Report: “US Public Libraries at ‘Breaking Point’ Amid Ideological Attacks, Report Finds”

New Report From PEN America: Out of Circulation: Expanding Censorship in Public Libraries

Key Findings:

• It’s not just books: Public libraries are increasingly censorship battlegrounds, leading to interference with book displays, improper reshelving mandates, and disruptions of events.
• Political threats are eroding library systems through governance shifts and defunding.
• Harassment and intimidation of librarians are common pressure tactics, particularly when librarians resist censorship.

From the PEN America Media Release:

Out of Circulation: Expanding Censorship in Public Libraries examines the fallout from book bans, cancelled story hours, harassment of librarians, funding cuts, and the undoing of libraries’ independent governance. Taken together, the report argues, these actions threaten “the very existence of public libraries” as a cornerstone of democracy.

“This is nothing less than an attack on the idea of the library as a public institution and the principle of a diverse democratic society it represents. It’s an attack on bedrock American values, among them freedom of speech, individual liberty, and equality,” the report says.

PEN America’s Freedom to Read Director Kasey Meehan, said: “Local libraries nationwide have long been safe havens for the freedom to read and finding joy and comfort in books. Increasingly, they are censorship battlegrounds. When libraries become targets, communities suffer. The consequences extend to authors whose books are taken off shelves and readers who are denied access to stories and information.”

Direct to Full Text Report

Media Coverage From The Guardian:

Public libraries in the US are “at breaking point” because of an onslaught of political interference, harassment and ideological censorship, a new report published on Tuesday said.

Book bans, cancelled story hours, attacks on librarians, funding cuts and the undoing of libraries’ independent governance are examined by the free expression advocacy group PEN America in its study called Out of Circulation: Expanding Censorship in Public Libraries.

“Public libraries can be a foundational democratic institution only if they can speak to everyone and only if librarians’ curation decisions can occur free from partisan pressure or restriction,” the report, compiled by PEN America’s Freedom to Read Project, said.

“However, ongoing political and public pressures are challenging these very principles. Public libraries nationwide are reaching a breaking point.”

The 16-page document relates countless episodes and incidents across the US to support its assertion. They include verbal and physical attacks on librarians, disproportionate targeting of literature featuring LGBTQ+ people, a proliferation of bans on books dealing with gender identity and sexuality, and instances of politically appointed officials install.

Direct to Complete Article

Filed under: Funding, Jobs, Libraries, News, Public Libraries