Hi, remember me?
Okay so it's been a hot minute since I've blogged. Honestly, I didn't think I'd let it go this long, but I was trying to finish editing my latest manuscript and made a vow that I wouldn't write anything else (except for my contractually-obligated column) until I'd finished the dang book.
It's finished.
Now, let's talk about Banned Books Week. It's happening now, October 5-11, and I'm a library trustee so I have some thoughts about book challenges to libraries.
My overwhelming thought these days is that, due to our passion to keep the library relevant to ALL of our patrons, we tend to get defensive about protecting our dear books on our shelves. But here's the thing: Our patrons are not our adversaries, nor do we want to treat them that way. Our patrons are our neighbors, our friends, our reason to exist.
What I'd like people to understand is that, just as we want books that inform, help, or entertain them, we want to do the same for everyone who holds one of our library cards. If you are not interested in car repair, should you ask for all the car repair books to be removed? I am uncomfortable reading books about slavery, in that they make me painfully sad, but I want other people to be able to read them.
You may not like a particular book but someone else needs it.
Children's books get a little more difficult. Parents want to protect their children and often that means the material they are exposed to. Librarians don't want to be your enemy, they want to be your guide through the shelves. Tell them what you're looking for. They'll help you find it.
Here's where I get a little blunt. You know those books you want to ban that discuss things you don't want your child to read about? They're on the shelves because there are children asking about them. I know, you wish it wasn't so, but I see two paths available to the parents of "those" children.
One path is to love your child even if you don't understand who they are, and help them get accurate information (hint: it's in your library).
The other path is to abandon your child because of who they are. I personally cannot think of anything Marcus could be or do that would erase my love for him (although if he was a serial killer, I'd be very disappointed), but I know people whose parents disowned them because they disapproved of their lifestyle.
I am one of those people--my parents disowned me for marrying an African-American man. They retracted it when I had Marcus but it colored our relationship until their deaths. I'm afraid my advice to those parents would be, if they can't fully love their child, why do they care what their child reads?
I know how harsh that sounds and it's probably more complicated than that, but I'm also the mom who tried very hard to "raise the child she had and not the one she wanted."
So, I encourage you this week to look at the books that have been banned and why they were banned. If any of them make you curious, check it out of the library!
