Williamson, Rebecca. Let Freedom Read – Banned Books Week 2023. September 22, 2023. San Diego State University. https://library.sdsu.edu/features/banned-books

[28] Gay Ivey and Peter Johnston. “What Happens When Young People Actually read ‘Disturbing’ Books.” Teachers College Press blog. October 31, 2023.

[29] Schwartz, Sarah.“Reading Scores Fall to New Low on NAEP, Fueled by Declines for Struggling Students.” EducationWeek, January 29, 2025.  https://www.edweek.org/leadership/reading-scores-fall-to-new-low-on-naep-fueled-by-declines-for-struggling-students/2025/01

[230] The Impact of a Diverse Classroom Library. First Book Research & Insights. 2023.

[31] Gay Ivey and Peter Johnston. “What Happens When Young People Actually read ‘Disturbing’ Books.” Teachers College Press blog. October 31, 2023.

[32] The Ljubljana Reading Manifesto: Why higher-level reading is important. October 20, 2023. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
https://www.ifla.org/news/ljubljana-manifesto-on-higher-level-reading-launched-at-frankfurter-buchmesse/

Images:

And so it begins…: Photo by Julia Joppien on Unsplash

A Case Study in how the system used to work:  Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

Such investigations will no longer be happening: Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash

Why is the Office for Civil Rights under the Trump administration no longer addressing book bans:  Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

What’s the purported motive for these recent actions:  Photo by Ioann-Mark Kuznietsov on Unsplash

What Can We Do About it: Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Any Book Worth Banning: Photo by Johnny McClung on Unsplash

The Bottom Line: Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

 



Love Letters to the Library

censoring libraries is harmful

L
egislatively speaking, libraries have taken a pretty big hit lately. These letters from teachers, writers, and heads of state serve to remind us of what’s at stake when state-sponsored censorship comes into play.

Andrew Carnegie hit the proverbial nail on the head when he said “a library outranks any other one thing that a community can do to help its people.”[1] He also noted:

.
There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration.[2]

And Carnegie literally put his money where his mouth was. He built 2,509 new libraries around the world between 1883 and 1929 – 1,795 of which were in America. [3]

Though not a Carnegie Library, the first public library in Troy, Michigan opened in 1971. Shortly after its opening, the intrepid children’s librarian, Marguerite Hart, embarked on an endeavor to kindle a love of reading in the city’s youngsters, not to mention enthusiasm for their shiny new library. She initiated a good, old fashioned, letter-writing campaign, and invited dozens of cultural luminaries to share their views on why libraries are not just important, but essential. The children of Troy received 97 letters – from all 50 states and a myriad of different professions, including cultural icons like E.B. White, Neil Armstrong, and Isaac Asimov.

The entire collection has become known as Letters to the Children of Troy, and their contents serve to remind us what’s at stake when state-sponsored censorship comes into play.

For example, proposals in the Missouri legislature, one of which states that librarians would be “punished by a fine” of up to five hundred dollars or “by imprisonment in the county jail” of up to one year for providing “age-inappropriate sexual material”.[4]  But who decides what material is “age-inappropriate”? As any parent will tell you, children’s readiness for any given subject matter is as individual as the kids themselves.

Another proposal requires libraries to create a parental review panel consisting of five residents who are not library employees. They are who would dictate what is “age-inappropriate” material.[5] And this panel would over-ride the “publicly available collection development policy, and well-established processes overseen by local boards for challenging materials” that “virtually every library in the country” already has in place.[6] As if that isn’t problematic enough, failure to establish this state-mandated panel of non-professionals results in forfeiture of state funding.

Then there’s Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which has several Florida schools removing books from their libraries.[7] There’s also the Sunshine State’s “Stop Woke Act”, which restricts the discussion of hard historic truths that may make students feel “discomfort, guilt, or anguish” due to U.S. racial history – institutional slavery, for example, or how First Nations peoples were forced onto reservations, or that Japanese-Americans were put into internment camps during World War II.[8] Much to the dismay of their students, this law has teachers removing or covering all the books in their classroom libraries until they have been “vetted” by the proper authorities.[9]

As you read the following letters received by the children of Troy, note the difference between the suppressive and intellectually suffocating environment produced by these restrictions and what a library can be, should be, and is intended to be.

censoring libraries is harmful -E.B.White

A library is many things. It’s a place to go, to get in out of the rain. It’s a place to go if you want to sit and think. But particularly it is a place where books live, and where you can get in touch with other people, and other thoughts, through books. If you want to find out about something, the information is in the reference books – the dictionaries, the encyclopedias, the atlases. If you like to be told a story, the library is the place to go. Books hold most of the secrets of the world, most of the thoughts that men and women have had. And when you are reading a book, you and the author are alone together – just the two of you. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your questions answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people — people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.[10]

