Librarians Need Our Support

As threats directed to public and school libraries and library workers escalate

In this week’s podcast episode when Amanda chats with Lisa and Dani from Pride & Less Prejudice, they discuss how librarians and educators are picking age-appropriate books to help kids have age-appropriate conversations. Most of us trust librarians and educators, but unfortunately not all do. We’ve talked a lot about the threats educators have been facing over the past couple of years, and today we want to focus on librarians, because they are not okay.

Earlier this year, a library in Lancaster, Pennsylvania was forced to cancel its drag queen story hour after receiving a suspicious package and bomb threats by email. Luckily, it was later determined to be a false alarm but the fact that this is even happening is heartbreaking. 

Tiffany Shirley, director of Lancaster Pride, said, ‘It just broke my heart that we were trying to make a safe, fun event for our children, and because people disagree and don’t think we should exist, [they] had to ruin it for everybody.”

These threats aren’t new. They’ve been happening for years. In 2022, the American Library Association (ALA) wrote a letter of concern to the FBI to formally express concern over threats to libraries and library personnel. 

In the letter it said, “We are concerned that these threats, some of which include the disclosure of personal details and false and defamatory claims, may lead to actual violence towards library workers. Given the seriousness and proliferation of these threats of violence and other acts of intimidation increasingly taking place in America’s libraries, we are gravely concerned for the safety of library workers and the millions of Americans who visit libraries each day.”

We would hope that our state legislatures would want to step in to protect America’s libraries and the people who work there, but that’s not the case. In fact, libraries are under siege from legislation. 

EveryLibrary, a non-partisan, pro-library organization, tracked 124 bills of concern in 30 states during the 2024 legislative sessions. These include criminalizing librarians under obscenity laws, limiting or removing funding based on participation in professional library associations, and establishing book rating systems that would result in certain topics being removed or segregated.

In Idaho, lawmakers recently passed legislation that empowers local prosecutors to bring charges against public and school libraries if they don’t keep “harmful” materials away from children. The new law, signed by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, will go into effect on July 1 and it was spearheaded by The Idaho Family Policy Center, a conservative Christian group.

According to this year’s Idaho Public Policy Survey, more than half of Idaho librarians are considering leaving library work as a result of library-related legislation. And who can blame them? 

It’s clear that librarians need our support.

For ideas of how to support your local librarians, check out our conversation with librarian and Red Wine & Blue regional organizer, Carrie Wardzinski. Carrie says one of the simplest things we can do is write our school and local librarians a thank you note. 

Librarians need to know how much they are appreciated now more than ever.

(AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)