No, Age-Appropriate Library Restrictions Are Not ‘Book Bans’

All over the world, reports of book bans have been reported Media. These claims are understandable and should be a concern to free speech advocates. Freedom to share knowledge freely and challenge the status-quo is a foundational pillar of a free society. People who care about society’s advancement should not be offended by an act like a book ban. But, behind the claims of widespread spreading censorship, a key issue has been overlooked. What is a book ban?

The word ban The prohibition of any behavior, substance or object is commonly understood to be a restriction. Due to First Amendment constitutional protections, and the corresponding case law it is illegal for any government entity, to outlaw the ownership of a book. There are very few exceptions to the rule that books can be bought, sold, or owned in America.

Media reports suggest that book bans are spreading like wildfires across states such as California. Florida Texas. How can this be?

What Books are Banned?

The issue is primarily cultural, and it takes place in public schools libraries. The discovery of Books with explicit sexual content The popularity of school bookshelves has been a major factor in the growth of this industry. controversy.

Pen America Book bans are the most frequently cited organization. The self-proclaimed “free speech” Almost every media report about the subject mentions advocacy groups. But few Americans are able to grasp the extremely broad definition of “a” “book ban” This information is used by the organization. Pen America considers books “challenged for review,” But still available to students for use “banned” Even if books haven’t been removed from library shelves, Pen America accepts any book available, but with age restrictions as an acceptable choice. “banned.” Moreover, several school districts Have Refuted Pen America produced a popular book ban list, which claimed that the list contained books that were not allowed. Never removed They are available for circulation in their respective libraries.

The expansive view of “book bans” This creates some problems. The assumption is that every book available to schoolchildren must be produced and distributed free of charge by the government. It sounds great, until you realize that many books contain incorrect, poorly sourced or controversial information. I doubt that anyone would think of excluding books like Hitler’s. “Mein Kampf” (a Nazi manifesto), “The Anarchist Cookbook” This is a bomb-building guide. “The Turner Diaries” (a white supremacy recruitment book) found in our public K-12 library to be an illiberal effort to suppress free speech

Is Ideology a Factor in Book Selection?

However, it is possible that some librarians may have added their bias to the procurement process. Writer Kirk Cameron His Christian children’s books were published by him rejected public libraries that are openly accepting drag queen story sessions featuring pro-transgender titles. Pen America’s website has not yet published any information on the controversy surrounding the rejection or appropriation of conservative-themed books at the time this article was written.

The American Association of School Librarians also grants an annual award “Social Justice” For the development of a curriculum, school librarians will receive a $2,000 award and 5,000 for new books. “program, unit, or event in support of social justice using resources of the school library.” While one might agree with the decision of a library funded publicly to promote or degrade a particular viewpoint, it takes a lot of denialism to pretend that viewpoint discrimination doesn’t exist.

Who should pick the books?

A 5-4 Supreme Court Decision in Board of Education, Island Trees Union School District v. Pico (1982). The school board is prohibited from removing books due to subject matter. School libraries are designated special free speech zones. The dissenting justices claimed that because books can be obtained from outside schools and school board members are democratically elected to manage school affairs, there is no First Amendment concern about the exclusion or restriction of certain materials. In the age of smartphones and social media, the notion of school libraries being free speech zones is outdated.

It might be time to question the notion that refusing to distribute a book by a government agency is a ban. Public school libraries are taxpayer-funded entities. We vote for policies that are consistent with our values and preferences in a democratic society. These voter preferences should be reflected in the way we decide on priorities for public school education.

As many jurisdictions might refuse to give bomb-building instructions, gunsmithing guides, or white supremacy manifestos, school boards should be allowed to make reasonable judgments about objectionable content.

Librarians, educators and other librarians have biases just as the rest of us. The practice of submitting to them without any community oversight does not prevent viewpoint discrimination. It just makes it easier for them to ignore it.

Raheem is a policy analyst for CURE. He has worked in a variety of liberty-based academic research centres and think tanks. He earned his B.A. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in economics from Florida International University. Financial economics at the University of Detroit Mercy