~E.B.White~

censoring libraries is harmful -James Yaffe

Since the beginning of civilization, men have felt the need to reach out beyond themselves, to make the attempt to know other worlds besides their own and other people besides their own kind of people. But along with this need, men have found themselves trapped by their own limitations. Life is short, and even the strongest of us is weak; we cannot live in more than one world, we cannot break through the barrier of our own individuality. We are doomed to be ourselves, when we yearn to be everybody.

Man invented books to help him out of this dilemma. Through books we can realize, in part, our wild ambitions. Through books we can catapult our imaginations into those worlds that our bodies can never reach. When we read history we demolish the prison of time and become one with the men of the past. When we read books about science or politics or current affairs, we become one with those millions of our own contemporaries whom we will never see. Above all, when we read poems or plays or stories, we are drawn into the inner lives, the feelings and thoughts, of other souls we could never have imagined for ourselves.

A library, then, is the most important institution a civilization can create, the most important building a town can build. It helps us become more than ourselves, and this is the only way of being truly human.[11]

~James Yaffe – writer-in-residence at The Colorado College~

censoring libraries is harmful -Neil Armstrong pg1
censoring libraries is harmful -Neil Armstrong pg2

Congratulations on the opening of the City of Troy’s first public library, a facility that will serve and benefit you and your community. I urge each of you to visit it often and explore the books that line its shelves by reading them; for reading is a unique form of exploration that will enrich your lives. It is a special way to discovery and knowledge.

Each book holds an experience and an adventure. Your guide is the author. Through books you will meet poets and novelists whose creations will fire your imagination. You will meet the great thinkers who will share with you their philosophies, their concepts of the world, of humanity and of creation. You will learn about events that have shaped our history, of deeds both noble and ignoble. All of this knowledge is yours for the taking. It is something you will have always and that will grow in sharing.

Knowledge is fundamental to all human achievement and progress. It is both the key and the quest that advances mankind. The search for knowledge is what brought men to the moon; but it took knowledge already acquired to make it possible to get there.

How we use the knowledge we gain determines our progress on earth, in space or on the moon. Your library is a storehouse for mind and spirit. Use it well.[12]

~ Neil Armstrong ~

 

censoring libraries is harmful -Luis A Ferré pg1.jpg
censoring libraries is harmful -Luis A Ferré pg2

It is with great pride and sincere sense of dedication to the youth and future of our country that I take the pleasure of congratulating the City of Troy for its leap forward in providing and institution dedicated to the search for knowledge and understanding.

The youth of Troy in this generation, and in the generation to come, should avail themselves of these new facilities, so as to help them broaden their understanding about the past and present history of mankind. This is very important for, in books we will find recorded all that the human race has produced.

The youth of our nation should read about the civilizations and institutions that man has produced. Among them, they will find the horrors of war, the horrors of destruction, and the beauty of men and women who dedicated their lives for the search for peace and decency, and the construction of institutions dedicated to peace and humanitarianism. They will also find men and women who forged magnificent discoveries and inventions in the sciences, and those who dedicated their lives in order to help the less fortunate of our brothers in the planet earth.

Most important, they will find in books the beauty of the spiritual nature of man. Religion, poetry, art, culture, and the institutions which govern man. In these institutions let not our  youth forget that the history of our country, with all the mistakes that have been committed, has been a history of progressive search for the model freedom and dignity of mankind. We all enjoy these freedoms, and it will be up to the generations who use our libraries to learn this lesson well, and to protect and add to the culmination of the great ideals of our Declaration of Rights and our American Constitution.[13]

~Luis A. Ferré, Governor of Puerto Rico 

censoring libraries is harmful -Pierre Trudeau

“The Child is father of the Man.”

In this paradox William Wordsworth perceives that the quality of youth today determines the excellence of man tomorrow.

In your minds, the seeds of truth, tolerance and wisdom abound. Reading will help them grow and flourish.

To the young readers of the City of Troy’s new public library, I send my best wishes.[14]

~Pierre Elliott Trudeau – Prime Minister of Canada~

.

