Pushing Back Against Would-Be Censors
[Alex:] And as if we were seguing into the next question, like we planned it, it's not just, of course, internal matters that regard collections. Especially in our current era, we have plenty of outside groups of various amounts of influence, political power, monetary power, or other such things that have strong opinions about what materials should or shouldn't be part of a library's collection. Usually, their reasons are in that sort of "partisan or doctrinal disapproval" or about "the views and origins of the authors involved." Sometimes their beliefs matetrials created by people who are minorities do not belong in our collections because they'll make the majority uncomfortable, and making the majority uncomfortable is the very worst sin that you can commit in this situation.
- What effective methods do librarians have to push back against this messaging and the demands made of them, whether by boards, administrators, local elected officials, influence groups, or others pushing for changing our collections to make them less representative of our communities?
I know that Gavin has some personal experience with this, so, Gavin, I think you're lead on this.
[Gavin:] Sure. So, my personal experience, of course, is that I fought a book challenge--successfully--back in 2022. So, the first, most important thing you can do, is have a robust reconsideration policy, and know what it is, and have that process, because if you have that process, you know what it is, you're able to stick to it. What it really comes down to is: Does this fit with our collection development policy, or does it not? And if it does, it needs to stay there. And if it doesn't, then, you know, it can go ahead and move on out. But that needs to be the core of whether or not a book remains, not whether or not someone doesn't like the book. That's not what libraries are about.
Once you have that robust policy, that can guide everything, but sometimes these things come in when you don't have that robust policy ready to go. And when you don't, that's where you need to be building your allies, because that's--and we're seeing this problem all over the country right now, we're seeing lawmakers trying to change laws, and really just fundamentally damage what we do as libraries. We're seeing bills out there right now that would be jailing librarians for providing materials to patrons. Which, frankly, was right there in Project 2025 as something that they intended to do.
So, we have, you know, we do need to call on our allies. First of all, fellow librarians, if you're starting to deal with this sort of situation, reach out to other librarians. We can assist. WLA can assist. ALA can assist. Organizations like EveryLibrary and PEN America, and so on, these all can assist. ACLU. One of my allies during my book challenge was GLSEN [changed name to Glisten in 2026], which focuses on ensuring that LGBTQ students have a fair and equitable public education, because it was at a public school. And so, knowing the sorts of allies you can call on, be ready ahead of time.
Know that having a collection that serves all of your patrons means that someone, somewhere is going to be upset at one of your books, at least. Have a plan ready to go. That's why having that robust policy is important, but also, just think about it in terms of when a book challenge happens, not if. Because someone gonna be upset at some point, especially with the way that things have been going. Even here in Washington State. You know, just, be ready, and think of it as a part of the cost of making sure that your patrons are all being served.
[Robin:] I love the thing about have your allies ready, because that is so key. It's also key if your administration is your ally and they are right there behind you and standing behind your decisions. So that is also very, very key.
A lot of it, it feels personal, especially if you're the one who bought that book and you know why you bought it, and you understand why it fits into your collection. A lot of it feels personal. It's not. First of all, don't take that personally, it's not personal to you. It's personal to the person who's requesting reconsideration, but not to you, because you've bought many books in the collection, and any one of those could have gotten this challenge.
I got a challenge last year, and I shouldn't say challenge, because they didn't want it removed, they just wanted it removed from the section that it was in, because they didn't agree.
It was something I never would have thought would get any kind of blowback at all. I was shocked. It literally could be any thing.
