Book Bans Reach Historic Highs: How Libraries Became a Political Battleground | Amanpour and Company

Libraries are at the center of another polarizing debate dividing the U.S. in the ongoing culture wars. Efforts by elected officials and activist groups to censor books have escalated to levels unseen since tracking began decades ago. Librarians are now on the front lines of a battle for intellectual freedom. The president of the American Library Association speaks with Hari Sreenivasan about the year of the book bans.
Originally aired on May 1, 2023
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Amanpour and Company features wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City.
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[@MrJBK99]

Sooo... ask your kid what they're reading? Groundbreaking.

[@StacyInLove1]

Book-banning lists are actually "reading lists" for me.

[@barryking5993]

In a Time Where Neighbors are Killing Neighbors We Need To Expand Our Knowledge To See Others As Equals

[@imperialmotoring3789]

So you will hand out books at the next black riot downtown?

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

Moe Lester's are vermin.

[@62Cristoforo]

But we’re not all equal. This is a commonly held myth. Equality is a concept purported for legal purposes; we are all equal before the law, but that’s about it

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

@@62CristoforoReally? The OP's not arguing that everybody has an equal ability to perform every single activity. Everybody needs to be held to the same standards and have equal protection under the law or there'll be no respect for the legal system. I'm arguing that those who victimize children should lose their freedom of movement and freedom of speech since it's being used to further victimize children.

[@davidhoins4588]

Yes we All are colours under the same rainbow

[@doggle2928]

The beginning of the Dark Ages! History does repeat itself...

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

The "dark ages" produced beautiful illuminated manuscripts that are works of art. Modern lit is N@mbl@ BS in the guise of "diversity and inclusion". kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXTHZomLnbKlfJY. @1:07

[@joeg46Highlands]

"First as tragedy, second as farce " Not the only thing Marx got right. The same essay contains a description of Louis Napoleon that might be applied with equal accuracy to many of our contemporary leaders or would-be leaders: "a grotesque mediocrity who gets to play the hero's part".

[@connieperry1575]

Aloha Kanani'opua - thank you for doing this. Hari- so calm and collected as usual!!! Love your reporting!

[@AmanpourandCompany]

Thanks for tuning in. We appreciate you!

[@weston.weston]

I appreciate the assertiveness of this interviewee. She did not both sides the issue, she spoke plainly and firmly on behalf of library professionals.

[@patricialongo5870]

I think assertiveness is making sure all the responses you want hidden are reported at least twice, and all the books with ideas you battle are highly suspect if not gone. Assertiveness would be doing something just as harmful to conservatives and their families. The left doesn't assert itself.

[@AmanpourandCompany]

Thanks for tuning in. We appreciate you!

[@johnrolle6645]

Also with regards to book relevance, sometimes kids reading books previous generations have read can give them insight into their forbearers ways of being and thinking. Not to repeat or rehash every mode of thinking and behavior but to provide perspective and maybe even empathy. Ageism is a real thing.

[@elainelouve]

Very true. I have as a child enjoyed reading some books my 80+ year old aunt loved in her childhood. They were never my favorites, but helped to understand her. Also they are really good books. Now as an adult I finally read my late grandmother's childhood favorite, and can see why she loved it so much.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Zero books have been banned though.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

@@donaldburgess7230 A simple Google search shows that zero books have been banned.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

They need to put the N-word back into Mark Twain's brilliant book "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". Shame that the Democrats ban books.

[@brendacarmichael3180]

Thank you for this excellent interview. Both the interviewer and interviewee are calm, intelligent and well-spoken.

[@teresalegler2777]

Excellent interview.

[@garethfitzpatrick3932]

It’s actual insanity. Cult like thinking. If you disagree with the content of a book you can ban yourself from picking it up, not become a moral arbiter of the community.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Zero books have been banned though.

[@victorjcano]

EXACTLY!!!!!!!

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

So, I'm "insane" to complain about a book instructing kids to Photoshop away any distinguishing marks while $€xting and to compliment whoever sends them a pic?! Do you know Tic t0c comes with a filter that MAKES ADULTS LOOK LIKE TEENS?! I think this is clearly brainwashing that makes it harder to identify a p doe's victims.

[@Nighthawk-8050]

If these people want to ban books fine. But don't tell me what books i can't read. I refused to be narrow or closed minded. Fear is those who do not want to learn and expand.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

But that's what really bothers them. THEY don't want YOU reading what THEY disapprove.

[@myindigoblues5796]

Time to start a Banned Books book club for 2023. Would be cool to do this every year after the list comes out (Banned Books of 2022, etc). Would make great discussions, I think. Something that’s obviously not happening. Mainstream culture be where they are, in all their toxic rhetoric and bs. Doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t be curious/educated, looking to feed ourselves on something more.

