Think Differently. Solve the Impossible.

How Libraries, Book Bans, and Censorship Impact All of Us 

(Problem vs. Solution)

Libraries used to feel untouchable. As a kid, I thought of them as neutral ground—places where anyone could walk in, pull a book off the shelf, and explore ideas without fear of being judged or punished. Today, that assumption is no longer safe. When I visited the Noble Science Library at Arizona State University with my nephew—a beautiful three-story building I remembered packed with engineering and science books—the shelves were still there.

The books were gone.

At the same time, in communities across the country, school and public libraries are under attack from another direction: book bans, criminalization of librarians, and efforts to erase entire groups and perspectives from public view.

To understand what’s happening and what we can do about it, I invited John Chrastka, Executive Director of EveryLibrary, onto my show. EveryLibrary is a political action and policy organization focused on defending libraries, their funding, and the free speech they protect.

This article distills that conversation in a problem-vs-solution framework so you can see where the real dangers lie, and how ordinary citizens can push back.

Problem #1: The Vanishing Library – When Books Disappear

When I walked my nephew into that university science library, I expected to share with him the same wonder I felt as a student—wandering the stacks, stumbling across unexpected topics, getting lost in ideas I never thought to search for. Instead, we saw empty racks. 

In some cases, there is a rational, even positive explanation. Many academic libraries now store physical books in off-site, robot-operated warehouses and deliver them on request within hours. Disciplines such as engineering, science, and medicine, are moving to digital-only journals and resources, so there may literally be nothing to put on the shelves. That’s the technical shift. 

There’s a more troubling trend in K–12 and community colleges: School libraries and librarian positions are being cut entirely, especially in districts under budget pressure. Some community colleges are no longer required to have a library at all. It’s easy to dismiss this as “nice-to-have but not essential”—until you look at the outcomes. When you compare schools with a qualified school librarian and a strong collection to those without, students with access to librarians consistently perform better in reading and writing, even when you control for funding and zip code. 

Removing libraries and librarians isn’t just about losing a room full of books -  It’s about removing a core engine of literacy, curiosity, and critical thinking.

What’s at stake

• Fewer students learn information literacy—how to evaluate sources, research topics, and navigate a world flooded with data.
• Discovery becomes narrower. Online tools and AI give you what you ask for; Libraries help you find what you didn’t know to ask. Education risks becoming purely transactional—job training—rather than developmental and human.

Solution #1: Reinvest in Libraries as Engines of Discovery

If we want innovation, creativity, and an informed public, we can’t treat libraries as expendable line items. A healthy library ecosystem has:

• Diverse formats: print books, ebooks, audiobooks, online databases. People learn in different ways.
• Professional librarians: not just “people who check out books,” rather educators who teach research skills, guide discovery, and curate collections.
• Spaces for everyone: Quiet corners for deep work. Open tables for collaboration. Kid-friendly areas where it’s okay to be noisy and curious

It takes public funding and political will to make that happen.

What you can do:

• Support school and public library funding measures when they appear on the ballot.
• Ask your local school board, “Do our schools have certified librarians and a real library budget?”If the answer is no, that’s an organizing opportunity.

Problem #2: Book Bans and the Criminalization of Librarians

It’s one thing to quietly underfund a library. It’s another to treat books, and the people who curate them, as criminals. John and EveryLibrary are fighting legislation that attempts to classify certain books as “obscene” or “harmful” simply because they address topics like sexuality, gender identity, or race. They are fighting legislation that would remove legal protections that historically shielded librarians, teachers, and museum staff from prosecution for simply having materials in a collection.

This isn’t a theoretical concern. Some states have already proposed or passed laws that would allow local prosecutors to charge librarians, teachers, or school board members for stocking certain titles. Some states have already targeted books by LGBTQ+ authors, people of color, and works that challenge traditional narratives. Historically, we understood something important: You can’t have a functioning democracy if people can be prosecuted for making books, ideas, or art available.

The idea that The Color Purple or Perks of Being a Wallflower might be treated as criminal content—while teenagers can access far more explicit material on their phones—is not just ironic. It’s dangerous misdirection. As John pointed out: When Common Sense Media surveyed teens about where they actually get pornography, 0% said “the public library” or “the school library.” The real vectors are phones, websites, and peers—not librarians.

