Last week I went to two virtual, yet local book events. Virtual events are great for those of us who can't plan our schedule always to count on rush hour traffic - which sadly affects the buses too - to work in our favor, to say nothing of folks who worry about packed rooms for reasons of illness or accessibility.
And both of them are things that would or have been challenged. So, short explainer. This is pretty USian, so folks in other countries will want to talk to their local library for what their process is. But in the US, there are a lot of libraries, in schools and in communities. Different libraries have different focuses, there are different books in an elementary school library than in a university library or a community library. Community libraries in the US are paid for by taxes. (Mostly. In some places, the municipality has defunded the library and it is existing on grants or community fundraising.) I bring up taxes because I think of libraries kind of like sidewalks. Yes, my taxes paid for them. And so did my neighbor's taxes, and the people across town, and so on. So yes, I have thoughts about what sidewalks should be where, which ones should get repaired and how. But I also understand this isn't just about me. Ideally the sidewalks should work for all of us. I may not need curb cuts, to allow wheeled things, but it makes sense to me that this helps wheelchair users, stroller users, and even folks with wheeled suitcases.
So, I may not want to read a certain book. I may not want a child I know to read a certain book. But challenging a book in a library means I want no one to read this book.
Many of the recent challengers have admitted they haven't read the books. They are just being told this list of books is bad, and are marching into their library. I hate this on behalf of those books, some of which are delightful. (I have not read all of them.) But librarians in the US are also being asked to be event planners, educators, health specialists, and a number of other things. Of course book selection and curation is part of their core job. But disingenuous challenges add to their burden. And the concern is not that they might remove a book. The concern is that they might stop getting certain books to save on challenges. Because challenges take time.
I am part of Authors Against Book Bans, so obviously I have a point of view on this. I sent my library what I call a love letter this year, detailing the ways that they have been helpful to me, and calling out specific branches. If you are looking for an easy thing to do, may I suggest writing to your library.
Now back to my earlier note - the two events were with Connie Chung and Hope Larson. Chung's memoir called Connie discusses racism, sexism that she experienced as a Chinese American working in the 1960-1990's and beyond. She mentions ways that lawsuits related to civil rights led to her being hired. Books like this, that detail discrimination, and ways that legislation removed some of the barriers people faced, are being challenged in some places.
Hope Larson created, among other things, the graphic novel adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time. A Wrinkle in Time has been challenged because Meg punches a classmate. I re-read it as an adult and really adored how Meg is so angry at the unfairness and injustice that she sees. Meg is also smart, has trouble learning the way that the teachers want her to learn, she's also isolated by the town's gossip about her father, and protective of her youngest brother. She contains multitudes, but she also just gets to be angry. So of course, the book gets challenged.
I also keep an eye on local races, looking for politicians I expect to provide support for libraries. Sometimes politicians focus on big picture items, even in local races, but you can always email them and ask for their views on libraries. When tough economic times hit, libraries sometimes get forgotten because people don't often yell about them as much. Being the person who reminds your local electeds that you love libraries takes only a little bit of time. And it will help support your reading habit. Win, win.
