Interest Group Or Issue

Censorship in Books at Missouri's Public Libraries

    What is an interest group? According to Merriam Webster's Dictionary, an interest group is " a group of persons having a common identifying interest that provides a basis for action." The issue being covered here is the issue of censorship of books in Missouri libraries. This has affected many individuals consisting of librarians, teachers, students, and any residents of Missouri.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft filed a new proposal on October 17th for all libraries in Missouri to censor their materials. Before this proposal, the only laws that required book censorship had included school libraries. However, in this proposal, there would now be public libraries' books becoming censored as well. This proposal would stop any funding to be provided for library books that are considered "prurient."

"Prurient” is defined as “material tends to excite lustful thoughts,” according to a footnote in the U.S. Supreme Court case Roth v. United States."

Throughout the article produced by the Joplin Globe, a woman by the name of Carrie Cline was referenced. She mentioned that the definition of prurient is not very clear. This definition could vary from person to person. One person may view reading certain texts as prurient, while someone else may see these books as completely acceptable to read. 

The proposal will also allow parents to challenge the public libraries if they disagree with a book that is classified as "age appropriate". If a parent challenges the library, the library will then have to comply only if the parent's reason is meritable. Their reason would be discussed and judged amongst a parental review board. If any of the state-funded libraries violate the rules, then they would potentially lose their funding from the state. This would be decided by the state's officials. This proposal is classified as an Administrative Lule. 

    This ruling would not have to have "legislative approval to pass." Starting in November, there will be an opening for public comments about this ruling. The comment period will be open from November 15th till December 15th. These comments must be emailed or mailed to the Missouri Secretary of State Office. This is open to all Missouri Residents. This open forum provides a safe space for any individual to share their concerns or praise over this new ruling. This area would not just be for librarians/school teachers, but instead would be open to everyone. 

Mrs. Cline later mentioned that many parents worry about their children viewing/reading horrible images/statements in books, but in actuality these kids are exposed to much more online. Thankfully, the public library has certain websites locked off to protect children's eyes from such inappropriate elements. Public Libraries follow the Children's Internet Protection Act, which blocks off any websites that are inappropriate for children. However, this does not mean that kids do not look at inappropriate material in their own time at home or school. 

    

    There are currently many laws/ acts that libraries and schools must follow concerning the censorship of books. Due to a new law passed in Missouri earlier this year, educators will be punished with a misdemeanor if they give any K-12 student a book with any images that could be viewed as sexually explicit/inappropriate. The law only covers images and not any text. The only exceptions to this would be science (Anatomy, Biology), Art, and any other educational images. 

The interest group studied here would be librarians and anyone affected by the banning of books in Missouri.

Another interest group affected by the censorship of books in Missouri is PEN America. PEN America is a non-profit organization that was created to "advocate for freedom of literary and artistic expression." Pen America released a news article stating that there was a bill proposed in Missouri in January with the title stating, "Proposed Book Banning Bill In Missouri Could Imprison Librarians." This bill is known as the House Bill 2044. 

    This bill is very lightly mentioned above, but it is also known as the Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act. As previously mentioned, the new bill would allow parents to disagree with "age- appropriate" classified content. These parents would then need to present their disagreements to an already determined parental library review board to test the validity of the claim. The members would view the content to see if there is any age-inappropriate sexual material expressed. These review board representatives would be elected at a local town club meeting by other members. These representatives would then vote to see if the material is truly inappropriate. Public Librarians are strictly prohibited against being on these review boards.

James Tager, who is the director of "Free Expression Research and Policy at PEN America" stated that "Books wrestling with sexual themes, books uplifting LGBTQIAL+ characters, books addressing issues such as sexual assault—all of these books are potentially on the chopping block if this bill is passed.” 

The censorship of specifically these books would raise many questions as to how children would learn about real world issues. If a child is dealing with specific scenarios that would relate to any "touchy" topics, then how would the child be able to learn about these scenarios? Reading is a tool that, if utilized correctly, can expand a child's knowledge. 

Another scenario that the censorship of books in Missouri could bring up is; when does the censorship stop? Will there start to be more specific censorship between grade levels/specific ages. For example, would a school teacher/librarian be allowed to hand a 5th grade age-appropriate book to a 4th grader? Will there start being extremely specific limitations, or will there continue to be limitations on texts to everyone in the K-12 grades? 

    When tracking the specific interest groups mentioned (librarians, school teachers, and PEN America), there were various social media responses made about the new acts and laws being passed to censor books at public libraries in Missouri. 

The video listed below is a video which includes content from a news broad cast. This broadcast produced by KSDK 5 On Your Side, included an interview by Kris Kleindienst. Kleindienst is the owner of Left Banks Books. She mentions that she wants children to have literature freedom, and to be able to read what they choose. She also mentions that many of the books are well vetted, and the books that are available, that may be seen as slightly inappropriate, still contain good content.