During the past few years, a new movement has begun to sweep across the United States. Book banning is a problem that affects every state in a different way, but the supporters of this movement are generally united in one common purpose: they want to restrict the American people’s access to literature by eliminating books they feel are contrary to their social and political standings.

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Ms. Lauren Rettig and Ms. Julia Lanter, Co-Chairs of the New Hampshire Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee. As members of this committee, Ms. Lanter and Ms. Rettig stand as a line of defense for the access of books within the state of New Hampshire. It recently reconvened in May of 2020 when the resurgence of book banning began in earnest.

Ms. Lanter and Ms. Rettig believe in taking a proactive approach to handling book challenges. The Intellectual Freedom Committee’s page on the NHLA website is one of the best places for librarians to seek out resources for preparing to handle these issues.

“On our resources page we have sections [for] schools and public libraries, so sort of a challenge checklist, what you would go through when you receive a challenge,” Ms. Rettig said. “Julia created a reporting form for New Hampshire libraries to report if they have a book challenge or even a program challenge.”

That reporting form is a resource for libraries across the state. It can be accessed by clicking on this link.

“We actually try to emphasize listen[ing] to the patrons before it gets to the challenge point,” Ms. Lanter said. “A lot of times people just want to be heard. So, if you talk with them [and] give them a space to say their piece about why they think it shouldn’t be in the library, oftentimes you can head off a book challenge.”

This is a strategy that librarians throughout the country can utilize as a potential approach before a situation reaches the level of a challenge. Fostering an environment that promotes conversation is an important step in defending the books of a community’s schools or public libraries. However, recently the method people are taking in their efforts to ban books has changed.

“We’ve heard from a lot of people who have had those pre-challenges,” said Ms. Lanter. “What’s different these days is people are providing librarians lists of many books, hundreds of books.”

One way to combat these lists is through paperwork. For each book on one of these lists, the patron must fill out forms explaining why the book is being challenged. This leaves the patron with an exorbitant amount of paperwork and provides libraries with a line of defense before books can be officially challenged.

“And some of the questions in [the] challenge policy will be ‘Have you read the book?’ and a lot of the people have never read these books,” Ms. Rettig said.

“Florida, Texas, and Wyoming were the first three [states] where we saw this very organized procedure where people would come in with lists. They’re also trying to get seats [on] their library boards to become library trustees and school board members. So, kind of fighting for banning of books from within the system,” Ms. Lanter said. “And it’s been successful.”

One of the groups utilizing these organized procedures is Moms for Liberty, a non-profit organization with smaller chapters in most states across the country. According to the mission statement publicly available on their website, “Moms for Liberty is dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating, and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.” They define themselves as “Joyful Warriors” and list their values as “Stand[ing] for Truth, Build[ing] Relationships, [and] Empower[ing] Others.” This organization is nationally recognized and has received extensive and favorable coverage from far-right conservative news organizations, including Breitbart, Newsmax, and the Washington Examiner.

New Hampshire currently has two active chapters: the Hillsborough County chapter and the Rockingham County chapter. In a 2021 press release, the Hillsborough County chapter offered an “incentive to any individual who can provide concrete evidence of a public school staff member violating HB2.” 

HB2 is a purely partisan bill co-sponsored by 4 New Hampshire Republicans that was signed into law in 2021. It’s essentially a regulation on teaching about race. More information on it can be found here. The Moms for Liberty press release does not specify what the “incentive” is, but it does help foster an environment of mistrust and division within the community. The inflammatory rhetoric encourages community members to report on their neighbors, which could lead to legal charges being brought against them. Similar scare tactics are used against librarians in New Hampshire who may be stocking books that conservative groups such as Moms for Liberty want to restrict access to.

One bill that concerns the New Hampshire Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee is House Bill 514, sponsored by Republican Representative Glenn Cordelli of District Carroll 7. It was introduced on January 11 of 2023 and referred to the House Education Committee. The bill is focused on “the dissemination of obscene material by schools and institutions of higher learning.” According to the 2016 New Hampshire Revised Statutes, one of the determining characteristics for whether a work is considered obscene is if “it lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.” This measure is notably subjective and attacks multiple aspects of American culture, beyond just literature.

Another concerning piece of the definition is also left very broad. It claims that “‘predominant appeal’ shall be judged with reference to ordinary adults,” but does not clarify who is considered an ordinary adult. 

Ms. Lanter is worried about what the definition could be. “Does that mean not trans? Or not gay? What is their definition of ‘ordinary?’ That could be very concerning.”

The purposeful vagary of the word “ordinary” will serve as a weapon to those in power, regardless of political affiliation. It can be twisted into a variety of meanings that could be exclusionary to certain groups. The NHLA’s concern for the LGBT community is not unfounded. In 2022, according to the CBS News list of the 50 Most Banned Books in America, the most banned book during the 2021-2022 school year was Maia Kobabe’s graphic novel Gender Queer. Gender Queer is just one of many books documenting the experiences of members of the LGBT community that are being targeted in libraries across the nation.

“For me, learning about other people’s lives is how you create empathy and understanding, especially if you’re in a community where you don’t experience many different people,” Ms. Rettig said. “It’s just so important, and people who want to ban them do not want others to know about other types of people.”

As the New Hampshire state government continues to explore legislation that would place restrictions on the literature available in libraries across the state, it is met with a certain level of resistance from the public. In many cases, the political aims of these legislators do not align with the constituents they have been elected to represent.

“Librarians have discovered most of the public don’t want books banned,” Ms. Lanter said. “People get very upset to hear it, but they don’t know what they can do to help. What they can do is support freedom of information from their local level. That will help us nationwide.” 

Getting involved in local politics is a first step people can take to make their opinions against book banning heard. For those who may not want to run for office, being informed about policies affecting your local library is also a way to be proactive.

According to Ms. Rettig, “Some people try to ban these things and they’re not actually part of those communities.” Ensuring the voices of the community a local library exists to serve are heard over those who are not local and are not impacted by community policies is an essential step in protecting the local citizens’ right to intellectual freedom.

“Libraries are one of the very few cultural centers that truly help all aspects of society,” Ms. Lanter said. “Even more than school when you think about it, because [in] a school, once you hit a certain age, you’re out of the system. Whereas libraries are for all ages, birth to death.”

While book challenges are not a new phenomenon within the United States, the recent vigor the movement has taken on is. The political support organized groups such as Moms for Liberty receive in states like Florida is setting a frightening new precedent for the level of control one ideology is attempting to exact over society as a whole.

Ms. Lanter ended our interview with a powerful parting message for both New Hampshire and the nation:

“We are kind of a canary in the coal mine. And if you are going after libraries, and people’s freedom to read… We talk about the right to bear arms in New Hampshire and how we love to ‘Live Free or Die.’ If you are taking away someone’s freedom to read, you are taking away their freedom to learn and grow and their freedom to self-educate, that ‘up by the bootstraps’ American spirit that’s at the heart of a library.”

For resources created by the New Hampshire Library Association and further reading, check out the links below.

 Highlighting the New Hampshire Library Association and the Right to Read

by Skyler Boudreau

Resources for Librarians

Intellectual Freedom Committee Website: https://nhla.azurewebsites.net/Pages/Index/225193/ifc-home-page

New Hampshire Library Association Website: https://www.nhlibrarians.org/

Further Reading

Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools: https://pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/

CBS 50 Most Banned Books in America: https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-50-most-banned-books-in-america/51/