Freedom to Read Nevada

FACT: Librarians and teachers know what is developmentally appropriate for children to read.

By undergoing extensive training, along with best practices from professionals, librarians and teachers learn what books are appropriate for what age groups. Librarians and teachers are also vital for childhood literacy, which is in horrifying decline in the US (40% of students cannot read at their grade level); caregivers overwhelmingly support and believe librarians are successful in that mission.

FACT: IT’s NEVER TOO EARLY TO READ AND LEARN ABOUT DIFFICULT TOPICS LIKE RACISM.

Research shows children notice race from a young age—but that many caregivers don’t discuss race with them. Furthermore, children of color have no choice but to be aware of race, as many experience racism from a young age. For example, Black boys accounted for half of all preschool explosions in 2021 despite being less than 20% of the enrolled children.

Fact: all children deserve to see themselves in books—and to also see people who are not like them.

Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop coined the phrase “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors” to discuss the impact of inclusive literature on all children, regardless of their background. It’s vital for children to have access to these books and also have a space to talk about them. Regardless of identity, children need to see the multiplicity of the world reflected in literature.

Fiction: Books containing lgbtq+ material and/or sexual content constitute obscene materials and are not protected by the first amendment.

“Obscenity” in this context is a legal definition, which is decided in court and not by the general public. In fact, there is precedent to show that these books often challenged do not fit the legal definition of obscenity.

Any attempt to redefine “obscenity” via vague terms such as “sexually explicit” or “sexually inappropriate” are attempts to censor reading material that relevantly trained professionals have deemed appropriate for certain age groups.

Fiction: reshelving a book is not a ban.

According to Sund v. City of Wichita Falls, reshelving books infringes on First Amendment rights. Furthermore, “the government’s ability to restrict patrons’ First Amendment rights is extremely narrow” in public libraries.

The calls to reshelve or age-rate books come from those without relevant training to make those judgement calls—and takes away the choice from other families.

The ACLU, PEN America, and ALA all constitute a book challenge, including book reshelving, as a book ban. Ultimately, any form of censorship, even with “good intentions,” is still censorship.

Fiction: Books containing lgbtq+ material sexualize and/or groom young children.

Claims that LGBTQ+ literature sexualizes or “grooms” children are rhetorical devices used to demonize LGBTQ+ individuals.

Children’s literature is split into picture books (age 3-8), early readers/chapter books (age 5-8), middle grade (MG, ages 8-12) and young adult (YA, ages 14-18) categories. No MG or younger book has sexual content. Sexual content in YA is not written for titillation but as a reflection of teenaged experiences; 30% of high schoolers in 2021 reported having at least one sexual encounter.