Slice of Life March 19, 2023

Yesterday I was reading Leigh Ann Eck’s post about her school district’s elementary schools replacing librarian teachers with STEM teachers. She shared a comment from a principal saying libraries are a thing of the past. Her post shared issues that I feel very strongly about because I’ve seen an alarming push from groups like the Mothers of Liberty and my own district’s school board make ugly decisions about books. They want to ban books that include gay relationships, say the word rape or refer to BLM. I’ve shared her post here as she explains the situation far better than me: http://adayinthelifeof19b.blogspot.com/2023/03/no-more-libraries-sol23.html

Leigh’s post triggered alarm bells. “What is happening?” I want to shout to anyone who will hear my painful anguish. Recently, a good friend of mine wrote an editorial about how books get into a school’s library. She has experienced the same sort of situation at our school that Leigh Ann Eck referenced. As the high school librarian, she once almost lost her job because the principal did not see the purpose of having a librarian. We rallied around her and made sure this did not occur. However, she then had to be part-time high school librarian and part-time English instructor. Then she was the librarian for the high school and middle school, and eventually she became the only librarian for the district because who needs librarians or libraries anyway, right? (Please note my acid-laden tone).

Today, I’d like to share her letter which was published in The Daily Gate City, our local newspaper. (She also gave me permission to post her letter.)

Letter to the Editor:

In a recent interview with the Fort Madison school board (DGC, 3/3/2023), Rep. Martin Graber said that one of the main educational topics being discussed in the legislature was “certain books,” how those books get into school libraries, and what parents can do if they have a problem with a “certain book.” I can tell him how books get into the school library. They are carefully selected by a trained teacher librarian who has an undergraduate degree in education, and a graduate degree in library science; who works collaboratively with teachers and adheres to a comprehensive selection policy which has been board approved. Yesterday the legislature passed Senate File 391, which would allow schools to staff their libraries with anyone who has worked as a public librarian, eliminating the requirement of the educational degree. So, if this legislature is so concerned with how books get into school libraries, why have they just voted to relax this requirement?

Rep. Graber refers to “certain books,” and adds, “More than 40 of ‘these books’ are in the KHS library.” Did he check the card catalog of the KHS library to discover this? (Which is available online to the public.) If so, it’s too bad he didn’t take the time to read the district’s detailed selection policy and reconsideration process. That would have answered some of those burning questions this legislature has. The KCSD selection policy is prefaced by the statement “KCSD supports the Access to Resources and Services in the School Library: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights,” written by the American Library Association. This statement is included,” Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. “That includes the LGBTQ community. It also states, “Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”  House File 348 and Senate File 496 would prohibit teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity from K-6 grades. If parents don’t want their children reading about those topics, of course they have the right to prevent it.  But, no one has the right to tell every other parent what their child can and cannot read. That is censorship. 

Another proposed bill, Senate File 496, would require that any book successfully challenged and removed in any school district in Iowa put on a statewide list, and require parental permission to be checked out of any other school library in Iowa. 

A large proportion of books now being challenged mirror the lives of the LGBTQ community, or tell stories of persons who are Black, Indigenous, or persons of color. (ALA 
Statement on Book Censorship.)  Reading about people who are different from ourselves gives us a lens into their world, and promotes empathy and understanding. (And might just help us realize we are not all so different after all.) It is also important and affirmative for children to see themselves reflected in the books they read. 
Such legislation as this now being discussed and enacted in our legislature is repressive, exclusionary, and divisive. And make no mistake, it IS censorship, and has no place in our democracy. 


Martha Marsot

Today I hope you have the time to enjoy reading and take the time to consider how wonderful it is to peruse books on a shelf in a lovely school or public library. I remember my own high school librarian who made an effort to create a relationship with me. One of my strongest memories was of her suggesting I read The Pigman by Paul Zindel. My eyes tear up remembering how much I enjoyed reading that book all those years ago.