Oklahoma Republican lawmakers have filed a number of bills to ban or limit books with certain content in public libraries. The books on the list mostly have some kind of sexual content in them or deal with LGBTQ+ issues. However, the old standbys are on there too — "Of Mice and Men," "Lord of the Flies," etc.
While I think a discussion about books available in school libraries is certainly appropriate, I strongly object to laws or bans that limit books simply because they are controversial, and I certainly strongly oppose laws that impose a penalty on teachers or librarians who provide these books in school libraries.
Many school librarians (or media specialists) probably will be upset with me for saying this, but I hardly ever darkened the door of my school library, particularly when I was in high school. The only time I entered a school library was for those dreaded Dewey Decimal lessons. If I had to do research for any school project, I went to the local public library, not my school library. Remember, this was in the day before the Internet and Google search.
I know many other people had different experiences with their school libraries. In many rural communities, the school library may be the only library resource available.
I believe public libraries are important places for free expression. The public library is the place where a widely diverse collection of literary resources should be.
However, school libraries are different than public libraries, and it's important that the resources there are age appropriate. School librarians should be aware of today's culture wars and be prepared for challenges to books before they make the decision to select them for the school library.
But, let's face it, our kids are very tech-savvy, and most are allowed pretty free use of digital technology through their phones. If they want to read a certain book, listen to music or podcasts or look at a certain resource, there's not much that can be done to stop them. Banning books in the school library certainly won't.
Kids don't have to depend on the school library to find what they want to read or research. Restricting certain content isn't going to stop a student from consuming that content.
Here's the bottom line for me.
- School boards and parents should have discussions about curriculum and resources available for students, and any decisions on those materials should be kept as a local school district policy matter.
- Lawmakers need to stop thinking they can control thoughts or expression by proposing ridiculous bans or requirements on books available in school libraries. You're not stopping kids from finding the information and resources they want. They will find it and consume it, just to spite you.
- Parents absolutely have the right to have input on the content their minor-aged children are consuming. They can do what they believe is appropriate in shielding their own children from certain expression, but they don't have the right to make those decisions for someone else's children.
Despite the unseemly history of book bans and censorship across our globe, book banning continues to be the most widespread form of censorship in the United States. It's embarrassing that so many lawmakers seem to be lining up on the side of that unseemly history.
Allen is editor and publisher of the Enid News & Eagle.
©2022 the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