[@tombirney7276]

@My Indigo Blues In the 70s a monthly Church newspaper would list the books to be banned. My friends would pool our money from paper routes, dish washing, yard work to buy all of them. We traded and read ALL OF THEM!

[@Buttercup697]

… let the Republikkkans wallow in their stupidity and ignorance. 🤷🏻‍♀️🙄

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

Have chat gee p t write your man-b0y smut then, and quit using my tax money!

[@Karen-dq8nw]

Banning books is un-American! We are a free people and a small minority of jerks cannot tell us what to read.

[@ortforshort7652]

Does anyone see the irony in Racists and Homophobes banning books in libraries? It's amazing that these people were even able to find the library. Let alone the fact that these people are also the least likely to pick up a book with the intent on actually reading it.

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

Have chat gee p t write your man-b0y smut then and quit using my tax money!

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

Phobia is an IRRATIONAL fear. It's rational to be angry about p does using propaganda because that's exactly what's happening. Why else would you support a book instructing kids to Photoshop away any distinguishing marks while $€xting and to compliment whoever sends them a pic?! Do you know Tic t0c comes with a filter that MAKES ADULTS LOOK LIKE TEENS?! I think this is clearly brainwashing that makes it harder to identify a p doe's victims.

[@r8chlletters]

Why don’t they have a union and why aren’t app libraries federalized? These people deserve as much protection as a postal worker and prevent arbitrary blacklisting of books.

[@stevechance150]

I blame FOX News.

[@jeremyserwer2586]

And the Evangenitals! So glad I don't live in a red state, christian fascists are dopes!

[@jjjjjjjjkigghh8662]

@Steve Chance Agree. Every Fox News viewer I know is in favor of this horseshit.

[@silencedogood7297]

I am so fortunate to live in 1984. I don't have to think or read or speak truth. It is so great to be freed by Big Brother. We are burning the last of the books that could corrupt our empty minds and distract us from making money for the trillionaires who live in the big houses.

[@fppgaming3288]

Fight back. Use the book ban list as a list of books to be published online.

[@evamurray4229]

Exactly. Their kids will be the first to seek them out.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Zero books have been banned though.

[@joea363]

I would like to see the Bible and all religious books banned. 😅

[@EJWash57]

Or moved to the comic book section...

[@corinnapetry65]

JoeA, I had the same provocative instinct: Should the Bible, Koran, etc., be re-edited to reflect current thought and philosophy?

[@joea363]

@@corinnapetry65 I like your thought. Current thought and philosophy should be used to refute the religious books and put them in thier proper place which is in the mythology section of the library

[@marymccluer1630]

Two years ago, my local library branch was vandalized. All the books and computers inside were destroyed. It took a full year to reopen. It was such a loss; the building had welcomed many daily visitors with its towering, floor-to ceiling windows that wrap the building and look out onto lovely woods. Today it has reopened. The books have been replaced but there are far fewer computers for use. A sign of our times...there is always an armed guard on site. Libraries are havens for communities. They're a place where everyone is welcome, and the admission is free. If they go away, we will have lost one of America's greatest institutions. I worry that not only is there an attempt to decide whose perspective may be depicted in books but that there may also be a drive to put an end to libraries as communal gathering places. If that were to happen, it would greatly impede our ability to civically engage and further erode our democracy.

[@mugglescakesniffer3943]

I guess I would not want my 5 year old to come home with a book full of sexual acts and slang that may not be biologically accurate or healthy but then I don't think you would find that among the books with Clifford the big Red Dog. I know Author had two episodes that dealt with LGBT. I don't know if they have book equivalents but it is part of life. Most of the time your kids want Clifford, the Hungry caterpillar, bug books glow in the dark books, shark books, stuff they see on cartoons. They aren't sitting there looking for the provocative stuff. People making a big deal about it though may do more harm because people are paying attention and giving attention to these books. Now they are curious and think they are missing out on something. By doing this book ban they have shot their own foot. If they would have left it alone I bet things would be just fine. When I went to the main branch of the St. Petersburg Library I was not looking for prurient books in elementary school. I could have. The library was wide open and my mother let me go there all on my own. I mean Gen X had Judy Blume and the like. Now mothers smother their kids and are afraid to expose them to anything. I mean I understand because there is more violence now but I think a lot of that is known or perpetuated by modern media and the internet. People complain at what is at a Library but you can get porn right from home. The school and library is not your kid's parent. They are your kids educator. You as the parent temper the information with your world view. Shielding them from things is not going to help but discussing the why and what can equip them to more forward in society.

