Dear Booksellers, Banned Books Week has come around again, and one thing is clear: the book ban crisis is worse than ever. Unfortunately, the events of the last year have shown how much worse it can get. PEN America just announced that there have been at least 10,000 instances of book bans since 2021, almost triple the previous data point (3,362). The bans continue to target BIPOC and LGBTQ+ content, showing a clear trend of bias. Mass bans have had an impact on the continued increase in bans, with the American Library Association reporting that the 2023 spike in book bans was driven by challenges of multiple titles — sometimes dozens at a time. How is this happening? A huge part of it is state legislation. Utah passed HB 29, a “three strikes” rule that has caused 13 books to be banned statewide. Idaho passed HB 710, a law that has resulted in some libraries closing their doors to kids without a written affidavit from parents. Tennessee’s book ban laws have gotten worse. South Carolina’s Board of Education snuck draconian regulations through the legislature. The message is clear: We need to resist censorship more vehemently than ever. And I believe independent bookstores can be the backbone of this fight. Bookstores may not have the same public funding vulnerabilities as other institutions, which means booksellers can stand up for them when their hands are tied. When small businesses speak, legislators who campaign on their support for small business are more obliged to listen. And bookstores have the ear of their communities in a way that means they can spread the word about book bans not just one week of every year, but year-round — whenever it happens in their community or state. Here’s the good news: indie bookstores are doing incredible work already. This year’s Banned Books Week displays are inventive, clever, incisive testaments to the scale of the crisis. So many stores have formed nonprofits that, among other goals, resist literary censorship by supporting book access and diverse literature. And every indie bookstore gives their community a space where literature and readers can explore ideas and challenge themselves with new perspectives. That freedom is the soul of literature, and it’s also the first casualty of censorship. American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE), ABA’s free expression initiative, is committed to helping stores be as strong as they can be in the face of censorship. We’ve released The ABA Right to Read Handbook: Fighting Book Bans and Why It Matters. Today, we’re announcing the Set Books Free Project, a banned and diverse books donation pipeline from indie bookstores and their customers to high-ban areas. We are also partnering with Unite Against Book Bans and major library systems to host the Freedom to Read Community Day of Action on October 19, which bookstores can be part of by planning an associated right to read event. Above all, we’re here to help. If you have any free expression-related issue, whether it’s about book bans or any other kind of questions or pressure, please reach out to us for advice or support at [email protected]. Thank you for everything you do to support the right to read. Sincerely,
Philomena Polefrone
ABA Advocacy Associate Manager |