And finally, a letter from Isaac Asimov:

censoring libraries is harmful- Asimov

Congratulations on the new library, because it isn’t just a library. It is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the Universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future, a teacher that knows more than any human being, a friend that will amuse you and console you – – – and most of all, a gateway, to a better and happier and more useful life.[15]

What could be considered an addendum to Asimov ‘s letter is the following sentiment from his autobiography:

Now, when I read constantly about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that the door is closing, and American society has found one more way to destroy itself.[16]

Restrictive legislation like Missouri’s proposed Protection of Minors rule, and Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay bill and Stop the Woke act undermine what libraries are all about.

Our children’s ability to gain insight into the “millions of our own contemporaries” James Yaffe speaks of is crippled. Our children’s imaginations are hindered for lack of access to the “poets and novelists” Neil Armstrong acknowledges, those “whose creations will fire” it.

Our children will be denied books that can help them work through dilemmas they may be grappling with, when they feel “bewildered or undecided” as they come of age. Depending on the nature of their questions, they could be deprived of essential information from “reference books – the dictionaries, the encyclopedias, the atlases” E. B. White mentions.

Shielding our children from hard historical truths dispels them of the understanding that, as  Governor Ferré points out, despite its missteps, our country’s history has been a “progressive search for the model freedom and dignity of mankind,” one full of “men and women who dedicated their lives for the search for peace and decency”.

In short, when state-sponsored censorship – or any form of suppression for that matter – comes into play, the “seeds of truth, tolerance and wisdom” Pierre Trudeau alludes to cannot grow, and libraries are no longer the cradles of democracy they once were.

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#on censorship         #library     #activism      #literacy

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Endnotes:

[1] Gregorian, Varlan. “Remembering Andrew Carnegie’s Legacy.” American Libraries. September 30, 2019. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/09/30/remembering-andrew-carnegies-legacy/

[2] U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Hearing on First Sale Under Title 17. Testimony of Greg Cram – Associate Director, Copyright and Information Policy The New York Public Library. June 2, 2014.
Pg 6.

[3] A History of Public Libraries: Carnegie Libraries. Digital Public Library of America. https://dp.la/

[4] Missouri House Bill No. 2044. https://house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills201/hlrbillspdf/4634H.01I.pdf

[5] Missouri Proposed Rule: Library Certification Requirement for the Protection of Minors https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/AdRules/main/images/15_CSR_30_200_015.pdf

[6] Albanese, Andrew. “Missouri Proposes New ‘Protection of Minors’ Rule for Libraries”.  Publisher’s Weekly. Oct. 20, 2022. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/90680-missouri-proposes-new-protection-of-minors-rule-for-libraries.html

[7] Legum, Judd. “’Don’t Say Gay’: Florida schools purge library books with LGBTQ characters.” Popular Information. January 5, 2023. https://popular.info/p/dont-say-gay-florida-schools-purge

[8] Florida Bill 2022148. https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/148/BillText/Filed/HTML

[9] Negussie, Tesfaye and Rahma Ahmed. “Florida schools directed to cover or remove classroom books that are not vetted.” abcNEWS. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/florida-schools-directed-cover-remove-classroom-books-vetted/story?id=96884323

[10] E.B. White. Letters to the Children of Troy. biblioboard open access. https://library.biblioboard.com/viewer/c7f90d47-3349-45aa-91ee-4c2d24dfb300

[11] James Yaffe. Letters to the Children of Troy. biblioboard open access.
https://library.biblioboard.com/viewer/d10a5ad7-569c-425a-9601-01ab0aaa053a

[12] Neil Armstrong. Letters to the Children of Troy. biblioboard open access. https://library.biblioboard.com/viewer/6a446f6f-4be3-40a6-9301-140ace92e2a3 (pg 1). https://library.biblioboard.com/viewer/6db75bf1-2f1a-4b9f-9e62-58c84412472c (pg 2)

[13] Luis A. Ferré, Governor of Puerto Rico. Letters to the Children of Troy. biblioboard open access. https://library.biblioboard.com/content/db4707d9-0e40-4d3d-bcc1-6fb07712bc63  (pg 1). https://library.biblioboard.com/content/9bc64821-cf73-4fa8-b03a-2ffad2cfd572 (pg 2)

[14] Pierre Trudeau. “Letters to the Children of Troy.” biblioboard open access.https://library.biblioboard.com/content/84c17dca-0336-453e-8688-3a95cbb6cc02

[15] Isaac Asimov. “Letters to the Children of Troy”. biblioboard open access. https://library.biblioboard.com/content/f5cdd443-8f09-421e-adcd-b9c50998263b

[16] I. Asimov: A Memoir. Bantam Books: New York, 1994. pg 29.

[17] Photo by sabina sturzu on unsplash.com.