When libraries are forced to close their doors to children

The dangerous effects of the latest law out of Idaho which destroys reading autonomy and cuts children off from library resources.

The library has always been my safe space. I remember excitedly hopping into my grandma’s car as a child in the summer and driving the two minutes it took to get to the library. Jumping out of the car, I always had my books in hand that I wanted to return for a new batch along with my summer reading program challenge sheet ready to be stamped. I spent hours of my summers at the library, checking out any and all books I could.

I repeatedly checked out a book on the wildlife of Denali National Park; I once checked out every single Goosebumps book my library had in their collection (it was at least 50 books at once and I thought I was such a badass);  and later I would discover books on vampires and witches and endless murder mysteries.

The library was my escape. It provided me a safe and quiet place to be alone and to be surrounded by what I loved the most: books. It was so much of a safe space for me that I got my first job there and worked all throughout high school as a library page. Every day I was excited to go to the library after school and spend my evenings shelving books (I still have the Dewey Decimal System memorized).  It remains the best job I ever had.

I grew up with conservative parents, but from the moment we could hold books in our hands, my parents instilled a love of reading in me and my brothers. And despite being conservative, they never ever censored what I read. They always gave me the agency to read whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to read it. Because of this, I discovered the unequivocal power of books and how they can change not only an individual’s life and perspective, but the world.

The library I spent most of my childhood in. Photo by Charlie White.

Having agency over your own education is being torn away from today’s kids. School districts around the country have been taking away books from classrooms that feature themes surrounding topics they see as unfit for kids to learn about (ie. diversity, sexuality, race, and any other real-life issues that they don’t want to acknowledge).

As someone who was a high school English teacher and studied education, I know how important it is to give students the agency to choose their own books that they read. Giving children a choice allows them to discover themselves; allows them to see themselves in others; and allows them to decide what they want to learn. This gives children an opportunity to learn how to think for themselves rather than others telling them what to think and what to learn. 

This kind of cognitive agency has proven to be more beneficial in children’s overall learning. In fact,”self-selected reading is twice as powerful as teacher-selected reading in developing motivation and comprehension (Guthrie and Humenick, 2004).”

School districts around the country are already trying to strip away children’s autonomy when it comes to reading in the classroom. And now, with the latest law out of Idaho (House Bill 710, the "Children's School and Library Protection Act”), libraries are being censored as well.

The bill calls for specific content not to be made available to minors (anyone under the age of 18) by placing all books with this content in a separate place in the library only accessible to adults. In order to prove that they’re 18, patrons would have to prove that they are based on an official document (driver’s license) or be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. 

The content listed specifically in the law include “sexual conduct” (including homosexuality), “nudity”, and “sexual excitement”. I’m not here to argue that ten-year-olds should be reading smut. But the fact that this material is subject to be “judged by the average person” according to this law scares me. According to the law, it is up to any person to be able to determine if content in a book is “harmful” to minors. 

This law does not take into account library funding nor does it give libraries more funding to accommodate this new law. The law calls for a completely sectioned-off part of the library to be manned at all times. The cost of renovations, re-organizing, and the need for an increase in staff are not acknowledged. As a result, one library (Donnelly Public Library) has been forced to close their doors completely to minors as they don’t have the space to create a new “adults-only” section. 

Statement from Donnelly Public Library

This not only cuts off minors from having access to books, but also cuts them off from the important resources that libraries provide beyond books. Libraries provide things such as free internet and computers, an absolute necessity for children today as they navigate school. 22% of households with children do not have internet access at home. If these children aren’t able to access free internet at the library, how can we expect them to succeed in our current education system? We can’t.

Resources that libraries provide depend on the library branch and city, but other resources that libraries provide minors can include: video games and devices, wi-fi hotspots to take home, free online resources to help you with resume writing and language learning tools, classes to help with taxes, and more. 

Most importantly, libraries offer free shelter and safety for individuals that need it. In fact, it can be argued that libraries are our last free spaces. 

My childhood would have been drastically different if I didn’t have the library to turn to as my safe space. I would not be the person I am today without the resources and choice my library provided. We need to make sure that we provide every child the opportunity to have a different future.