Book bans are a "hoax," "fake news" or a "scam," depending on which Conservative pundit you ask.
And in some areas of the country, that's technically true — controversial books aren't being removed, but the places that keep them available to readers are being threatened. Take the Donnelly Public Library in Donelly, Idaho, where a new statewide law, called HB710, has forced it to close its doors to minors. As of July 1, the 1024-square foot library is an adults-only space, due to the fact that there isn't enough physical room inside the building to separate the "grown-up" titles from the children's section, as the nascent law demands.
On its Facebook page, the Donnelly Library called the decision to bar children "painful" and "drastic." Unfortunately, the law gave them no choice.
This, my friends, is a backdoor book ban.
Backdoor book bans are sneaky. They’re slick and effective legal cover. They create situations where titles aren’t necessarily being removed, but the noose of providing them directly to children is intentionally tightened. This is what we’re seeing happen in Idaho, and it’s also the case in Sumner County, Tennessee, where 16- and 17-year-old readers can no longer peruse the Young Adult sections of the library without parental permission. Yes, they can drive themselves to the library, but they can’t necessarily check out Eleanor & Park or Looking for Alaska.
In Huntington Beach, California, books about puberty are being moved to the adult area of the library — where they're rendered all-but useless to a decidedly post-pubescent population.
And then there are the places where teachers and librarians are being threatened with hefty fines, job termination and even jail time for letting children read controversial books. As of last year, states that had already passed laws like this included Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee. Right now, politicians are getting away with it by describing books that touch upon sexuality, or that cover LGBTQ+ themes, as “obscene.” They’re moving to categorize titles like Gender Queer and Flamer as pornography. Then, from a legal standpoint, they can treat the educators who encourage kids to read them as nothing better than dirty porn peddlers out to corrupt young minds.
If you’ve been following along, you already know that this strategy is made explicit in Project 2025.
Who would have thought that librarians and school teachers would be at the forefront of our most heated political debates? I’ve always thought librarians were heroes, but now they’re really earning their capes.
P.S. My book is out now! It’s called The Genius of Judy and it celebrates Judy Blume’s pioneering work against book banning. Pre-order it here or here, or wherever you buy books.
Having been a ravenous bookworm kid, I am horrified at this turn of events. We all deserve as much information as possible so that we make decisions, shape our inner selves and outer actions. I live in a city where these ‘bans’ are not happening (that I’m aware of) and TBH am not sure how to take action in support of keeping books broadly available in our country. Any thoughts?
Just ordered your book and look forward to reading it!📚 🐛