Serious answer, probably because books from book stores aren’t available to the poorest classes. Libraries are (and are meant to be!) a threat to every status quo.
This is specifically a school library, not a public library. And no, I do not support book-banning in any way, shape, or form. Just keeping the facts straight.
To support the idea that it is class based, I suspect we will find it is being selectively applied to poorer communities, which specifically drives the most able-to-change-jobs (often the best) librarians to move to other communities where this is not being applied.
Because this is a boil-the-frog situation. The path is k-12 school libraries -> public libraries -> academic libraries and bookstores. The way fascists get the public comfortable with the idea of banning books is by starting with examples that look like “common sense” to the uninformed, and then ramp up the attacks as they gain institutional power.
Why don’t stores that sell books get the same amount of scrutiny? I see A Court of Thorns and Roses books everywhere.
Serious answer, probably because books from book stores aren’t available to the poorest classes. Libraries are (and are meant to be!) a threat to every status quo.
This is specifically a school library, not a public library. And no, I do not support book-banning in any way, shape, or form. Just keeping the facts straight.
But public libraries and public librarians are also under attack.
https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/04/10/idaho-libraries-must-move-materials-deemed-harmful-to-children-or-face-lawsuits-under-new-law/
Just so you know, I didn’t think you did. I hope my response didn’t come across that way.
No, not at all, I just think calling this socio-economic class-based is incorrect. Being in school is not a class (no pun intended).
To support the idea that it is class based, I suspect we will find it is being selectively applied to poorer communities, which specifically drives the most able-to-change-jobs (often the best) librarians to move to other communities where this is not being applied.
I base my assumption on historic selective enforcement of other laws with similar vulnerability to abuse - such as selective enforcement during prohibition.
I believe that if librarians, of any kind, are being targeted, we should suspect class warfare because libraries are historically a source of improved equity.
So my assertion is that any action taken against any library should be examined carefully under a lens of suspected class warfare.
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Because this is a boil-the-frog situation. The path is k-12 school libraries -> public libraries -> academic libraries and bookstores. The way fascists get the public comfortable with the idea of banning books is by starting with examples that look like “common sense” to the uninformed, and then ramp up the attacks as they gain institutional power.
While attempts to ban books from stores are currently few and far between, one notable example was this attempt to get Gender Queer removed from the shelves of bookstores in Virginia: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/05/20/gender-queer-barnes-and-noble/