A group known as "Western Mass 4 the Future" took to the front of Northampton's city hall Saturday, braving a brisk day carrying signs with messages such as "Stop book bans" and "I read banned books."
The goal - call attention to what they say is a national effort to challenge books centering on stories about the LGBTQ+ community, as well as people of color, according to group co-founder Joey Pisani.
“We're here today because LGBTQ+ rights are under attack, Black people are under attack, indigenous people are under attack, people of color are under attack - marginalized communities across the board are under attack and education and knowledge is under attack,” Pisani said during the event.
Another rally was held in Pittsfield earlier in the day. Both were put together by Pisani and Meg Arvin, another co-founder, who emphasized the value of books covering such communities as well as their histories.
“It is vitally important that we maintain a sense of diversity in our education so that we can be better to one another,” Arvin said Saturday. “And it's important that we understand the background of the history that we've had."
Organizers said the rallies were, in part, inspired by a recent incident in Great Barrington, where police entered W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School after receiving complaints that a teacher who identifies as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community was teaching the book “Gender Queer."
The incident has since led to national news coverage and an independent investigation into what happened at the middle school.
Speaking with WAMC before the rallies, Pisani said librarians are increasingly finding themselves at the center of political debate, even in western Massachusetts.
“I think it's a big misconception that Massachusetts is super blue and super progressive and, in some ways it is,” he said. “There are book ban challenges happening right here in Massachusetts. There was one in North Attleboro recently, we're hearing of them even, I believe, there was one in Easthampton.”
Will Adamczyk, director of the Milton Public Library and Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Library Association’s Legislative Committee, told WAMC the number of book challenges in the commonwealth ballooned from 45 in 2022 to 135 in 2023.
At the same time, the American Library Association reported nearly 700 challenges were made across the country in just the first eight months of 2023, almost equally divided among schools and public libraries.
It's a trend that has the attention of librarians at all levels, including Instructional Services and Outreach Librarian Kat Good-Schiff at Springfield Technical Community College.
“From what I've heard is that it's definitely not petering out, unfortunately. Both sides are very mobilized and passionate, and people feed off of each other,” Good-Schiff said. “And misinformation is really hard to combat, especially on social media.”
Good-Schiff and her colleagues have previously promoted such titles via an ongoing "Banned Book Periodic Table" exhibit at STCC.
“What we see in various states all across the country, are books that are by Black or African American authors and books that are by queer or trans authors - a lot of those books are targeted because they tell stories of people's lives that some people don't want to acknowledge," she said.
Groups such as "Moms for Liberty," a conservative nonprofit organization that advocates for parents rights, have accounted for a number of the rising challenges across the United States, with the Associated Press reporting how what were once individual complaints about books in communities have given way to more organized, extensive requests.
In the case of Massachusetts, Adamczyk says many of the challenges often fail. But given the resources that go into responding to them, libraries can be constrained and, in some cases, staff face burnout.
“People are leaving working in libraries to some extent because of this sudden pressure they're facing and harassment they're facing, both in-person, but also through social media and other things,” Adamczyk said. “There are many more complaints about books – into the thousands, over 2,000 complaints last year about books, which is different than going through the formal process.”
While the trend of receiving challenges does not appear to be abating, Adamczyk detailed bills in the state legislature that could aid staff in both school libraries and public library systems.
One such bill filed by State Senator Jake Oliveira of Ludlow and State Representative Aaron Saunders of Belchertown, focuses on public libraries. It would require libraries to adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights to be eligible for state funding. The Bill of Rights holds that “materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.”
It would also establish a "Book Access Fund" for localities challenging book bans.
Another bill, filed by Sen. Julian Cyr of Truro and Rep. John Moran of Boston, would focus more on public school libraries, aimed at ensuring they offer diverse and inclusive books and media by preventing quote "book removal due to personal or political views in public and school libraries," according to Cyr's website.
