What begins in the public schools bleeds into the public libraries. This has played out again and again throughout the last four years as right-wing players attempt to destabilize and defund public institutions of democracy. Public library attacks have, like public schools before and now, endured more than book bans. They’ve seen budget cuts, attacks on book displays, and more.
It should come as little surprise that academic libraries are also under siege nationwide. The work of dismantling them has been seen already, particularly in legislation that outlaws diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, but in the last couple of months, these institutional cornerstones of higher education have seen it coming faster and harder. Much like with public schools, it is important to note here that the focus is on public colleges and universities. Those which are private are not subject to the same rules and oversight as their public peers—and that’s precisely why public higher education is so vulnerable. It can be regulated to the whims of political power.
To return to a story that began last year and continues to roil the institution, Florida’s New College has now seen mass book disposal. This comes after the state governor installed some of his right-wing cronies onto the public university’s board of directors in January 2023. Then, students and staff reported that the university was in chaos last fall at the start of the new school year; it was so bad that the American Association of University Professors issued sanctions against the school, which has only happened 12 times in the last 30 years. Among the changes at the institution under the new board, the school fired a librarian under the guise of reorganization. She was the second LGBTQ+ employee terminated just months after the changes at the school began.
Ringing in the new school year at New College for 2024 was the discovery of thousands of discarded books. This was no ordinary weeding project. The books were thrown out of a small library that used to be part of the college’s gender studies program, which was proudly killed by the school’s board. The school claims that the books discovered were not part of that program but instead, part of the university’s main library and part of their “weeding” program.
So it was convenient that the leadership of New College saw it fit to fire the lead librarian at the school shortly thereafter. The school claimed she failed to indicate why each of the 13,000 books removed from the library were pulled. What’s confounding here is confounding on purpose—the school stated at one point that no books from the gender studies program were tossed out but that instead, the 13,000 removed books came from the main library; at the same time, leadership cheered the disposal of books they did not want students to access that were part of the gender studies program.
This is what it means to destabilize an institution. Make up new rules, give several conflicting talking points, and hope that the sleight of hands will either sow more confusion or cause interest to disappear altogether.
New School isn’t alone. Indeed, academic library workers are finding their work undermined and altogether ended across the country.
In a mass cutting of faculty and staff at Western Illinois University (WIU), it was the institution’s libraries that took the most painful hit. Nearly every librarian was laid off, and the hours that the library has instituted for 2024 are not only inconvenient for students, they’re shameful for an academic institution. The only opportunity students will have to access reference librarians is between noon and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. They will have absolutely no access on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays.
That is a whole lost day of library access with the library closed on Fridays, in addition to 20 more hours fewer than the spring 2024 semester’s schedule throughout the week. Those numbers are only for the main campus. WIU’s satellite campus will close its current library space and require students to go to a new service station and request a book. Someone will then need to hike across campus to get the book and bring it back. Really. How the institution expects students to access reference materials, trained professionals who know how to navigate information, or even a quiet space to study remains to be seen.
It certainly won’t help them solve their budgetary issues. Why would a student want to attend an institution without a robust library? They have other, better, less expensive options.*
Another tactic deployed in the attack on academic libraries? What’s coming out of Louisiana State University (LSU): no longer will librarians be offered the opportunity to earn tenure and those who are already on the tenure track or are tenured have only a year to make a decision about how often they will publish. LSU’s provost says this is all in line with the school’s bid to up its ranking and status with the American Association of Universities.
But the support of that from the provost is concerning. He says it’s not appropriate for librarians to earn tenure—a status that guarantees their job, as well as grants status both to the individual and to the university itself. Why? Because he claims that “the culture of a library is typically not focused around the production of knowledge. It’s focused around the culture of creating access to knowledge.”
Librarians produce a lot of knowledge, especially when it comes to serving students and faculty in a college or university department. It’s not just getting students a book or an article. It’s teaching them how to access them and assess them; this is real work and real research. This kind of statement is blatant deprofessionalization by institutional leadership. Moreover, now librarians at LSU have to choose between a series of options that change the future of their careers. They no longer need to have allegiance to an institution or community because they will no longer have that job security.
It’s concerning, too, to see such a change come amid a slew of dangerous anti-library bills in the state of Louisiana itself. While the bill to ban library workers from involvement with the American Library Association did not pass, that pill would have directly impacted parts of LSU’s library services and library science master’s degree program. Other anti-library bills passed in the state.
Then there are the bomb threats. Within two weeks in July, four institutions of higher education had bomb threats directly targeting their libraries. Those included Bellarmine University, Arkansas State University, Hampton University, and Franklin & Marshall College.
What’s more—and what deserves emphasis here—is that students who pay for these institutions through tuition want more access to libraries. While New College is throwing away books with glee and blaming the librarian and WIU and LSU are making it more difficult to do the jobs they’re experts in and that are foundational to the success of their institutions, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL) is adding more open hours to their library. These are hours that students have access to places to study, to learn, and to access information because that was something they stated was important to their well-being and success in school.
