Sep 23, 2023 3 min read

Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the nation, with Texas out in front.

Texas and Pennsylvania are, unfortunately, ranked first and second in another area: the number of challenges made to library books.

According to a report released this month by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, there were 56 challenges made to books held by libraries across the commonwealth in 2022, putting Pennsylvania in second place in this ignominious category after the Lone Star State, which saw 93 challenges. Across the country, there were more than 1,200 efforts to censor library books in 2022, double the number from the year before. The association reports the requests usually come from a small but vocal minority of people, many of whom have not actually read the books in question, but are calling for them to be removed based on media reports or things they have seen online. The overwhelming majority of the complaints center on volumes dealing with race, gender or sexuality, such as “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison, or “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” by Maia Kobabe.

Of course, challenges to books have been happening since Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press. Almost 100 years ago, for example, D.H. Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” was banned in the United States, Britain and other countries, and some booksellers were arrested for making it available. It’s now considered a classic and is readily available at libraries in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, can be ordered with a click of the mouse and no one raises an eyebrow about it. Shirley Robinson, the executive director of the Texas Library Association, told The Washington Post that “book challenges and censorship are nothing new. … But the volume of challenges and the vitriol against librarians is unprecedented.”

Even more disturbing are efforts by some states to cut ties with the American Library Association. State libraries in Missouri, Texas and Montana have done so, and officials in other states are apparently considering it. Opponents claim that the American Library Association advocates having pornography in libraries, which is far from the case. The organization has taken stands for having a wide range of information available to all citizens. They have also stood up to censorious bullies.

It should also be noted that the American Library Association helps out libraries by giving grants, scholarships and awards. Local libraries can use these grants to purchase computers and books, and some of the libraries that get this assistance are in small, rural communities.

Arguably, the attempts to undercut libraries and demonize librarians are part of a strain of anti-intellectualism that has run through American life since its founding. But undercutting libraries is doing a major disservice to communities. We should cherish and support places where people have the opportunity to expand their horizons just by possessing a library card. They are also community gathering places, one of the few spaces where people can come together that doesn’t involve buying and selling.

The late CBS evening anchor Walter Cronkite was once considered America’s most trusted man, and he offered this bit of wisdom about libraries: “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”