We’ve all heard controversies across the country about books being removed from elementary schools, teachers and librarians facing backlash for allowing kids access to books that contain LGBTQ characters or stories about racial discrimination, and debates about the true intent of the politicians behind it all. Now, one mom is sharing the actual impact.
A Library In Idaho
The mom, Carly Anderson, who goes by Carlyjdot on TikTok, posted a new video in which she shared her experience in taking her daughter Scarlett to the library to find a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship Of The Ring. Carly is raising a reader. Aside from the fact that her daughter is spending the summer tearing through Tolkien, the pair also reference other literary heroes like Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series and Matilda from Roald Dahl’s book of the same name.
Unfortunately for Scarlett, new legislation passed in Idaho made her mission a little bit harder.
The Legislation In Question
The Children’s School and Library Protection Act was enacted earlier this summer in Idaho. It purports to protect children from inappropriate material, but its definition of “inappropriate” is broad and ambiguous. For instance, many books classified as Young Adult or coming-of-age stories that deal with adolescence and development could fall under it simply for a character dealing with a changing body.
The ambiguity has led to at least one library in Idaho, according to the Authors Guild, not just restricting a section or sections but also restricting minors’ access to the entire building!
Libraries are directed to relocate any books that are deemed inappropriate — a list that can grow with parental complaints — to a separate area where children cannot access them, and for the Donnelly Public Library, that’s just impossible because of the lack of space.
Other libraries, like the one that Carly and Scarlett visited, are finding ways to comply, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for patrons.
The Restricted Area
Can you remember the first time you sought out a book in the grown-up section? Maybe a librarian helped you search for a particular title, or you just decided you’d outgrown everything in the children’s area and went browsing for yourself.
Scarlett likely wasn’t on her first foray into the adult section, though, since she’d already finished The Hobbit and had strong reading skills. As her mom points out, she was fortunate enough to be in the library with a parent that day, one who had her ID along, because otherwise, she’d have been denied access.
Her mother was still refused access because she had a one-year-old infant along for the trip!
Carly’s Story
You can see the story in Carly’s own words below.
Obvious Solutions
Sure, Carly could have signed an affidavit giving her toddler permission to enter the restricted area of the library, but fortunately, since Scarlett was present and brought her ID (and wasn’t, for example, struggling to obtain one due to obstacles like not having a permanent address or being unable to access a DMV location), she was able to enter and get her book.
But, as Carly herself points out, this restricts the Matildas of the world (those kids who don’t necessarily have parental support) and the Hermiones (whose parents may be supportive but not quite in the right environment to help). This rule means that kids whose parents don’t have time to drop in and sign an affidavit, show ID, or sign their child up for an unrestricted card are just slightly out of luck.
The Pushback
There are efforts to challenge these restrictions! A lawsuit has already been filed by libraries, schools, parents, and students, who argue that the legislation “threatens the independence and core missions of our beloved community institutions across the state,” according to the Idaho Capitol Sun.
They argue that the libraries contain material that “some Idahoans may find subjectively offensive,” but that is “constitutionally protected [and] non-obscene.”
One plaintiff, for example, is Collister United Methodist Church, which holds a lending library of books on LGBTQ people and topics and fears those books may be wrongly lumped in with “inappropriate” or “obscene” material.
That lawsuit aims to stop enforcement of the legislation.
Outside Idaho
While this particular legislation affects Idaho, similar legislation is being proposed nationwide. Education Week reports that book bans have been pushed in at least 32 states. Ideological advocacy groups and political figures heavily push these, typically targeting books they define as “explicit” or “sensitive material.” That definition is often broad enough to include anything about LGBTQ people.
That means that no matter where you live, if you believe that the right to access library materials falls under Constitutional protections, you should check the positions of your candidates before November and the status of any state and local legislation that could affect your child’s freedom to read.