[@NathanTaylor-bo9rb]

As a GenX up bringing, I was just learning basic computer literacy that was taught by a football coach that 1st year. Lol. Home computers were for the rich folks. We were just regular people who were equally poor as our neighbors. The point is that our district had a updated library with free access to the pursuit of knowledge. High School essays and research papers were done in the library. Using the Dewey Decimal System organized and all the little drawers! 😆 I have noticed that the fundamental priority that public education is a good, worthy endeavor for American progress and opportunity for the best interest of all of us is likely to be called a bad idea for a qualified kid because of the 'woke' bullshit and indoctrination to become a political activist and communist spy unimaginable narrative about education. While I am at it. I'm a product of having both parents being career educators. The thing I remember was that the job was tough and they were forced to get masters degrees for a better salary. But they were expressing pissed about the Parents of the kids. Back in the 00s. Plus my fathers classes and other teachers classes too being observed and monitored. The humble acknowledgement of respecting the people who are trained and qualified to be a professional teacher. Teachers are the best people for the crucial job of teaching and disciplining in their individual ways. Let them do the job. I am confident that the shortage of teachers would likely draw many former teachers back. Offer incentives for teachers in the struggling schools. We have taken our kids teachers for granted for so long. Support Teachers as essential leaders and appreciation.

[@quddusquddus136]

Odd. Men and women who haven’t taken the time to read books now feel to dictate others what to read. Quite a nerve.

[@queergrrl83]

What a great speaker. She’s so articulate.

[@norikadolmy7274]

Those changes made to roald dahl books were not well received, they did not improve the stories or even make them less offensive. They added basically nothing and they were widely panned

[@patricialongo5870]

We're not fighting back. Conservatives can report books and people but we're not doing anything to attack them or retaliate. Maybe librarians resist but they're just taking away some books in response.

[@lauriepelayo296]

Proud mother here of a very articulate and well read child who became a well read adult. ❤ That is what we should strive for, for all our children.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Zero books have been banned though.

[@mitchmack5223]

This reminds me of an episode of Dr. Quinn about her opening a library in town. They had a riot.

[@philipcollier7805]

"Every state has inordinately repressed, bigoted, backward thinking people who resrnt the freedom of expression."

[@johnrolle6645]

I think it was already suggested in the interview but, people........footnotes, annotated versions. Why can't we think critically? The bible is fraught with licentious scenarios; let alone ancient Greek and Roman literature. Why is this even an issue? In western literature a great many novels take their cue from the Holy Bible directly or indirectly. Referring to Genesis 3:11, it seems that the fear of subversion undergirds this debate. Difficult as it can be to manage, just because it's available doesn't mean it has be read or partaken of. Is this over simplification? Controversy IS good for sales.

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

Buddy, you seem like an intellectual. This stuff they're objecting to goes way, way WAY beyond a passage about somebody "lying with" somebody or a crude joke in a Shakespeare play. Have you even seen the excerpts of the p0®n being banned or are you just giving a knee- jerk reaction without knowing the facts? kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXTHZomLnbKlfJY. @1:07

[@alysonturcin-weller7443]

But you see, parents have the right to decide what their child reads. You cannot argue that.

[@Karen-dq8nw]

but not what other people's kids read

[@chopincam-robertpark6857]

great one Hari

[@Darhan62]

It's stuff like these attacks on libraries that turn people against conservatism. People assume conservatism = ignorance and intolerance, instead of small government and family values.

[@71suns]

I'm curious why the belief in 'family values' by those who consider themselves conservative are under the impression that their version of 'family values' is the only one that has validity and that they have the right to impose their version on everyone else.

[@MadTraveler]

So dishonest! I live in Florida and there are no "banned" books! If books with content that's inappropriate for children are removed from school libraries, parents can still get those books from their public libraries or from bookstores. I've seen and reported on some of the "banned" books in my DeSantisland podcast and believe me, these books are R and X rated. They do not belong in junior high libraries.

[@DeeWeber]

Librarians are always on the front lines.

[@arjaygee]

But Ronna McDaniel just told us Republicans are NOT banning books. How do I know who to believe? 😂😂😂😂

[@Nighthawk-8050]

By opening your eye and see my friend 😊

[@arjaygee]

@@Nighthawk-8050 I was being facetious.

[@Nighthawk-8050]

@@arjaygee oh ok 🙂

[@no-barknoonan1335]

I showed my father who lived during WWII what Rona McDaniel said, and he was like "Yeah, and Hitler just announced they aren't liquidating Jews". Imagine taking someone at their word, over their actions. The actions speak for itself, they can try to obstruct the sun with their thumb, but to anyone with half a brain it's fairly obvious what is going on.

[@DavidSchilter]

Some schools in Australia require parents' permission for kids to borrow certain books. Seems a good solution?

