On May 11, 2023, an angry patron of New Providence Memorial Library tried to ban Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer, a local instance of a nation-wide conflict.
Maia Kobabe’s memoir Gender Queer has been the source of controversy and many book bans around the nation due to its sexual content that some describe as ‘obscene’.
This patron “shoved [Gender Queer] in staff member’s faces, slammed the book down on tables in front of unsuspecting library patrons” said Stacey Maisch, Director of New Providence Library.
She described the incident as an “Active disturbance.”
After de-escalating the situation, and asking that the patron step from behind the circulation desk, Maisch directed the patron to the Memorial Library’s complaint form, which can be found on the library’s website.
In addition to the original patron, three other patrons filed complaints on the same book.
These complaints, the first in the Memorial Library in five years, kicked off a two-month process. The library first contacted other libraries in the area to compare where they shelved the book. The Memorial Library, like most others, kept Gender Queer in the Young Adult section. Then, the library wrote an analysis of the book, and then sent the analysis to the library’s Board of Trustees. The board then created a subcommittee on the issue. All members were required to read the book.
On September 19th, 2023, the board voted 6-0 (with three members absent) to release their proclamation titled “United Against Book Bans” in an effort to both end the current issue on Gender Queer, and to prevent any further book bans in the future.
Board President Mark Ondris issued a resolution stating that patrons must individually choose what to read and believe, and that “parents should not be making decisions for other parents’ children about what they read.”
In addition to their proclamation against book bans, the board enacted a rule requiring that anyone who fills out the library’s complaint form must have read the book in its entirety, ensuring that complaints are not filed without context. This was added in reaction to the incident on May 11, as Maisch said the patron “ran over to find the book, opened to a predetermined page – she knew exactly what page she was looking for.”
While book bans in New Providence are unusual, they have run rampant across the US in recent years. These bans are especially targeted at books like Gender Queer that surround topics like sexuality, gender identity, and racism. A leading group in book bans are Moms for Liberty, who, according to the group’s website, are “Moms, Dads, Grands, Aunts, Uncles, Friends” who are “dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.” They do this by running for school and town boards, and using their positions to influence policy and support book bans.
Moms for Liberty have chapters in every state except for Utah and Vermont.
The patron in New Providence, however, did not identify herself as part of Moms for Liberty.
According to a report by Pen America, 2023 had 1,477 individual book bans occurring across 874 titles. Of all titles, Gender Queer was banned the most.
While many of these bans occur at local levels, especially in public libraries and public schools, book bans are also enabled by state legislation. Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill prevents gender and sexual identity from being discussed in school. Missouri’s Senate Bill 775 restricts students in both public and private schools from reading books deemed “sexually explicit.” It should be noted that these laws, among many others, typically come from “red” states that typically enact conservative policies.
Despite Missouri’s Senate Bill 775, a national poll by the American Library Association showed that 74% of parents with children enrolled in public schools are highly confident in school librarians to make the right decision regarding what books are offered to children. The poll also found that 71% of voters are against books being banned from public libraries. This count includes opposition to book bans from both Democrat and Republican voters, with 75% opposition from Democrats and 70% opposition from Republicans.
Some argue that book bans are a violation of the First Amendment. In an interview with the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, Belmont University College of Law professor David L. Hudson said that book bans violate the First Amendment as they “deprive children or students of the right to receive information or ideas.”