Residents request book be banned at Deckerville Library

Some residents are asking a book that has been part of the Deckerville Library for nearly three years be banned.

Library officials said they've received 10 complaints about the book, “Gender Queer: A Memoir.”

While the complaints take issue with concerns about children seeing the book, others say banning it would further marginalize the LGBTQ community.

The Deckerville Library held its monthly meeting on April 6 at the Deckerville Community Center, 3451 Main St. Library Director Jennifer Kisbany said the meeting was originally scheduled for April 3 at the library, but had to be rescheduled and relocated because the number of people in attendance violated fire code.

“Gender Queer: A Memoir” has been a part of the Deckerville Library collection since July 1, 2020. Kisbany said no one had complained to the library about the book until the meeting.

“There were 10 requests for reconsideration submitted at the meeting, but the library did not receive any official documents or requests prior to this,” she said.

Kisbany said she wants to clear any misunderstanding about the book. During the meeting, Kisbany said some members of the public claimed the book was located in the children’s section and should not be there. However, Kisbany said that is simply incorrect.

“The book has been shelved in our adult graphic novel section since it was added to our collection,” Kisbany said.

“Gender Queer: A Memoir” is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe. It details the author’s experience and journey of gender identity.

The requests for reconsideration will be reviewed by the Deckerville Library Board. Further action or discussion regarding the book have not been set.

There are three options on the reconsideration requests from Deckerville Library. People can ask for the library to not lend a book to their own child, to withdraw the book from all patrons or to send the book back to the staff selection office for re-evaluation. All 10 of the reconsideration requests from the April 6 meeting call for the library to withdraw the book from all patrons.

The Times Herald received copies of the reconsideration requests. The names of the people who made the requests were redacted to protect privacy, according to Kisbany.

The 10 reconsideration requests included the following statements:

• "It has no quality in any way. Some claim it to be of adult nature, but it's clearly geared to attract children and teens."

• "The book and ones similar to it do not belong in public libraries. They can be found elsewhere."

• "Something I don't believe in is being shoved down my throat."

• "(The theme) is to indoctrinate children into sexual acts."

• "This material is harmful to children. We need to fill their hearts and minds with love and happy thoughts; of being helpful and kind to others."

Jay Kaplan, the staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, said the organization often sees group efforts calling for the removal of "Gender Queer: A Memoir" from libraries along with a list of similar books.

Kaplan said the ACLU of Michigan believes that book banning is dangerous, leads to the censorship of different ideas, prevents free speech and leads to further marginalization the LGBTQ community and people of color.

"We hope the library has a robust review process for these requests," Kaplan said. "We think people should always be cautious about all book banning efforts."

Kaplan said "Gender Queer: A Memoir" tells the story of a person coming to terms with their identity. He said there is nothing in the book that is any more explicit than other coming of age stories.

Additionally, Kaplan said if parents are concerned about their child accessing the book, then they should request the library to not lend it to them. However, that concern does not give individual parents the right to bar all library patrons from accessing the book.

"The whole idea of a public library is that people get to decide for themselves what they want to read and access," Kaplan said.

Deckerville Library will hold its next meeting on May 1 at the Deckerville Community Center. The agenda has not been drafted yet, so it is unknown if the “Gender Queer: A Memoir” will be discussed.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com or (810) 292-0122.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Residents request book be banned at Deckerville Library