School Librarians and the False Book Banning Narrative

by Jon Kurpis

As a free speech absolutist, my respect for the written word is extremely high. I believe most issues concerning written materials should be handled with the laws already on the books (no pun intended) and not by censorship or deplatforming. I don't think any censorship is acceptable for public libraries, the internet, and bookstores. As long as materials are properly stored and/or kept away from minors, nothing should be off-limits for adults. The 1st Amendment allows for the free flow of information No one has the right to decide what another adult should read even if the content is vile and repugnant. Although I’m unwavering in this position, I also understand that it is both reasonable and necessary to hold school libraries that are created for underage students to a different standard.

My reasoning for this different standard is simple. A public school is a place where a plethora of minors congregate for hours everyday without parental supervision. While true that an environment with this sort of autonomy has its benefits, it also becomes a breeding ground for inappropriate things to occur. One only needs to look at the litany of student-teacher sexual relationships that have occurred nationwide for proof that untoward actions in school environments do exist. Unfortunately for underage students and their parents, potentially inappropriate materials are now being made even more accessible by contemporary school librarians.

I want to be clear that I am not taking a radical, politically motivated position. I agree with the theoretical need for basic sexual education if it’s age appropriate and done responsibly. I also agree that learning should involve an objective discussion about uncomfortable topics about our nation’s history. But when it comes to large scale accessible student resources (computers, internet, school libraries, etc), I’m of the opinion that a cautious approach is essential.

Interestingly, everyone seems to agree with this position when it comes to the internet/computing side of things. In fact, if an educator were to take the position that underage students should have unfiltered access to, for example sexual content, on the internet during class or on a school device, they would be deemed reckless and irresponsible. But when it comes to accessing voluminous resources found in a school library, we collectively let our guard down. The reason for the different attitude with unfettered access to the internet vs info in a school library comes down to the trust that parents have historically had in the school librarian.

Parents expect that school librarians carefully curate the library choices in a manner that would offer maximum educational opportunities while at the same time protecting the students from age-inappropriate content. So at the very least, the school librarian, because of his/her role in the book curatorial process, should be subject to oversight.

School librarians, technically classified as School Library Media Specialists, are responsible for a wide range of duties. This includes working with students and faculty members, organizing offline and online materials, maintaining a proper study environment and finding and acquiring new resources for the library. Of all the hats a school librarian wears, the research and curation of appropriate books for the student body is most important.

In a broad sense, school librarians share a very similar role with a museum curator. In a museum, the Board may decide that new subject matter must be featured in an exhibition. It is then the responsibility of the curator to research, find, and acquire suitable artifacts related to the subject matter. In a public school, the Superintendent (with oversight from the Board of Education) may decide to introduce a particular topic or area of study. Like a museum curator, the School Librarian will research and seek to acquire the most optimal books and resources to educate students on this topic.

Most of the time, the options chosen by the museum curator or school librarian are acceptable and everything proceeds smoothly. In the rare event that an artifact or book doesn’t meet the standards of the Board, the curator and/or librarian simply continues researching until a suitable alternative is found and agreed upon. Until recently, this is how the process generally worked in terms of putting together a robust collection of books in a school library and was by no means controversial. However, this time-tested protocol has undergone a dramatic shift in the wrong direction over the past decade.

In public schools across the country, School Librarians have unilaterally changed their role from being part of the book curation process into the ultimate decision makers in regards to choosing books. This includes what underage students (children, really) should be reading. Furthermore, the lobby for school libraries has gone to great lengths to instill the false notion that the school librarian is the only person who knows exactly what is best for all children to read.

In my opinion, this new narrative is both untrue and reckless. School librarians may in fact be well-versed in a wide array of matters, but they should not be sole decider of what our children read. School librarians are not doctors, pediatricians, or psychiatrists; they are not clinically trained on what long term damage may be caused by introducing controversial or sexually inappropriate content to minors. Even in a situation where a school librarian has the best of intentions, their opinion on a particular book should NEVER supercede the will of the parents or be immune to oversight by a duly elected, non-partisan Board of Education.

School librarians are fundamentally hired to curate, present options and keep a school library running smoothly. They are not hired to make controversial, unilateral decisions or push their personal agenda and political beliefs. And as absurd as it is that it even needs to be said, SCHOOL LIBRARIANS ARE NOT HIRED TO ENSURE THAT UNDERAGE STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHIC NOVELS AND/OR GRAPHIC VISUAL INSTRUCTIONS PERTAINING TO THE BEST WAYS TO HAVE ANAL SEX OR MASTURBATE. Providing vivid pornography to underage children does not make you a good school librarian or a progressive educator. It makes you a groomer and a reckless danger to students.

