This week has been Banned Books Week in the US. I don’t think I have to convince you that banning books limits critical thinking, the sharing of ideas, and much more. From early childhood on (perhaps even before birth), exposure to a variety of reading material supports cognitive development, boosts critical thinking skills, and encourages empathy. The question doesn’t seem to be so much whether we should support freedom of reading, but how we should do so. There are several answers to that question; let me focus on just one: support libraries and librarians.
Libraries of course offer thousands of books, films, and music collections to everyone, regardless of means. In that way, libraries are the great equalizers. People who wouldn’t otherwise have access to books can get them at no cost. But it’s more than that. Libraries are bulwarks against attempts to ban books. Groups like the American Library Association (ALA) have a long history of being alert to threats of banning, and of fighting against those threats. Libraries themselves have also stood up against banning. For instance, The New York Public Library has made electronic versions of many banned books available to students thirteen and older, no matter where they live. That library has other nationwide programs, too, to encourage all students to read books that they otherwise might not be able to access.
There are plenty of fictional libraries, too, that have made important, even crucial, reading material available. For instance, Ian Sansom’s Mobile Library series features Israel Armstrong. He is the librarian for Ireland’s Tumdrum and District library. As such, he drives the mobile library to different parts of the district, some of them remote. In this way, the area’s rural residents can benefit from reading, even if they don’t have access to transportation.
Peng Shepard’s The Cartographers is mostly set in the New York Public Library’s Rare Maps Department, where Dr. Daniel Young presides. When he is murdered, his estranged daughter Helen ‘Nell’ is drawn into the mystery of why and by whom he was murdered, and how it all connects to her family’s past. Among other things, this novel shows how libraries often curate all sorts of valuable knowledge (rare books, rare maps, and so on). That knowledge is then available to anyone. In this case, a special map is at the core of the mystery.
Christine Poulson’s Murder is Academic introduces Dr. Cassandra James, of St. Etheldreda College, Cambridge. She and her colleagues depend on the university’s library’s resources when they’re doing research. In fact, the library helps provide some answers when Cassandra’s supervisor is murdered. There are plenty of other fictional examples, too, of university libraries that offer a wealth of information. I’m thinking, for instance, of Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse series (e.g. The Jewel That Was Ours), where university libraries play an important role. And in case you’re wondering, many colleges and universities allow members of the public to come in and read from their collections. Some of them permit members of the public to check out some materials.
There are a lot of other crime-fictional libraries and librarians I could mention; I’m sure you could list more than I could. There are plenty of novels where the action takes place in the library, too. In real life, libraries are strongholds of knowledge, and librarians safeguard our right to access it.
So, how can you help libraries in their efforts to stand up against book banning? Here are a few ideas:
Get a library card if you don’t have one. Did you know that library funding can come in part from the number of cards issued? Make sure your card is current and get cards for family members.
Stay current on local council issues. Is library funding up for discussion at a council meeting? Attend and speak out against funding or hiring cuts. If you can’t attend, send a comment, email, or letter to the council. Everyone’s on a budget these days, so councils are rightfully trying to make sure that funds are used wisely. Make sure your council members know that libraries are a wise use of money.
Stay current on local school issues. Is your school or school district debating funding? Attend meetings and speak up to be sure that appropriate funding is going to the school’s library. If you can’t attend, write letters, send emails, or make phone calls to school board members.
Check the records of candidates for political office, whether local, regional, or national. Support candidates who recognize the critical importance of libraries, and who have a plan to provide staffing, funding, and materials for libraries.
Donate to libraries. Give money if you can. If not, you can volunteer. Libraries, whether school or public libraries, are often looking for volunteers to shelve materials, keep the library clean, and even read to young children. You can also donate books that you’ve decided to rehome.
Did you notice that these are not really expensive things? You don’t have to spend a lot (perhaps not anything) to support libraries? The payoff is continued access to all of the knowledge libraries have, and prevention of book banning. The alternative is allowing book banners to win. I don’t even want to think about that.
*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s A Trip to the Library.
