Katelynn Singleton, News Editor
On Oct. 25, 2021 Texas State Rep. Matt Krause asked school districts to report if they had any books that might make students feel discomfort. In the months that followed, many legislators, parents and school board officials have pushed to ban certain books in K-12 schools. The books cover topics relating to race, sexuality and gender.
Department Chair of English, Rhetoric and Writing Christina Bucher said that many of the books that have been challenged deal with the racial history of the U.S. as well as LGBTQ+ issues. In Oklahoma, the State Senate introduced a bill that would ban public school libraries from stocking books that focus on sexuality and gender. The McMinn County Board of Education in Tennessee voted to remove the graphic novel “Maus” from the eighth-grade curriculum because of nudity and profanity. “Maus” is a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman about his father’s experience in the Holocaust.
Sherre Harrington, director of Memorial Library, said that banning books is not an uncommon practice.
“Books have been challenged forever,” Harrington said. “Books are challenged for a lot of different reasons. ‘Huckleberry Finn’ is challenged all the time because it has racist content. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is challenged for the same reasons. But the recent category is highly politicized and it’s material that has really been, specifically added to library collections to make sure that students, that in general kids, we’re not talking about adult collections so much, have the opportunity to see themselves represented in the books that are available to them.”
Harrington is the coordinator of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT), a subgroup of the American Library Association (ALA). The group works to view library issues through a social justice lense and make the ALA more democratic. SRRT was founded in 1969, at the height of social justice activity in the U.S.. Harrington said that historically, among librarians, there has been a strong push to be neutral in issues.
“In the last, I’d say 10 years, it’s become clear that libraries aren’t neutral,” Harrington said. “That it’s not possible to be neutral. That all the decisions we make about what is or isn’t in our library is politically charged, because we’re human beings and we exist in a society.”
The clash between those against certain books and those against banning books has followed a push to diversify library collections. Harrington said that it is also closely related to discussion on critical race theory (CRT) and the idea that kids shouldn’t be exposed to specific topics. Morgan Stansell, access services coordinator at Memorial Library, said that a lot of the books that are being banned seem to represent ideas and topics that may be difficult to talk to younger generations about.
“Just because the conversation is difficult doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need to take place,” Stansell said. “In fact it’s probably more important that the conversation take place.”
Memorial Library hosts a Banned Book Week, typically the last week in September. The library presents a display and posts on social media about books that have been challenged or banned. In previous years, Harrington said that the library places a microphone outside where students are invited to read passages from banned books. Stansell said that the week is a way to recognize the books that are banned in various schools and counties.
“I think that’s the great thing about books being banned is that it tends to highlight those works that people have tried to erase from our consciousness so it’s a great opportunity to celebrate those books,” Stansell said.
Harrington said students should get involved in library boards or advisory groups to support the books before they’re challenged. She also said that students can request the books at their local library. Libraries go through their collections and look at what books are being used. If a book isn’t being checked out, it’s often removed from a collection, regardless of content. Bucher said that students can attend school board meetings in their local community to be a supporter of books that are being challenged.
“Make sure your voice is heard against banning, so that the only voice present isn’t those who want to ban books or are afraid of what’s in said book,” Bucher said.
Following the removal of “Maus” from schools in Tennessee, the book reentered the Amazon bestseller list, 30 years after it was published. In order to support any of the books that are being challenged, Stansell, Harrington and Bucher encourage students to read them.
“Buy them,” Bucher said. “The one thing that one can do is, obviously, buy books.”