Being that most librarians are free speech advocates, I assume that any who read this article will take the position that excluding any book from a school library is embarking down a slippery slope. In all fairness, there is some merit to that argument. Removing books from libraries has been inappropriately used as a political tool by both Democrats and Republicans. And while there have been unethical instances of politically motivated book bans, that doesn’t negate the fact that there are instances whereby preventing minors from accessing truly questionable content in a school library is warranted.

A prime example of a book that is objectively, wholly inappropriate and has no place in a school library is Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. For the record, I read Gender Queer along with numerous other “controversial” books in preparation for this article so I would have first hand knowledge of the content in question. Gender Queer is a mix of an adult graphic novel and x-rated comic book that supposedly was written to help Trans youth with issues they may face. Although some of the information given may be relevant in terms of helping the trans community, the work was clearly written with an emphasis on shock value as opposed to genuine educational purposes. Gender Queer contains content that is in no way suitable for a school library and cannot be justified for underage readers.

Beyond the hardcore pornographic imagery, profanity and the degradation of women by using terms such as “vagina slime”, the book also contains at least two instances of content that is frighteningly harmful to young readers. The first example of this would be the book’s glorification of “sexting”. Sexting is the act of sending people texts containing pornographic messages and naked images of yourself. No matter where you stand on the issue of sexting, it’s an irrefutable fact that the practice has resulted in horrific experiences for young women and men across the country when their private conversations and intimate photos were publicly shared without their permission. Sexting is unequivocally a very bad practice for minors and the fact that Gender Queer celebrates it alone makes this book unsuitable for placement in a school library.

As reckless as the “sexting” content is, Gender Queer also glorifies the act of masturbating while driving! Every year, teenage drivers die in car accidents that are the result of driver distraction. In fact, the laws prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving were enacted precisely to prevent these distraction-related accidents and deaths. Given the accepted danger that a young driver faces if distracted behind the wheel, it is grossly irresponsible for the author of Gender Queer to glorify the act of masturbation while driving in a book marketed to an underage audience. This obviously makes Gender Queer completely unsuitable for inclusion in a school library as well.

Another book that should NEVER be included in a school library is the Anarchist Cookbook. Written in the late 1960’s by William Powell, the Anarchist Cookbook offers readers a heavy look into a range of political philosophies including Marxism, Nihilism, Leninism, etc. Along with information about these subjects, the Anarchist Cookbook also includes detailed instructions (i.e the cookbook) on how to make incredibly dangerous things such as drugs, bombs, and weaponry. The book is so dangerous that even the author acknowledges that “This book is not for children or morons.” So despite being a book that teaches differing political philosophies, the extremely dangerous content also contained in it makes it totally unsuitable for inclusion in a school library.

As proven by the two examples I have given, there are books that genuinely have no place in a school library. In fact, including these books in a school library collection is not just irresponsible, but could also lead to horrible unintended consequences and even death.

When responsible parents take the position that certain books are not suitable for their children (minors) and should be removed from a school library, it has nothing to do with personal political viewpoints or a difference of opinion about lifestyles.

When responsible parents and representatives on a Board of Education reject Gender Queer, we are in no way marginalizing Trans youth. We simply want a suitable alternative that delivers the same educational benefits without any negative repercussions from the unacceptable content contained in Gender Queer. And if we reject a book such as the Anarchist Cookbook, it is not because we seek to stifle students from being educated about certain political philosophies: we just require that whatever option is chosen doesn’t also include dangerous information that could potentially kill someone.

Most importantly, when parents request that books of this type be removed from a school library, they are in no way engaging in book banning. Gender Queer and the Anarchist Cookbook can certainly be in a public library, sold in bookstores and made available on the internet. Nobody is suggesting anything other than it must be kept away from minors. Our position is logical, responsible and inline with 1st Amendment values.

It’s time for school librarians to reject the false book banning narratives and step up to protect the students they claim to care so much about. If they can’t or won’t protect minors from the highly inappropriate content found in books such as Gender Queer and/or the Anarchist Cookbook, then they deserve to be ridiculed for their reckless actions and groomer-like behavior.

~ Jon Kurpis

🐦 Twitter | [at] kurpis

✉️ Email | jonkurpis@protonmail.com