Book bans are the precursor of future information censorship

“For many journalists, ‘The Librarians’ grows more and more discomforting to watch as a kind of paranoid overreach emerges as the rationale behind the book bans.””

Chris Peck, Missouri Press Foundation

The movie sold out in less than 30 minutes.  A “Star Wars” sequel? No, it was a film about librarians.

The Ragtag Cinema in downtown Columbia brought “The Librarians” to Missouri a few nights ago — a kind of sneak preview for the film that will air on PBS beginning Feb. 9.

Tickets went fast. Standing room only. It wasn’t a particularly fun evening. But sobering. And important.

“The Librarians” tells the story about how book bans have swept across the US.

Since 2020, 43 state legislatures have passed laws to ban 15,000 books from library shelves. Including about 300 in Missouri.

 In 2022, Missouri state lawmakers passed the state’s book ban statute. The vehicle used by the legislators was to greatly expand and loosen the definition of what constitutes “sexually explicit material” and then directed school librarians to take books that could be judged “pornographic” under the new definition off the shelves.

The new definition swept up many books that dealt with black people, gay people, Native Americans and stories about their lives and struggles.

The rationale? Books on these topics would poison young minds. Groom kids for pedophiles. Tell kids too much, too soon.

For many journalists, “The Librarians” grows more and more discomforting to watch as a kind of paranoid overreach emerges as the rationale behind the book bans.

Librarians as groomers?

Send librarians to jail for checking out long-popular kids’ books?

Have state legislators list the books that parents can’t have their own kids read like Texas has done?

Many of these claims and demands seem embarrassingly short on truthfulness, fairness, and verification.

So, what’s going on?

Perhaps this is one more indication that shared community experiences are being overwhelmed by national tensions and divisions.

In this case, fear of some vast conspiracy by evil librarians somehow has overwhelmed the life experience of those who actually hold fond memories of going to the local library as a kid. The whole world lived there. Librarians were gentle tour guides to growing up who were well aware of what was age appropriate and what was not.

Applying the core values of good journalism can help sort out the book ban debate. Particularly at the local level, in Missouri towns where people know each other, send their kids to public schools and a library.

 A local journalist writing about book bans would ask: What do we know? And what don’t we know? That line of journalistic inquiry likely would shake out something like this:

- We know some books are better read when you’re an adult;

- We know parents have the right to keep a book out of reach at home;

- We also know our librarians and teachers;

- We have no evidence our local librarians are grooming kids for sexual purposes.

The issue at the heart of book bans boils down to this question: who gets to decide the rules and regulations related to what books a library can put on the shelves?

Fair enough. Let’s talk about that.

Don’t get sucked into conspiracy theories, doomsday thinking, or believing that your judgment on what kids should read, in fact, is all-knowing. This leads to a very dark, close-minded, ultimately counterproductive space where kids are left unprepared for the world they will inherit.

Let’s talk about how libraries and librarians help kids learn to be critical thinkers able to separate wheat from the chaff.

Let’s talk about how libraries and librarians help kids make sense of complicated political and social issues, the value of seeking out differing opinions, the need to sometimes change your mind.

And parents, rather than letting your fears that librarians are grooming kids for sexual perversion, talk to your kids about human sexuality. And if you can’t talk about it with them, get them a well-respected book that explains the birds and bees.

And talk about this. Do you really want politicians to decide what your kids can read?

 Or should the politicians focus their time and attention on securing more good jobs in the state, fighting drug abuse, and the shortage of health care in rural places?

For now, A judge struck down the Missouri book ban language back in the fall.

But the ruling is on appeal. The State Supreme Court likely will have to decide the issue.

In the meantime, make a point to see “The Librarians.’’

 And talk about it in your town.