Amanda Jones Gives a Blueprint for Defending Public Libraries

“She’s a sparrow when she’s damaged / However she’s an eagle when she flies”—Dolly Parton, “Eagle When She Flies”

Every single day for the previous 22 years, I’ve left my home and traveled the identical path to work. It takes precisely six minutes from the time I depart till the second I open the door of my SUV to stroll inside my faculty. Every single day I stroll to the passenger facet to get my purse, faculty bag, and thermos of iced tea to drink at work, after which take a look at the big cutout of an eagle over the health club on my manner into faculty. 

I attended Reside Oak faculties from elementary by highschool, and the eagle has at all times been our mascot. After I graduated school, I went again to work on the faculty I attended as a baby, as soon as extra an eagle. I’ve been an eagle for 35 of the 45 years that I’ve been alive, in additional methods than one.

A number of years in the past, I took a web-based check that compares personalities to animals, and I needed to chuckle when my outcomes got here again as an eagle. Eagle personalities had been described as being goal-driven, daring, action-oriented, and never afraid of a problem. Eagle personalities, very like the precise chicken of prey, are daring, persistent, savage but nurturing, resilient.

Upon reflection, I wouldn’t say that I’m naturally a brave particular person, however I’ll go toe to toe with somebody, no matter who they’re or how harmful, in the event that they attempt to hurt me or somebody I like. Like an eagle, I may be ferocious when wanted.

After July 2022, when each myself and my neighborhood’s library system grew to become targets in Louisiana, I made a decision to point out simply how ferocious I may very well be. I by no means thought that attending a public library board assembly to talk towards censorship would make me a goal, however I wasn’t going to take it mendacity down. I set forth to create a sport plan to assist my parish that included attending to know the gamers, gathering allies, and creating alliances, and the dedication that whereas we’d lose some skirmishes alongside the best way, we might win the large sport it doesn’t matter what. I’m enjoying chess to their checkers.

The professional-censors are loud and obnoxious, they usually’re solely rising bolder. They’ll proceed their rampage until rational individuals communicate out towards them. This motion may have detrimental results on our faculties and libraries for many years to return if we don’t constantly confront them. 

Individuals who imagine in inclusivity, the liberty to learn, and the general public good have to be even louder and extra energetic than the guide banners. They publish about saving kids however present no proof that kids are at risk. It’s not about youngsters for them. All of us wish to defend kids. That has by no means been the distinction between us and them. Their agenda is all about silencing voices, politics, and cash. It’s essential within the quest for mental freedom that we get to know our foes.

I extremely advocate that everybody take the next steps to remain knowledgeable inside your neighborhood:

Attend faculty board, library board, and native governance conferences.

Take notes on which officers use phrases like “woke” and “indoctrination.” In the event that they use phrases like “gender ideology” and “sexually express materials,” chances are high they’re pro-censorship. Hate and oppression is a working theme, and one can find that all of them publish the identical ridiculous memes crammed with lies and conspiracy theories.

Observe the social media accounts of elected officers and take screenshots to doc any extremist views.

Share the information with others in your neighborhood.

Use a web site like pluralpolicy.com to trace laws and your elected officers.

Keep within the know.

Use your state authorities’s web site to lookup politicians and their donors.

Observe the cash and one can find the motives.

Vote in each native election.

Conserving tabs on the pro-censors in different areas lets you put together for his or her hateful antics. From following the push to censor supplies in St. Tammany Parish, I took notice of some points they’d with their library indicators. The St. Tammany Library Alliance, a gaggle of residents dedicated to defending the library, posted indicators round city that stated “Belief Our Librarians.” A gaggle of native far-right ideologues then bought practically similar indicators that stated “No One Trusts Our Librarians.” I made a psychological notice to make sure that our future indicators had been tougher to mock.

I additionally discovered about an electronic mail {that a} girl named Connie despatched the director of the St. Tammany Parish Public Library that stated, amongst different issues, “My final objective is to just be sure you usually are not there,” and “We are going to see who finally prevails however keep in mind I’ve God on my facet, God at all times wins, and should you underestimate me you accomplish that at your personal peril.” I checked in with our director to verify she was OK, and she or he instructed me a person referred to as the library to inform her she was a cunt. The kinds of people that name and electronic mail librarians with threats and inappropriate feedback are vile. Ensure you counteract the hate by emailing positivity to your library workers to assist counter the negativity they hear too typically.

After the assaults on me, I used to be helped by continued messages of assist from throughout my state and the nation. Individuals I had by no means met had been sending me postcards, letters, and items to my faculty, our native library, and the native bookstore. A whole lot of supportive emails had been despatched my manner, and it made me really feel much less alone. I regarded for tactics to pay these messages ahead and began combing by social media posts in communities the place I knew librarians and educators had been additionally being attacked. 

I’d see the identical disgusting feedback again and again, however often I’d see somebody defend the librarian or educator. I’d then private-message these individuals and share how supportive emails had helped me and ask them to contemplate sending one to their native librarian. Who is aware of if the librarian would see the social media publish, however a private electronic mail could make an actual constructive affect. It’s one small manner I’ve tried to assist others.

I then found that the college librarian Christopher Harris has made the method a bit of simpler along with his web site We the Librarians: Honoring Librarians With Message of Resilience. This wonderful web site lets you join so as to mail messages of assist to librarians throughout the nation. You may as well ship them names of librarians underneath assault in order that they’ll obtain letters, and you may even donate to this web site to assist assist their work. A letter might appear to be such a small factor, however it might probably imply the world to someone who’s being bombarded with hate.