So why go after libraries? They’re symbolic battlegrounds. If you can control what your community is allowed to read in public, you can shape what’s considered normal, acceptable, or even legal.

Solution #2: Fight Censorship at the Local Level (Where It Actually Happens)

One of the most important things I learned from John is this: Book bans and censorship fights are hyper-local. They usually start with a single complaint at a school board or library board meeting or a small group pushing a particular ideology. It might be low turnout elections where only a tiny percentage of voters show up.

To push back, you don’t need to be a constitutional scholar. You need to be awake and organized. John’s organization built FightForTheFirst.org as a rapid-response platform. Community members report a censorship attempt or policy. EveryLibrary helps launch a local campaign with tools to email school board members or elected officials, turn out people to meetings, and share accurate information about what’s really being proposed.

They’ve run over a hundred of these campaigns, with tens of thousands of people taking action, often stopping bans, reversing bad policies, or at least forcing public conversation.

What you can do:

• Sign up for alerts from organizations like EveryLibrary and your state’s library or civil liberties groups.
• If you hear about a book challenge or library fight in your area, post it. Show up to the meeting. Speak up as a parent, reader, or citizen. You don’t have to like or agree with every book to defend someone else’s right to access it. Think of it this way: If someone can successfully ban a book you dislike today, they can ban a book you love tomorrow.

Problem #3: “My Vote Doesn’t Matter” – Especially in Library Fights

In my episode with Amy Widestrom from the League of Women Voters, we talked about how most people only show up to vote for president. They ignore local elections where the decisions that shape our everyday lives actually happen. John made the same point about libraries:

• Library funding, board members, and policies are decided in low-turnout elections: school board races, city council races, ballot measures.
• Someone frustrated they couldn’t ban a book might pivot to a different tactic: “If I can’t remove the book, I’ll kill the funding.” The result? Libraries lose their budgets, hours, staff, even buildings—not because “the community decided,” rather a tiny, mobilized group turned out when everyone else stayed home.

If you care about free speech, public education, kids’ access to information, or simply having a place where you can sit in quiet with a book, you cannot ignore these elections.

Solution #3: Treat Libraries as a Barometer of the Society You Want

Think about what a library represents:

• A place where rich and poor have access to the same information.
• A place where majority and minority voices exist side by side.
• A place where you can discover, not just consume what an algorithm feeds you.

If we claim to value innovation, critical thinking, and democracy, then supporting libraries isn’t optional—it’s foundational.

Practical ways to support that vision:

1. Vote in local elections. School board, city council, and ballot measures often determine library funding, who sits on the library board, and whether censorship policies get adopted or shut down
2. Use your library. Check out books. Ask for titles you want to see. Use interlibrary loan if something isn’t available locally. Request that they acquire books (including your own, if you’re an author).
3. Support advocacy organizations. Groups like EveryLibrary and state-level coalitions (“Let Utah Read,” “Fair Districts,” etc.) rely on donations and volunteers to monitor legislation and mount campaigns.
4. Promote abundance, not restriction. If you don’t like a book, don’t read it. If you strongly disagree with its ideas, write your own book. Pushing to delete someone's voice from public space is a very different act than choosing what’s right for yourself or your family.

The Bigger Question: What Kind of Society Do We Want?

When John described hiking at Olympic National Park on carefully built trails, he made a powerful analogy: Those trails exist because previous generations taxed themselves to build public infrastructure, so that ordinary people, not just elite mountaineers, could experience something transcendent. Libraries are the intellectual equivalent of those trails. They are infrastructure for free thought, discovery, self-education, and civic participation. When we defund them, strip them of books, or criminalize the people who run them, we’re not just making a policy choice. We’re deciding what kind of country we want to live in. A fearful one that shrinks access and silences voices? Or a confident one that can tolerate, even celebrate, diverse ideas while giving individuals the freedom to choose?

If you want the second kind of country, start with your local library.

• Visit it.
• Defend it.
• Fund it.
• When the fight comes to your community, be ready to stand up and say:

We don’t ban ideas here. We face them, question them, and learn from them. That’s what a free society does.

Editor’s Note: This article is based on my podcast interview with John Chrastka, published on November 26, 2024. The ideas discussed here originate from that conversation. The structure, emphasis, and commentary are my own. Any errors or interpretations should be attributed to me, not to John Chrastka. 

Watch or listen:

Defending Libraries and Free Speech with John Chrastka