As I wrote about last week, Oct 5th through 11th is Banned Book Week; a week where libraries and other organizations invested in the first amendment celebrate the books that have been banned in the past and push back against attempts to censor books.

As part of the week, I interviewed Jefferson-Madison Regional Library’s Director, David Plunkett about Banned Book Week at JMRL.

Below is the our interview, conducted via email.

Many news articles focus on book challenges happening at schools across the country. What is happening with book challenges at public libraries and JMRL specifically?

I understand that Meredith provided you with information about recent challenges at JMRL, specifically. [Note: see my post here regarding these challenges.] These challenges have come from all ends of the political spectrum, and at a more frequent clip than they did a decade ago. My perception is that many public libraries have seen this sort of increase in conversation and/or direct feedback from the public one way or the other about book challenges more in the last 6-7 years than in the decade prior.  

How have JMRL’s policies changed or stayed the same in light of national news about more frequent book challenges?

JMRL policies have not changed in direct response to national news, but while undergoing routine review of collection-related policies and documentation, staff and the Board were aware of increased attention to public input on library collections and attempted to maintain transparency about how decisions about the collection are made. JMRL did refine and update its procedure regarding response to reconsideration requests, to account for the increase in such requests and acknowledge the staff resources required to respond to them. Specifically the procedure now more explicitly outlines the pace at which reconsideration requests could reasonably be handled (one title per request to reconsider, three reconsideration requests per petitioner, & restricting who can submit requests to cardholders and jurisdictional residents.)

When promoting library materials or adding to the collection, do you consider whether or not drawing attention to an item will lead to a challenge? How do you think librarians should balance wanting to celebrate authors and their works with a hostile climate? 

In terms of adding to the collection: JMRL policy (4.11) states that “The Library recognizes that many materials are controversial and that any given item may offend some library user. Selections will not be made on the basis of any anticipated approval ordisapproval, but solely on the merits of the work or in relation to building the Library’s collections and to serving the interest of all individuals and groups in the region. Different viewpoints on controversial issues will be acquired including those that may have unpopular or unorthodox positions.” (emphasis added). 

Some libraries have “shadow banned” or placed special restrictions on books by requiring parental permission prior to allowing a student to check out a book and/or removing books from the shelf or public catalog while still having it at the library. Have you considered these measures? Why or why not? 

JMRL has not restricted nor considered (to my knowledge) restricting access to materials for this reason – all circulating cardholders are eligible for access to all materials equally.  Policy 4.11 states “Library materials will not be marked or identified to show approval or disapproval of the contents, and no item will be sequestered except for the express purpose of protecting it from injury or theft.”   

 What were some of your earliest professional experiences with book challenges? 

I’ve worked for JMRL for 23 years, and the library system’s reconsideration policy and procedures have always stood out to me as being a great balance between letting stakeholders share their thoughts about library materials and protecting the right to read for our community. So nothing specific here, I have just seen the process work time and again for decades now, where a patron will ask a question about something in the collection, and JMRL staff will very carefully and thoughtfully research and respond to that question.

How does JMRL celebrate Banned Book Week? Do you have resources for educators or students on banned book week? If students wanted to understand more about censorship and/or book challenges where should they get started? 

JMRL has several things planned this year, including a discussion at the Central Library on Friday 10/3 (5-7pm) with photographer Karen Pape (creator of De-Circulated which hangs at the UVA Law School), a Banned Book Trivia night at Random Row Brewery on Thursday 10/9, and a book discussion at Central at noon on 10/16 of That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America by Amanda Jones. The biggest event is going to be announced soon, a showing of The Librarians at the Paramount Theater in downtown Charlottesville on 10/8, followed by a discussion between myself and ALA’s Lisa Varga (Library Journal’s 2024 Librarian of the Year). In terms of the resources available, I think the resources from VLA (https://www.vla.org/intellectual-freedom-committee) and ALA (https://www.ala.org/bbooks)  are the best places to send folks.  Specifically, also, https://bannedbooksweek.org/.