Book bans draw libraries into damaging culture wars that undermine their purpose

Book bans draw libraries into damaging culture wars that undermine their purpose

For the last four years, school and public libraries have been drawn into a culture war that seeks to censor, limit and discredit diverse perspectives.Yet time and time again, as librarians have been encouraged or even directed to remove books that include LGBTQ+, Black, Latino and Indigenous characters or themes or history from their collections, they have said no.When librarians said no, policy changes were submitted and laws were proposed — a…

Following demands from conservative parents, the state froze the library's budget and ordered that books of a "sexual nature" be moved to the adults-only section. "Every parent has the right to decide what is appropriate for their children - but not for others," said those opposed to the decision.