“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.”
Salman Rushdie
Today, we are doing things a little differently.
These posts have focused on big stories in libraries throughout the state. We have focused on those stories that made it into the news for various reasons. These stories are valid and garnered a lot of attention, positive and negative, because of what was at stake in each situation.
Because of this, they deserve to be talked about and analyzed.
Yet, these are not the only stories that can be found regarding what is occurring in libraries.
I would venture to say that the majority of us have had an incident or two involving the governing bodies, fellow staff, or patrons accosting or accusing us of something heinous. We have all seen the negative effects that attacks on censorship have taken on libraries and on staff.
Today, we are going to focus on stories that did not make it into the mainstream news. Or, at least, that didn’t make it into the news for the right reasons.
These stories are my own. Things that have happened to me, or around me, during my time as a librarian. They may mirror some of your own experiences, and if so, please feel free to share yours with us. We want to be able to show that people are dealing with a myriad of situations affecting libraries and how they are handling them.
So today, I share with you situations that occurred, both large and small, at my libraries and what the outcome was at the time.
We will start with the first instance I ever encountered in libraries.
I was working at the Elkin Public Library, part of the Northwestern Regional Library System. At the time this instance occurred, I had been there for about a year and a half. For those who are not aware, the Elkin Public Library is a decent size branch for a town the size of Elkin, NC. It is the 3rd largest in that system and the Regional offices are located above the branch. Elkin itself is location Surry County within the Foothills region of the state.
One day, an older male patron came into the library and demanded to speak with the Branch Manager. Staff went and located her and the man led her outside. Staff were later told what had occurred.
For context, outside the library there is a large bulletin board on which community members can place flyers for free, public events.
The man had become “irate” when he saw that there was a flyer for anyone interested in learning Spanish (more on the quotations later). A group from the local high school had placed the flyer there to garner interest in their club and to gain skills teaching anyone interested in learning a new language.
The Branch Manager listened to the man and agreed to take the flyer down, which she did. After he left, she informed staff of what happened.
We were upset for a myriad of reasons.
I, personally, was upset because the flyer was taken down. I felt, and still feel, that taking it down sent the wrong message that we as a library would bend to anyone willing to yell loudly enough and it was a slippery slope from removing a flyer, to removing books because people disagreed with them.
We had someone on staff who saw it completely differently. She was from a Spanish speaking country and feared what that man, and others who thought like him, would do if we didn’t give in to them. I couldn’t, and still can’t, blame her for that.
The reason I put “irate” in quotation marks is because the word can be very subjective. Two people can perceive the same situation in two different ways. Where I might have seen the man as irate, my coworker might have seen it as threatening. Both are valid and should not be discounted.
If a staff person feels threatened because of someone’s words or behaviours, take them seriously and do what you can to make that coworker feel supported. Make sure they understand they can rely on their fellow staff members to be an ear, or backup, when situations may arise that make them uncomfortable.
Thankfully, during my time there, no other situations arose that caused great concern, and I can only hope that has continued.
The next situation I want to focus on came from a different system and the other side of the state.
Carteret County Public Library on the Eastern side of the state, saw quite a few changes over the past 5 years. I was hired on at the Main Branch in Beaufort, NC and worked there for a year. It was…challenging to say the least.
Some of what I will lay out here was told to me by various staff persons while there, and some of it I experienced firsthand. All of it was concerning.
In February 2020, a new Library Director was appointed and immediately told to prepare for large changes to the system. Carteret County had previously been a part of a Regional System with Craven and Pamlico Counties, but they were pulling out to become Carteret County Public Library effective July 2020.
At the same time, they were getting a new ILS and joining NC Cardinal, which as anyone who has switched over will tell you is a long and complicated process in a lot of ways.
The new Director faced opposition from everyone while this was going on, as the branches of Carteret were in poor condition and had been left to their own devices for quite some time. As an example, one of the branches had books stacked on the floor because the shelves were too full, there was dog urine all over the floor and some of the books, and mold and mildew had made its way into the building and on the books. Large trash bins had to be brought in to dispose of the books that could not be saved.
