To the editor:
I have read with interest letters regarding the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County, especially in light of recent efforts by conservative activists across the country to censor holdings and dictate the placement of titles and displays. As public institutions, libraries are charged with providing a variety of materials and services that serve all patrons. The staff is committed to curating collections that represent multiple viewpoints, subject matter and formats.
Their purchasing decisions are based on reviews from professional publications, such as School Library Journal, national best-seller lists, and patron requests. Thousands of additional titles are available through inter-library loan, meaning that the citizens of Jefferson County have access to statewide repositories of lending materials. Good library systems have something to please everyone and items that some may consider frivolous or even offensive. The best part is that if you don't want to consume a book, movie, magazine or newspaper, you don't have to.
Some strongly object to books that deal with questions of sexuality or gender identity. Since these are part of the human condition, the library has books that deal with these subjects, and some could be described as explicit. Don't care for realistic fiction? Great news -- viewing them remains optional.
Optional also is a key word for books in the children's section. We live in a world of multivarious families and it is a shame that books that feature people who are divorced, re-married, racially, culturally, or linguistically diverse or LGBTQ+ reinforce the existence of those whom some in our community seem hellbent on marginalizing or even erasing from society. This vocal minority insists that they want to "protect children" by imposing a narrow private viewpoint on a broad-based public institution, but when the "facade of civility" cracks, more sinister motives are revealed. In online posts, I have seen library staff attacked with weaponized Bible verses. They have been maligned, defamed and made to feel fearful for their jobs and work environments. I can only imagine what levels of hatred are not so visible.
Though most people are restrained enough not to use racially-based, antisemitic or Islamophobic epithets at library board meetings, I have been present when some people afforded time for public comment have glibly described the LGBTQ+ community and their allies as "groomers," "pederasts," "perverts," "sexual deviants" and "degenerates" without a single repercussion. This is vile, dehumanizing language that has no place in respectful discourse and should certainly not be normalized or accepted as civil on any level.
Librarians dedicate their lives to serving the public in myriad ways that promote and protect the most important founding principles of our country: The freedom to speak, the freedom to publish and the freedom to read, as promised by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Please thank our local librarians and support them in their efforts to serve everyone in our community. Do not allow others to curtail your First Amendment rights or those of any American.
Robyn A. Hill
Steubenville