A much bigger step to assist your library, and arise for mental freedom, is to create a stable neighborhood alliance on your faculty and public libraries. I’ve discovered that the overwhelming majority of persons are towards censorship, however generally they will simply fall for lies posted on social media. A stable alliance can dispel lies and promote the reality. Alliances additionally act as assist for the librarians and a standard place the place like-minded people can collect to plan and present solidarity. Many individuals wish to assist, however they don’t understand how.

Alliances can hold residents knowledgeable about public conferences, agenda objects, and politicians, in addition to promote positivity. The citizen alliances joined forces in the course of the 2023 Louisiana legislative session, and we had been in a position to ship 1000’s of emails and letters to legislators concerning the 4 anti-library payments.

With an alliance in place, you may play offense slightly than protection. Once I was first focused, I used to be blessed to have private assist from the EveryLibrary group; our neighborhood was lucky to have their assist in making a citizen alliance for our parish’s whole public library system. EveryLibrary was key in serving to our residents arrange a sport plan for fulfillment, and with their assist we steadily held off the censors. Take into account contacting EveryLibrary for help getting began on an alliance.

Alliances supply assist to our librarians. Whether or not it’s an electronic mail, the sharing of a publish, or attending a public assembly, we wish them to know that there’s a complete military behind them in the neighborhood. 

If you’re alone and don’t know the place to begin, create an alliance Fb web page and invite your family and friends who assist libraries. Ask them to ask their library-supporting associates. At every public assembly, move out flyers with the title of your Fb web page and a bit of bit about your alliance. It’s wonderful how rapidly it should develop. 

I’m proud to have based a grassroots alliance of residents from throughout our parish that has helped our public library system. We began out as a really small group however discovered dozens of individuals keen to assist over time. You possibly can put as a lot or as little as you need into an alliance, however make no mistake: Your neighborhood wants one.

Whereas bigger teams just like the American Library Affiliation, PEN America, and EveryLibrary will help with the large image, campaigns, and sources, the actual work is on the native stage with grassroots efforts. It takes members of the neighborhood to face up, communicate out, and stick collectively as a cohesive unit. You’re higher collectively in numbers. 

Take into account forming a statewide alliance, or staff up along with your state’s library or faculty library affiliation. Lynette Mejia and Melanie Brevis had already fashioned a stable neighborhood alliance in neighboring Lafayette. They needed to unify the numerous parish alliances underneath one banner, and we fashioned Louisiana Residents In opposition to Censorship. All it takes is one particular person, or a small group, to get the ball rolling.

When, inevitably, you have got individuals in your neighborhood who attempt to say that there are sexually express supplies in your faculty or public library, at the start it’s necessary to remind them about assortment growth and reconsideration insurance policies. After that, show their lies mistaken. 

The subsequent time you hear somebody say there are sexually express supplies in kids’s sections of your library (which isn’t true), listed below are some solutions:

Ask this particular person to offer you a title of an precise guide.

Look in your library’s catalog to see if the guide even exists and/or whether it is even within the kids’s part. You possibly can normally see for your self that their declare is fake. Then YOU don’t need to perpetuate the rumor and may cease it in its tracks.

Take a look at the guide and browse it for your self.

Do not forget that each guide won’t be your cup of tea, however that doesn’t imply the guide is sexually express. If you happen to object to a title, fill out a proper request for reconsideration should you really feel that’s essential. Understand that a guide within the grownup part should fail the Miller check to be thought-about obscene and sexually express. Books are taken as a complete and primarily based on literary benefit—not only one web page out of context.

Ask your self if they’ve a hidden motive.

As soon as you may show to them that their claims are false they usually proceed to unfold the lie, ask your self why. You’d be amazed at how many individuals merely wish to unfold lies, even when they know they’re lies. That’s referred to as chasing clout. They wish to really feel necessary and/or had been fed disinformation that they didn’t take the time to confirm.

See in the event that they or a member of the family is working for workplace.

Are they only leaping on the bandwagon of utilizing the library as a punching bag to fire up drama in order that they will say they’ll swoop in and save the day from that pretend subject? That is referred to as pandering for votes.

Ask your pleasant neighborhood librarian or electronic mail the alliance, and we’ll assist show it for you!

Again in July 2022, I went to a public library board assembly considering I’d do my half to offer one speech, sit down, and life would go on. As a substitute, I grew to become a goal. I may have chosen to disregard the web lies and hate being instructed about me, however why ought to I’ve stayed silent after I had carried out nothing mistaken? In actual fact, they in all probability would have forgotten about me in a number of weeks or months. Would I nonetheless be trying over my shoulder immediately had I chosen to do nothing?

In all probability not. I selected to take a stand, and that call modified the trajectory of my life. I selected to battle again. It was a tough resolution that I didn’t take frivolously. It has taken an emotional, bodily, and psychological toll on me and my household. I’ve zero regrets. This has turn into a function in my life—to stay up for librarians and libraries, communicate out for traditionally marginalized college students and authors, battle again towards on-line bullying, and assist others discover their voices to do the identical. Nonetheless, I would like others to grasp that it’s OK to stroll away. There is no such thing as a disgrace in caring for your self and your loved ones first.

No matter my lawsuit, I’ll proceed to talk out towards censorship. Even when it takes years, we’ll win in the long term. I’m an eagle by and thru. An eagle will defend its territory by flying round it or by perching conspicuously close to the highest of a close-by tree. I’ll attend each native assembly with a watchful eye. I’ll proceed to talk out. Like an eagle defending her nest, I’ll assist defend my neighborhood and myself from those that threaten us. I’ll circle above, going excessive as an alternative of low, till the menace leaves the realm.

This excerpt, tailored from That Librarian: The Struggle In opposition to E-book Banning in America by Amanda Jones (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024), seems by permission of the writer.

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