Book banners target libraries. But so does the mayor of New York City.

June 26, 2024

“Efforts to censor and ban books are not the same as municipal negotiations over library operating budgets. But they are not entirely unrelated, either. Both are clear signs of how the value of public libraries and access to knowledge are under threat across America.”

Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit

The Flushing branch of the Queens Public Library.

In April 2022, in response to an unprecedented wave of book bans in schools across the country, the Brooklyn Public Library launched Books Unbanned, a program where teens can apply for a digital library card and access the books that were banned in their communities. In its first eight months, the program helped more than 7,600 teens borrow over 240,000 books.

The program was well received, and the librarians who supported it were later named Librarians of the Year. It was a shining example of how citizens and institutions can stand up for freedom and democracy even when parts of the country are taking steps to suppress them.

Two years later, New York City libraries are once again embroiled in a battle for library access. This time, however, they are not battling book bans in other states, but drastic city government budget cuts. According to a coalition of city libraries, proposed budget cuts of a whopping $58.3 million for the next fiscal year will inevitably lead to staff cuts, weekend services, library materials, building renovations and programming. This comes hot on the heels of city budget cuts that already resulted in service cuts last year.

Of course, efforts to censor and ban books are not the same as municipal negotiations over library operating budgets. But they are also somewhat related. Both are clear signs of how the value of public libraries and access to knowledge are under threat across America.

Since Benjamin Franklin’s efforts to establish the Library Company of Philadelphia in the 1730s, libraries have been among the most democratic institutions in the United States. As gateways to knowledge, libraries are fundamental to the idea of an educated and informed population necessary for a healthy and just democracy. Because they provide free access to all, they are a positive public good that reflects our common humanity and our fundamental social contract.

Libraries are also trusted public spaces where everyone can gather. They serve diverse communities with diverse purposes, from voting to taxes. They offer unique programs for those in need, from asylum seekers to citizens left behind by the digital divide to the elderly and homebound. They are working to help students affected by learning loss from COVID-19.

These are the communities in New York City that will be most affected by the planned cuts.

The wave of book bans that has spread across the country over the past three years has underscored how important access to books is: for democracy, for identity formation, and for the cohesion of diverse communities. We are often told that when books are banned in schools, families and students can “just borrow them from the public library.”

We expect public libraries to step into this breach as reliable, ubiquitous institutions of civil society. But we cannot view these institutions as a fail-safe mechanism for public education and the social safety net on the one hand, and undermine the way they function on the other.

And indeed, the ideological assault on libraries across the country is only getting worse. From Alabama to California, calls to remove LGBTQ books and Pride displays are growing, and there are efforts to audit library collections and remove books with certain content. Numerous states are passing laws threatening librarians and educators with criminal penalties. A library in Idaho just banned children from access and made it an “adults only” library to comply with one of these pseudo-authoritarian laws.

In the face of this crisis, our city’s libraries have risen to the challenge: they have launched innovative programs to provide easy access to books for youth across the country and are working to raise public awareness of this crisis. They have set the bar high and serve as a model for how public libraries can stand firm in their commitment to providing equitable and comprehensive access to information for all, regardless of background, income, or beliefs.

In this respect, our libraries reflect the values of our city. As the “capital of the world,” New Yorkers know that we stand for something universal and that our choices matter. New York must continue to be a stronghold of books and learning when they are under siege elsewhere.

Countless other cities and states look to New York’s libraries as role models, from their collections to their services to their programs. Brooklyn’s Books Unbanned program is just one example being emulated in Seattle and elsewhere. If that status is to be maintained, our city must invest more in its libraries and not sacrifice them during short-sighted budget negotiations.

Jonathan Friedman is the executive director of the US Free Expression Program at PEN America.