[@Karen-dq8nw]

which ones and who gets to decide? and would librarians who don't choose which books need permission go to jail That's what desantis wants. damned if you do damned if you don't.

[@DavidSchilter]

@@Karen-dq8nw Oh yeah, I'd also rather not have to compromise on these freedoms too. Imagine kids having to grow up according to the (im)moral compass of DeSantis!

[@evamurray4229]

How dare they? How dare they? Don't read them (They haven't) but don't deny the rest of us reading them.

[@mithulahiri4105]

Charlotte's Web, Harry Potter, Huckleberry Finn, Kite Runner, Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Wrinkle In Time, etc. are books that I would introduce to my nieces and nephews from a very young age; some no earlier than secondary school (Of Mice and Men and Kite Runner). It's ridiculous that they are banned.

[@clementthurn1992]

They need to read a fucking book about Germany circa 1936.........................

[@alysonturcin-weller7443]

What are we seeing in the books?

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Zero books have been banned.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Not a single book has been banned.

[@susanray8811]

Oh, good grief! Then have a small section of ... Adults Only books that only a parent can check out if they want it for their children or for themselves.

[@thomasword5762]

If I go to the store to buy a snack or food and I know that I should not have sugar in my food, should I boycott that store for carrying sugar? Should I vote for people who want to ban sugar from all stores? Or should I just find the product I'm looking for and leave the test alone? What if someone feels the opposite of me and they want to ban everything that does not contain sugar? Should we go to war over it? Should we make laws that stores can only carry what we want? This is the kind of sense the Republican Party makes! My advice is for people to start at home and then leave it at home! If you need someone else to come into your home to lead you, you don't need a home. Next someone will be telling you what you can do in yoir own home. Live and let live!

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Not a single book has been banned though.

[@christiansmith-of7dt]

A couple gunmen standing shifts

[@imperialmotoring3789]

No books have been banned. Not one.

[@MSArtist01]

Guns are OK for everyone even children but banning books is what they do.

[@62Cristoforo]

This book banning craze isn’t about deciding what your own kids can and can’t read; it’s more about deciding what other parent’s children can and can’t read

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ami9lGypnsmghrc. At 1:46 in linked video. Eb0nix P0®n.

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

Maybe people don't want other people's kids gr00med?

[@emmahardesty4330]

Must be time for people like you and me to start membership libraries in our towns. Best to be funded by the super-rich who will not receive any financial gain whatsoever, and best to find buildings without windows. At any rate, buy banned books now.

[@patricialongo5870]

We've been ok privately funded since the 80s and only the middle class are permitted there by security. You middle class people already took the library.

[@EJWash57]

No windows? In other words, seek knowledge stealthily? This is the end of this fourth-world country.

[@3namechangezalowdevry90day7]

Have you even seen the excerpts of this stuff or are you just giving a knee- jerk reaction without knowing the facts? kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXTHZomLnbKlfJY. @1:07

[@mallorywoods3653]

Go ahead. 😂 I’m sure that a bunch of people who want everything for free will appreciate the membership fees.

[@71suns]

​@@mallorywoods3653 WHAT?

[@MarciaMatthews]

Some of the books banned in school libraries are too explicit for younger grades.

[@samanthahicks4253]

I'm not sure which books you are referring to, but you will likely find that the more mature content isn't on the elementary or middle school library shelves. Library science is a rigorous vocation and librarians are trained to understand and manage in age-appropriate ways.

[@corinnapetry65]

The Bible and Koran and other ancient religious texts are "outdated." Should publishers re-edit those, too?

[@ChannelMath]

This isnt great, but on the flip side, this could be used to get kids more interested in reading: "welcome to the school library, kids, the most dangerous room in the school! Lots of people think that you should not be able to read all of these books. Some your parents are fighting right now to not let you read some of these books. So some of these books might be gone tomorrow."

[@bobbart4198]

... Parents DO have a right to participate in these issues, but if YOU as an individual parent choose to ban a book, you should at least be making an informed decision, rather than just letting someone else make that decision for you ... don't be lazy - read the book yourself and make YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT ... Rights are EARNED by taking on Responsibility ... Nobody ever wants to hear this, but it IS true !

[@MarciaMatthews]

LGB is not the TQ+. Please don’t say it all in one breath.

[@62Cristoforo]

“Where they burn books, in the end they will also burn human beings" -Heinrich Heine, 1822 This quote is inscribed on a plaque at the Nazi book burning memorial on Bebelplatz in Berlin, Germany. The plaque has a quote from Heinrich Heine's play Almansor (written 1821-1822). "Where they burn books, in the end they will also burn human beings" (Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen) about burning of Quran in Granada that was expected to be followed by burning humans (Muslims then Jewish) in 1500s. Source: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Heine