Where students at WIU will have no weekend hours at their library, those at UNL will have access to their main library until midnight Thursday through Sunday. Students at other institutions, such as the University of Texas at Arlington, are also asking for more hours at their academic library.
Whether or not you’re connected to institutions of higher education, there is something that will likely impact you and your community. That’s your local community college. We’ve not seen a huge push yet for censorship in these institutions, but angling for it in the near future is not out of the question. This is because of who can sit on the board of the community college: it’s anyone within a taxing body of that institution. Just like with public schools and libraries, many of these positions are elected and down-ballot candidates. Even in the rare places where community colleges appoint their boards, it is important to see the connections between the appointed and the appointee. There is too much opportunity for this to be taken over, gutted, and destroyed in the same manner we’re seeing at places like New College. When you hit the polls, pay attention to who is on the ballot for community college trustees and ensure they have the best interests of the students in mind.
As said again and again and again: the losers here are people and those who are seeking to better themselves. That is the precise reason why libraries and institutions of public education are targets.
*More information on how you can help speak up on behalf of WIU library workers, here’s their website.
Book Censorship News: September 13, 2024
- Rutherford County Schools (TN) only have two more weeks to decide whether or not to ban seven challenged books. Usual suspects, usual complaints.
- A look at how Bismarck Public Library (ND) has handled new book banning laws in the state. There has only been one book complaint in the last year and it was a book about abolition, of course.
- Big YIKES to all of the new policies in the Grants Pass School District 7 (OR), including ripe opportunities to ban books and a ban on face masks.
- Athens-Limestone Public Library (AL) won’t get their funding until they get at least two more people running for the board. That’s not good, as it means a Certain Type of board candidate and the library has No Money Right Now.
- “Libraries around the state are scrambling after learning a key state grant was being slashed six weeks into the fiscal year. Small libraries stand to be hit the hardest, and in some cases, may be forced to close their doors entirely.” This is the state of Alaska, and it’s especially disturbing given how some of that state’s legislative body really hates libraries. This isn’t unintentional.
- Anticipate several more book challenges and bans at Highland Park Independent School District (TX), as the folks who successfully got All Boys Aren’t Blue banned are after more.
- This story is paywalled for me, but 81 books were pulled from schools in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
- More news on the overthrowing of the Christian County Public Library (MO) board and the changes to come with labeling LGBTQ+ books and more. This particular story does a better job than others have of explicitly noting this is the same community riled by book bans at their schools.
- Moms For Liberty members in Yolo County (CA) seem to have missed the memo that they aren’t against public libraries because they’re causing a scene about funding the local public libraries. Remember what they begin in the schools inevitably works its way to the public library.
- Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp (IN) debated this week whether or not to uphold a decision to keep the book Push on shelves. The decision was to keep the book in the school library.
- Prince William County Schools (VA) will not be removing A Court of Thorns and Roses from shelves, despite the challenge from a Moms for Liberty member.
- “A Beaufort County [SC] parent who threw chicken feed at school board members and harassed two teachers, is just one of five people who were listed in a defamation suit by a Hilton Head Island Middle School teacher last week.” GOOD.
- What’s going on at the Shelby County Library (AL) with the installment of a new library board—violating the election process and in response to a Pride book display—is a warning of what’s going to continue in Alabama public libraries.
- St. Joseph Public Schools (MO) will not be banning Crank nor This Book Is Antiracist.
- Rockingham County School Board (VA) just banned seven titles that were on a supplemental reading list. They are Thirteen Reasons Why, Burned, Glass, Sold, Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Nineteen Minutes.
- Lehighton Area High School (PA) is considering making some books accessible to students through permission slips only. Still censorship, folks. Here’s a video of the school board member who wants to audit the books because they groom children. Talking points straight outta the right wing playbook.
- Remember when I mentioned that we’ll see libraries cut ties with their systems over bigotry, err, “parental rights?” Here it is again. This time, Yancey County Libraries (NC) are leaving their system over another library’s Pride displays.
- A Mobile, Alabama, city council member listened to the far-right book banners about books they believe should be banned in local libraries and suggested that the Bible might be among them. We don’t end book bans with book bans, and while this argument has never once worked yet, a city council member recognizing things for what they are is good.
- The State Department of Education in Oklahoma has been told by a federal judge they must explain the reason behind revoking Summer Boismier’s teaching license. Recall she gave her students the QR code that would allow them access to Brooklyn Public Library’s banned books collection.
- Who would have thought that by cutting most of the librarians in the school district, most libraries in Cy-Fair Independent School District (TX) would be closed more often than open?
- Here’s an update on the lawsuit at Llano Public Library (TX). The support this case has is huge, as is the attention—it’s carrying a heavy load. Here’s something worth mentioning, since I’ve been deeply critical of his inaction: Stephen King has signed a letter in support of the lawsuit.
