Multiple states, including Texas, Florida, South Carolina, and Utah, have implemented official and unofficial actions to facilitate book banning.
Some state-level book policies utilize terms such as “pornography” and “obscenity” to limit materials accessible to minors while keeping the definitions of these terms ambiguous enough to be broadly and indiscriminately applied. Other laws, like those in Arkansas and Indiana, focus more directly on librarians and educators, holding them criminally responsible for providing “obscene” materials. Certain schools and libraries may proactively remove materials to adhere to recently enacted laws.
Specific book challenges, like this one submitted to St. Tammany, explicitly mention pieces of legislation, demonstrating how vague language such as “harmful to minors” can be utilized to support the elimination or limitation of materials.
Unofficial actions by politicians can have a similar impact despite lacking legal grounding. In 2021, then-Texas state Rep. Matt Krause sent a letter to school administrations inquiring whether they owned any of 849 specified books. An assessment of the books by Book Riot revealed that almost two-thirds of the books (62.4%) on the list featured LGBTQ+ themes.
Although there was no explicit directive to remove the books, many Texas schools were uncertain about compliance. Some schools and parents collectively challenged the books on the list.
While there is no official connection between the Krause List and books flagged by Book Looks, certain frequently targeted titles appear on both. According to a comparison by Stacker, at least 1 in 9 of the 849 titles on the Krause List have Book Looks ratings.
In Granbury, Texas, the Krause List was just one aspect of a prolonged effort to eliminate books with LGBTQ+ themes from the local school district—a campaign that led to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights initiating a unique investigation into the school in December 2022.
The movement to remove LGBTQ+ books from Granbury schools intensified with the election of several far-right Christian conservatives to the school board. In early 2022, the school’s superintendent, Jeremy Glenn, was recorded pressuring school librarians to remove LGBTQ+ books, advising them that if their beliefs differed from those of the conservative school board, “You better hide it.”
Glenn and the district released a written statement (subsequently removed) in response to the leaked recording, indicating their support for children from all backgrounds but emphasizing that “the values of our community will always be reflected in our schools.”
Afterwards, about 130 books were removed from Granbury library shelves. Nearly 3 out of 4 books had LGBTQ+ themes or characters, as per ProPublica and Texas Tribune’s analysis. Ultimately, three of the books were banned, and most of the others were returned to the library; however, the battle was not yet over.
Tensions increased when two book review committee members, Karen Lowery and Monica Brown, filed a complaint with the local constable alleging that pornography was present in the Granbury school library. Like the incident involving police in St. Tammany Parish, no arrests were made.
According to Adrienne Quinn Martin, a vocal critic of the Granbury book-banning efforts and the mother of one current and one former Granbury student, national groups like Moms for Liberty have not taken hold in Hood County due to ample local mobilization.
“This is already a Christian nationalist county, and it’s being run that way,” Martin told Stacker.
In the absence of Moms for Liberty, there exists a Granbury chapter of Rated Books, which employs Book Looks to facilitate book challenges in communities nationwide. It remains uncertain whether the school board members advocating for book bans in the Granbury school district are associated with the Granbury Rated Books site. Stacker’s inquiries to the national Rated Books address listed on the Granbury chapter’s website went unanswered.
Organizations against book banning are pushing back
In response to the emergence of groups challenging library materials in recent years, organizations dedicated to combating book bans have arisen to counter them.
Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship, a coalition of local groups, was established in late 2022 following the conservative Lafayette Public Library board’s termination of the library’s Pride Month exhibits and attempt to dismiss a librarian who opposed the measure. The board also granted itself the authority to determine which challenged books would be removed from the shelves, typically a decision made by librarians.
Lynette MejÃa, a co-founder of Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship and a Lafayette resident, informed Stacker that she and others felt their local library was under attack. MejÃa, along with fellow co-founders Amanda Jones and Melanie Brevis, were spurred into action upon learning of impending state legislation limiting access to library materials. They feared that what happened at Lafayette would soon extend to other Louisiana parishes.
Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship offers resources for establishing local freedom-to-read groups, connects existing organizations throughout the state, and keeps people informed on book-banning endeavors in Louisiana.
Efforts by groups like the St. Tammany Parish Library Accountability Project and a similar group, Citizens for a New Louisiana, have struggled to gain significant traction in Louisiana libraries beyond Lafayette, according to MejÃa.
This is because numerous individuals have shown up at board meetings to support maintaining accessibility to library materials. “People are responsive to individuals who reside in their community and have a stake in their local library,” MejÃa stated.
Paying close attention to local developments and being prepared to take action are crucial elements in thwarting attempts to ban books, according to advocates.
“Once this begins in your community, you must organize and oppose it because it doesn’t take long for that spark to ignite your entire town,” Martin remarked. “They have a playbook. They follow it. It works.”
Larger-scale efforts to combat organized book challenges are also underway. National organizations such as the ACLU, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and the Freedom to Read Foundation provide legal resources and assistance to individuals battling book bans. Students have also mobilized to advocate for book access by forming “banned-book clubs,” participating in protests, and engaging in national initiatives.
“Reclaiming our libraries and recovering what we’ve lost will be a long process,” MejÃa remarked. When she grows weary, she reminds herself that “having access to [public libraries] while growing up is a vital aspect of residing in a free society, and it’s worth fighting for, regardless of the duration.”
Story editing by Carren Jao. Copy editing by Paris Close.