The other thing is, we, Becky and I, teach the Anti-Racist class, and part of it is Reader's Advisory and display. The things that we hear from librarians on the feedback that they've gotten once they decide to diversify their areas, or their displays, or their Reader's Advisory materials, I'm shocked, sometimes, at some of the things that people will say out loud. I always tell them, "You're doing the right thing. If you're getting this feedback, that you're making people uncomfortable, because their displays used to be all-white, and all-straight, and all-Christian, and now they are not, now they are diverse, you're doing absolutely the right thing, and they're trying to stop you. Their whole goal, with confronting you, is to make you uncomfortable so that you go back to the old way." Take that as a win, first of all. And learn, yourself, to sit with that discomfort, because no one likes to be called out or confronted like that. Especially if you're not expecting that, and especially if it's rather harsh and rude. Nobody likes that. But, learn to be able to sit with that, because if you can't sit with that, that is when you backtrack. That is when you go back to the place of comfort for you. If you go back to making that display all-white or all-straight, then no one will complain to you, because people who want diverse displays and diverse titles, they don't often come in and complain about not seeing them. It's just the people who want things to go back to the way they were, those are the people who complain, because we refuse to do that.
- Getting it in writing of what you're doing, so when that happens, you know, automatically, what your response is going to be, and
- not taking it personally
are probably the two biggest tips that I would be able to give to people.
I can teach you how to diversify your collections, and that's a wonderful thing, and everyone should do it. But really, where the rubber meets the road is when you get that first complaint, and when you get that request for reconsideration, and it feels terrible. But you're able, if you've done the work and you have your collection development policy and you have your talking points, you're able to deflect that and say, "Yes, this is exactly what we wanted to do, and we're going to continue doing it."
[Gavin:] The only other thing I'd add to what you said is, the people who are making these challenges, you were correct, it's not about us as librarians. It's about the fact that they want to control who is allowed to be heard. That's what this is all about. That's what these challenges are about, it's not an accident that it's LGBTQ and BIPOC voices that are primarily being targeted. Those are the voices they don't want heard.
[Robin:] 100%.
[Alex:] Do you think there's anything about your methods or advice that needs to change if the person making the requests of you is someone with a relative amount of power, whether it's your library boards, your administrators, your local electeds, your national electeds, people who, theoretically, could not only just threaten to make your life miserable, but actually deliver on some of it?
[Gavin:] You know, I can speak to that directly, because the person leading the challenge in my case was my principal, and she did make my life miserable for the six months that the whole challenge went on, until I was able to transfer to a different school. That surprised me, because I'd thought that I would have, you know, when a challenge came along, I would have the support of my administration, and instead, the call was coming from inside the house. But...I still had my collection development policy. I still had my reasons for why I included these books, and I stuck to my guns. I understand why some people wouldn't, because, you know, what I went through, I don't think anyone should have to go through. And I get why some people might not want to do that.
I would encourage you to remember that this isn't about you, it's about our patrons, and the fact that they deserve a diverse collection that shows...the tremendous range of voices of humanity. That's why there are resources out there to help support you when you're dealing with this sort of stuff. And I have, at this point, I have my clan, so to speak, of the people who have also been through this, who, you know, were able to talk about this across the country, that I'm able to call up and say, 'Hey, this is happening," or "I ran into this person," or what have you. Even years later, I'm still dealing with the fallout, but...I get why someone might not want to deal with that, because I know exactly what it entails, and I'd still encourage you to do it, because your patrons need you.
[Robin;] Yeah, there is a reason why I said, at the very beginning, you need your administrative support.
[Gavin:] Mm-hmm.
[Robin:] The closer the complaint is to you, the more uncomfortable it is. Like, if it's, you know, someone in the mayor's office, or someone on a national level, you know, it's like, "Oh, well, there's many layers between them and me." If it's your boss, [laughs]
[Gavin:] [laughs]
[Robin:] that is much, much, different.
[Gavin:] [laughs]
[Gavin:] Yes!
[Robin:] And so stressful! It's so stressful.
I tell people all the time, I don't want you to get fired. That's not my goal here, when I'm telling you what to do and how to diversify your collection, and how to promote that, I don't want you to get fired. If you're in danger of that, please protect yourself. And your mental health as well. But...it is kind of key, what we're doing, so that the people who rely on you are getting a collection that reflects the world that we live in, and not just the world that they wish we lived in. And the more that you can do that, the better everybody will be.
[Gavin:] And get your union, if you've got a union, get your union involved. I would not have kept my job if my union were not there to back me up.
[Alex:] Thank you, that's extremely useful advice for all of us who are working with these kinds of situations.