WASHINGTON — The American Library Association released the following statement in response to the January 24th announcement that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is arbitrarily dismissing student and parent complaints arising out of public schools’ documented acts of censorship and discrimination: 

In their cruel and headlong effort to terminate protections from discrimination for LGBTQIA+ students and students of color, the Department of Education advances the demonstrably false claim that book bans are not real. 

Book bans are real. Ask students who cannot access literary classics required for college or parents whose children can’t check out a book about gay penguins at their school library. Ask school librarians who have lost their jobs for protecting the freedom to read. While a parent has the right to guide their own children’s reading, their beliefs and prejudices should not dictate what another parent chooses for their own children. 

The new administration is not above the U.S. Constitution. Federal judges have repeatedly ruled that removing books from school library shelves based on the objections of a person or group, or due to prejudice against a group – book banning– is unconstitutional censorship that violates students’ First Amendment rights. Already several states have wasted countless taxpayer dollars defending lawsuits that seek to vindicate students’ Constitutional right to read freely in a safe and supportive environment.

Everyone, everywhere, regardless of their age, background, or political views, deserves access to information from a wide range of perspectives and books that reflect their lived experiences. Libraries have provided that access for hundreds of years. We won’t stop offering access to the world of ideas, and we won’t back down from defending everyone’s Constitutional right to access and read any idea free from government censorship.

The antidote to attacks on libraries is action. Americans must reject threats to our right to read and believe as we wish and demand well-resourced libraries in every institution of learning. Now is the time for all Americans to show up for our libraries. Show up and use our libraries. Show up at library and school board meetings to support students’ access to diverse reading materials. Show up when elected leaders are deciding the fate of facts and the freedom to read.