Start with the 60+ Small Actions for Defending the Right
At the beginning of the year, Kelly created a list titled „60+ Small Actions for Defending the Right to Read,” and now is the perfect time to use it. A frequent question many ask is: „What can I do to learn about book censorship and help stop it?” The answer goes beyond simply buying books. While purchasing books has value, meaning, and purpose—especially for living authors whose works and livelihoods are under attack—it does not directly eliminate book bans. It’s a myth that book bans boost sales and „help” authors whose work has been targeted. It’s also a myth that bans encourage youth to seek out forbidden titles. The reality is that public institutions of democracy—public libraries and public schools—are under attack.
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This allows you to choose one action per week if you wish. If you’re looking for more ideas or opportunities to do more, try completing the entire list and/or supplementing this year’s list with last year’s. Several actions on this year’s list that were also on last year’s are ongoing actions: you’ll want to track more than once a year, such as attending local school or library board meetings throughout the year or getting to know your state and federal representatives, for example. Not every action on this list applies to every person, though most can be done by anyone. All are adaptable to individual circumstances. While some actions may appear repetitive, this is intentional. Each person must discover what type of activism and advocacy works best for them.
Try different approaches, learn what is sustainable in your life, and engage with curiosity in this process.
A few actions on this list are specific to library workers, although, again
A few actions on this list are specific to library workers, although, again, they are adaptable for those who do not work in libraries. You’ll recognize them by a plus sign (+). Five years into this meteoric rise in book censorship, we cannot afford to be complacent. This is also why our civic engagement and democratic institutions have been so easily attacked. What we need are people who show up, do the work, put skin in the game at meetings (or at least send emails to inboxes), speak publicly, and follow through. Distribute those resource guides, especially the ones you find interesting or useful, but know that, in and of themselves, they will not stop book censorship. You might consider keeping a journal to track what works and what doesn’t, how an activity made you feel to engage, and what lessons you’ve learned, among other things.
One of the best ways we learn about our capacity to be agents of change is through reflection. To help with this, since the list below may feel overwhelming when taken as a whole, I’ve created a Google Sheet you can use to track, document, and add any notes that may help you along the way. The document is locked, so to edit it, go to File, then select „Make a copy” on your own Google Drive. The links provided are suggestions and starting points. You may also discover other resources from which to learn. Go with confidence. The actions are not in any particular order. If you’re new to this type of activity, try the simpler actions first. They’ll help you build the „muscles” needed to move on to actions that may require more vulnerability or courage.
Some of these actions are as simple as reading books related to censorship and sharing the information through your personal social networks. Others will require greater effort. These efforts matter, especially when carried out in combination with one another and alongside thousands of other people across the country. A huge thank you goes out to a large group of reading freedom advocates who have been doing this work from the start. Librarians and reading freedom fighters in Texas, Carolyn Foote and Becky Calzada; Anne Russey, Laney Hawes, and Franklin Strong from the Texas Freedom to Read Project; Stephana Ferrell from the Florida Freedom to Read Project; community change agent John Norcross; and