Lifelong Sioux Falls librarian: Attacks on libraries by far-right groups being disguised as protecting kids

I cannot believe the public schools and public libraries who provide us with books and amazing well-trained librarians are being demonized.

In South Dakota, there is now proposed legislation to move public tax money in the form of vouchers to private schools and homeschooling. Again this year, this issue will go to the Legislature for more money to go for private school vouchers.

I cannot believe we have been manipulated into this by far-right folks who want to make the public schools and libraries beholden to a far-right agenda under the guise of “protecting kids” from the public school that is indoctrinating them. Without any proof, these groups keep demonizing our libraries and public schools, calling for ever more books to be banned. Seldom have they even read the books they want pulled from the shelves.

I have been reading “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America” by Amanda Jones. It is a startling look at a private citizen who spoke out on censorship and book banning in her town.

It’s become a national bestseller. Jones is a teacher and a public grade school librarian in her small Louisiana town. She has included her censorship speech in the back of her book for all to read. She includes screenshots of the threats and hate spewed out to her in social media. These comments spread across her small town, and she was treated differently by her neighbors and friends.

These far-right social media posts threatened her and called her names I will not repeat. She was tormented by folks that she has known her whole life … some that she worked with and some that go to her local church. They accused her of NOT protecting kids and also accused her of indoctrinating children and providing them with pornography.

Jones has won awards as a school librarian and earned praise from area librarians. However, once the politicians got hold of these threatening, sensational social media posts, they used the social media hysteria to promote themselves as “protecting children” from the far left who are hurting our children.

I encourage all to read Amanda’s book. You will be horrified by what she is still going through. She is afraid for her life and reputation in her community. She has created Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship. I have attached a link to an incredible interview with Amanda. Amanda includes ideas in her book that we can use in our own communities to help.

Please keep our libraries and schools for all to be a part of our community. Do not let the guise to “protect children” divide us and separate us and allow our legislators to use this “protection” guise to put laws into place that will not protect our children but will promote hate and division and limit all of our choices.

Our public schools and libraries are crucially important to our communities. We cannot let a few people who are the loudest keep influencing our lawmakers to bring these spurious bills to our legislatures.

Kathy Case is a Sioux Falls resident who worked in libraries most of her career. She joined Change Agents of South Dakota to exert positive influence on policy and legislation. This essay originally appeared on the Change Agents website.

Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons