Think of the Children

Growing up in a library space, I was taught one very important rule by my mother. If I read something that made me uncomfortable, I would come to her. And through my reading journey, I was given access to spaces within the library by her, first directed to the easy readers, then to larger books, and upwards into the teen section. It was an experience I had to engage with books which was very simple: there were just some books which I shouldn't read. Not because the books themselves were necessarily bad, but that I wasn't ready to read them. I had a relationship with my parents which meant they were constantly in the loop about what I was reading.

As an adult, the current discourse in library spaces puzzles me. Librarians are guides, who assist in finding reading material which is age appropriate, sure, but they also aren't mind readers. Parents presume that their life principles should be imposed onto library spaces. That rather than teaching their children good reading principles or being apart of their children's reading journey, the library needs to be the parent in this situation.

Here is why that's not feasible.

Libraries can place informational tags on books. They can make leaflets and guides to best assess what books fit into a particular category. But they are ultimately a repository of information. Mein Kampf is in the same building as the Bible. Libraries are about education. And this includes education on things that exist and were written, even if they are wrong.

The 'Think of the Children' movement assumes many things. Often it targets LGBTQ+ content, or content that includes sexual scenes. Rather than having the parents take it upon themselves to guide their children through reading, by looking up a summary, reading the book as well, or simply just making sure their children has a good enough relationship with them to talk to their parents when they read something distressing, these parents assume that the library shouldn't have the books at all. They are often religious, but seem to take no issue that the Bible is also in the library, which has sexual content as well.

The issue is not with the libraries, but with the parenting. The children will eventually run into content which they dislike, which distress them, or is uncomfortable. Parenting within the library space should be on the shoulders of the parents because it is important that parents teach their children how to respond to information. What better place then a library, which can be a safe space of education? It should not be the library's responsibility to cater the collection to any single person's desire for 'think of the children' but rather public and community interests. If the community is interested in these books - even if just to critique them - it is the library's job to get them.

The 'Think of the Children' movement comes from a place of insecurity in library spaces. The mere existence of 'distasteful' books means there is a possibility for their drive to be shaken or their world view to shift. If there was a better acknowledgment and knowledge of the thing they hated, it might be easier to engage with it.

Ultimately, it isn't feasible for libraries to bow to the 'Think of the Children' movement because it will not fix any problems. It will simply allow more issue to be taken with more books. Rather, the reframing of libraries as houses for information, without warnings for 'offensive' material. It expects readers to read critically and with media literacy. It is the job of parents to let that media literacy grow and foster in themselves and their children.