These bins started the problem. Patrons saw the large bins full of books and began dumpster diving, telling anyone who would listen that “perfectly good books were being disposed of”. This was not the case, but word of mouth is an effective marketing tool and the story became widespread. Even supporters of the library would come in and harass staff over the rumors they had heard, claiming the Director was trying to throw out books that she disagreed with.
The story made its way into the local newspapers and spread even more.
Those of us on staff who knew better did our best to combat the rumors with factual information, but it did little to stem the flow. The Director was harassed by members of the public, as well as those up the chain. It was incredibly tumultuous and, at times, scary to work in the libraries as we were all facing rude and spiteful behaviours from community members.
One such incident took place after I left. One of the Branch Managers received a very nasty letter from a community member. This letter had been left in the drop box and was not traceable to the person who wrote it. The letter was full of racist and disgusting language, and blamed this person for many of the issues that were plaguing the library system.
Of course, none of it was true but the staff person was fearful of what this person would do, especially with the racist language being used.
Thankfully, that person is doing well and has not had any other instances as far as I am aware. Hopefully that remains the case.
My last story comes from my time at the McDowell County Public Library in Marion, NC. Marion is about 30-minutes outside of Asheville and is an incredibly Red town in an incredibly Red county.
So, it did not come as a shock to anyone when, in 2023/2024, the school board received a request by a local chapter of a right-wing group to remove 40+ books from the schools due to their “explicit and sexually inappropriate” material.
The school board agreed to review the materials.
At the time this happened, the public library received several requests from patrons who wanted to access the full list and wanted to know if we had the materials available as well.
One such patron, an older male, came into the library and asked to speak with me as a Manager. When the staff called me out, this person asked for the full list and wanted me to tell him where in the library the books were located. He wanted to know which sections of the library the books were stored.
At the time this happened, we only had a couple of the books in our libraries. I informed him of such and answered his questions. The question was then raised about what we would do if the schools voted to remove the books.
One thing to always remember in these situations is to remain calm. Many of these interactions happen because the person wants you to react negatively to what they are saying. Never give your own opinion on the matter and stick to the facts.
So, I told the man truthfully that the books would remain in the library system even if they were removed from school shelves as we were a different entity than the school system. He told me he thought we should remove them if the school thought they were dangerous for kids. I explained to him in a matter of fact way what the Reconsideration process looked like and told him he was welcome to fill out the form if he wanted. He left without making too much of a fuss with a promise to be back.
I did not see him again, nor did we see a Reconsideration request from him during my time there.
The staff person who had called me out to speak with the man had stayed close during the encounter. After he left, she let me know that she had been fearful of what he would do and was glad I had spoken to him instead of her.
I received many questions and comments from staff after that surrounding the situation with the school as the fear was that after they were done with the school, they would come after the public library. This may be the case, and it may not. But even if it isn’t true, staff are still apprehensive and that should be taken seriously.
That goes for all libraries and all staff. This situation may or may not continue to escalate across the board. We may see a decline in the attacks on Intellectual Freedom and we may see an even larger increase. It is impossible to know, but not impossible to speculate.
However, even if it doesn’t, the steps are the same.
Remember, talk to your staff about the best way to approach conversations regarding censorship. Never give an opinion and stick only to the facts. If a person is yelling or disrupting the library, you can use your library’s policy on disruptive behavior to stop the disruption or call the police if that is needed.
If your library does not have a solid policy on Reconsideration of Materials, speak with your administration to see if a policy could be drafted. Speak with your governing body about the process as well so they are on your side.
Always make sure that staff feel supported, whether that means they have backup that is easily reached during their time on desk, or they have a safe space to come and share their feelings and frustrations.
If you do not feel comfortable having certain conversations with patrons, call a Manager or Supervisor to come and speak with whoever it is.
Send us requests for help through our Contact page. We can connect you with resources to give you ideas on what to do in your situation.
We understand that not every situation turns into a newsworthy event. That doesn’t mean that those situations are not worth speaking about. Again, that’s why this post has focused on smaller events and how they were handled, or not. Most of our interactions with the public are similar to this post and we would love to hear yours. Reach out to us with your stories and we would love to share them. We are each other’s greatest resource.
If you have not heard it yet today, thank you for all you do for your community!