Dear Friends,
I write to you rather weary. The majority of us support a Library Policy that will ensure access to diverse books of literary merit so every child has the “opportunity to freely read and consider information and ideas, regardless of their content or the viewpoint of the author”. For months we have advocated for a Library Policy that aligns with national standards and requires the professional expertise of librarians who work to ensure that book selection remains unbiased, objective, non-partisan, and representative of all points of view.
It appears that our efforts have been ignored. Tonight, at 6 pm, Policy Committee will meet to consider a deeply troubling newly proposed Library Policy—one steeped in misinformation, political agenda, and distrust. This policy is an infringement on Students’ First Amendment Rights.
The Proposed Policy:
- Will remove 100s books from Libraries without a reconsideration process.
- Once removed, books can’t be considered again for 10 years.
- Seeks to restrict access to books of literary merit through the guise of removing books and materials containing “sexually explicit material”. Do we really think that CB Librarians are curating collections of pornography? The Board does. One can only assume that this will be used to restrict LGBTQ content and authors, and books written about marginalized communities.
- Will impact our Classics, Young Adult novels, Pulitzers, and Nobel Prize Lit. Many of these books also fall into this category will have to go too. So long Gatsby and Captain Underpants.
- Reporting shows that 50% of this Policy is lifted from a Texas Education Policy. Sorry, are we Texas? (Texas leads the country with the most book bans)
- Will require Board review and approval for all book and material acquisitions.
Some Questions:
- Who wrote this policy?
- Why does it deviate so far from decades of Library collection standards & norms?
- What are the nationally recognized standards informing it?
- What is the definition of a “sexually explicit act”? and Who defines it?
- What is to stop them from rolling it back still further? What books will be next?
What to do?
- Come tonight at 6pm!
- Write the Board, tell them you don’t support this policy. Ask them to reinstate the Library Coordinator’s Proposed Policy from February.
dhunter@cbsd.org, tdellangelo@cbsd.org, lsciscio@cbsd.org, lvlasblom@cbsd.org, dcannon@cbsd.org, japepper@cbsd.org, mmahmud@cbsd.org, kasmith@cbsd.org, scollopy@cbsd.org
And VOTE THEM OUT in 2023!