LIBRARIES: Free people read freely

I want to thank Community Library Network trustees Rachelle Ottosen and Tom Hanley for attending the viewing of “Banned Together” at the Coeur d’Alene Library on Sunday, Jan. 19. Given the unfortunate outcomes of the board meeting the Chair and Co-chair led on Jan. 16, where over 8,000 residents will no longer have full access to the cooperative’s catalog (likely inciting a lawsuit), I hope they learned why the government shouldn’t tell citizens what they can and can’t access. In case they missed it in the film, here are six points that warrant a review.

1. People want access to what they want to read and what they want their children to read.

2. The First Amendment doesn’t just protect speech; it protects the ability to access ideas.

3. People don’t want to co-parent with the government. If it was really about “protecting the children,” there are ways the government can get involved that don’t necessitate telling parents what they can and can’t do regarding their children’s reading interests — there are far more dangerous things to address. 

4. The vitriol of those who want to limit access to materials, the same vitriol that some Community Library Network trustees have added to, has real-world consequences for library staff and their families.

5. Removing access to materials at a library can be an insurmountable obstacle for those of marginalized communities to engage with material they may relate to.

6. Fascist governments tell their citizens what they can and can’t read.

Free people read freely. If Kootenai County is “Free,” shouldn’t we be able to read freely, too?

NATHAN HANSEN

Post Falls