Censorship or the Freedom to Read?
Public libraries have been fighting against censorship for decades. In fact, each year, public libraries celebrate the freedom to read by hosting Banned Book Week in September. In recent news, Representative Ben Baker of Missouri’s House of Representatives proposed the “Parental Oversights of Public Libraries Act” which directly attacks ALA’s Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read Statement.
“A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.”
Jo Godwin
Rep. Baker’s bill proposes that any public library receiving state funding must form a 5-person Parental Library Review Board that “shall determine whether any sexual material provided to the public by the public library is age-inappropriate sexual material.” Adults in the community can bring forth any concerns to the review board in public meetings. Afterward, the board, “may order any material deemed to be age-inappropriate sexual material to be removed from public access by minors at the public library.” (Parental Oversight Bill)
Freedom to Read Statement
The cornerstone of public libraries since 1953 has been ALA’s Freedom to Read Statement. It is the role of librarians to provide access to information. That’s it. Librarian, Jo Gowin states, “A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.” Public libraries, mine included, are filled with materials I would never pick up, but someone else might. They’re filled with differing opinions, stories that span the globe and beyond, and that, in my humble opinion, is what makes them amazing.
I can only imagine that as you are reading this, you are thinking, “But wait, what if a child gets their hands on something they are not yet ready to read or see.” That’s where parents step in. The library’s job is to provide access. It is a parent’s job to select what they want their children to read and view. And the Freedom to Read Statement asserts that values are part of raising a family, but no “machinery [has been] devised that will suit the demands of one group without limiting the freedom of others.” (Freedom to Read)
What Are Libraries Currently Doing?
Currently, many libraries, already have a policy and process for material that the public may have concerns about. There is often a reconsideration form available for the public to challenge library material on the shelf. Libraries have in-depth collection development policies include how and why things are added to the collection and the process for removing things as well.
My Take
My problem with a bill such as this, is that where does it end? Do the bodice-rippers get taken off the shelf for adults because kids have access to them as well? Do nonfiction titles about marriage and relationships get removed for being accessible to kids because they live on the bookshelf? Does the entire YA department get purged if anything is remotely “sexual”? What about middle grade fiction when kids start wondering about the other sex or about themselves? What about the LGBT community that often gets wrongly mixed-up in discussions about inappropriate material? Even if those materials don’t exist, it doesn’t mean people cease to exist as well. I want kids to be able to turn to books to help them understand themselves and their friends. To then, take their questions to their parents or teachers for deeper understanding and empathy about the world around them.
Rather than censor children, why not encourage and provide diverse titles for kids to read? Maybe something like this list of titles I created in response to a Florida Reading List of outdated, inaccessible titles.
This bill is a slippery slope of personal opinion and censorship. And if this bill were to be passed, what’s next?
