As our public schools and libraries bear the brunt of culture wars, NYSUT is fighting to protect the freedom to read and learn.
“Eighty percent of New Yorkers are opposed to book banning so we are with the people on this issue,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person.
In partnership with the New York Library Association, NYSUT hosted Open Books, Open Minds at the Legislative Office Building in Albany for legislators to meet with librarians from New York’s schools and community libraries. They engaged in meaningful conversations about the importance of open shelves and intellectual freedom.
“I support the freedom to read because it is an essential component of us having a strong and functional democracy,” said Nicole Scherer, Nassau Library System Assistant Director. “Without having equitable access to all sorts of information, we simply cannot thrive as a society. When we challenge books, when we remove them from collections, we limit our own ability to think.”
NYSUT is advocating for the Freedom to Read Act and the Open Shelves Act, two bills that empower school libraries and library staff “to curate and develop collections that provide students with access to the widest array of developmentally appropriate materials available.”
“Libraries provide a full scope of information and resources for their communities that are tailor made locally by professionals who don’t just have years and years of experience, but are deeply, deeply passionate about what they do and making sure that they get it right,” Scherer said.
Assemblyman Tony Simone, who is sponsoring the legislation, says he knows firsthand how impactful exposure to different perspectives, experiences and histories is to helping children and young adults better understand themselves.
“I grew up a closeted gay man,” he said. “I remember working in a library and sneaking behind the shelves to read about other people just like me, to read about LGBT history. We cannot keep that from our kids.”
Schenectady City School District School Library Media Specialist Kristina Graves added, “it's very important for schools and public libraries to be able to open up windows and mirrors for our students to see themselves in the materials that they read.”
Librarians at the event explained that they work with parents to address any concerns regarding specific content, and that parents always maintain the right to decide which books their children are allowed to read, but that well-funded, special interest groups are trying to remove books categorically to meet a political agenda.
“The wave of censorship that we’re seeing is not coming from individuals,” said Kristen Majkut, library media specialist at Albany High School. “It’s coming from pressure groups and campaigns designed to dismantle. It’s a tactic, it’s a playbook, and that’s what we’re pushing back against.”
“Providing access is not endorsing,” added Victoria Puccio, a retired school library media specialist from the West Hempstead Union Free School District. “We want to create a space where there is a diverse, rich collection of affirming materials for everybody in our community.”
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