Speaker: Book bans combat education
Oct. 13—A woman representing a nonprofit fighting against book bans said Thursday that banning school library books threatens the "very essence of education, the free exchange of ideas, critical thinking and empathy."
Heather Stout said this to the Friends of the Moscow Public Library during the group's annual meeting at the 1912 Center in Moscow.
Stout, the featured speaker for Thursday's meeting, represents the North Central Idaho branch of Fight for the First. The nonprofit's stated goal is to defend the First Amendment by acting against book bans in school and public libraries.
Stout said the North Central Idaho branch was formed this spring in response to the May library board elections, as well as the Idaho Legislature's attempts to restrict access to library materials with bills like House Bill 314.
Stout said many people who try to restrict school library books complain about the presence of pornography, but these claims are false. She said it is illegal for book vendors to sell porn to libraries.
"Pornography isn't the same as the things that make you uncomfortable," she said. "They're different."
Books about the LGBTQ community and people of color are also the targets of book banning attempts, she said.
Stout said high school libraries have always had books that deal with uncomfortable topics like drug addiction, sexual abuse, gender and sexuality. That is nothing new, she said.
"What's new is that a few politicians, and a small very vocal group are imposing their personal reading permissions on all students," she said.
Stout said no librarian will force a child to read something they do not want to read.
She said school libraries have policies in place that parents can follow if they want to restrict their child's access to a book. However, Stout said, parents should only be able to control what their child reads, not what other children read.
"They do not have the right to parent our children or anybody else's children," she said.
Public libraries have policies that allow people to challenge their book selections. Stout said these often cost library employees significant hours and dollars to address.
Stout said Idaho Sen. Cindy Carlson, who supported a bill this year that would prohibit school and public libraries from distributing "harmful" materials to minors, emailed her a list of 97 books that she wanted challenged or banned. That list included Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning authors, Stout said.
She urged those at Thursday's meeting to oppose book banning by writing to their representatives, speaking at their local school board and city council meetings, and testifying to the Idaho Legislature.
Cody Barr, a candidate running for Moscow School Board election this November, has made removing "pornography" from the Moscow High School library a central part of his platform.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
