Libraries Under Siege

By DON ROLLINS

“Vinton Public Library is a bridge to our community, providing a safe, welcoming space for all community members, access to free informational resources, and connections to help our residents thrive.” — Mission statement, Vinton (Iowa) Public Library

Its an unassuming corner of the world, east-central Iowa. The kind of place elites have for decades dismissed as featureless Flyover Country — a desolate place long on sky and prairie, short on character and culture.

This is of course subjective, ignorant and snooty. In actuality the region looms large in our greater narrative, from its deep indigenous roots and populist tradition, to burgeoning wind and solar power industries set to receive federal funding per climate provisions in Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.

At the western edge of this underestimated slice of Iowa lies the town of Vinton, population 5,000 (give or take) and county seat for Benton County. Near the heart of town stands a small but architecturally interesting building, the Carnegie-funded Vinton Public Library, open to the community in various incarnations since 1904 — a proud run for such a rural locale.

But that streak was broken on July 8, when a small but loud group of hard-right citizens managed to harass and defame the library’s staff into closing the doors, then resign. At issue was the number of LGBTQ+ friendly children’s books, hiring of staff persons identifying as LGBTQ+ and alleged dearth of Trump-friendly titles.

On the first count, the harassers called for parity between Christian resources and those in question. (The count was researched: 173-3.) When that didn’t work, they began checking out the queer-friendly resources and not returning them.

As to staff identifying as non-binary, it became a study in old school fear, hate and slander: Our children are not safe around those people. Spread the word.

The third objective was equally transparent: Remove kids’ books by Kamala Harris and Jill Biden, as well as biographies on liberal politicians and personalities. More Trump.

And so the library was shuttered, and the staff gone. It would be 18 days until the doors were reopened, but only with reduced hours, one part-time staffer and some volunteers.

Horrifying as the Vinton saga has become, it’s by no means an isolated instance. In Jamestown, Michigan, homophobic residents defunded their local library to prevent the “grooming” of their children. And at the state level, Arizona, Kentucky and Oklahoma have passed legislation requiring all libraries to meet intentionally vague “community standards” and “parental rights” tests before listing LGBTQ+ related materials for kids.

All this comes at a time when libraries should be reimagined and funded, not weaponized and shuttered. Some progressive communities and library boards are already experimenting with expanded roles — some of their choosing, some by default: day and evening respite for the un/underhoused; safety shelter in response to increasing weather extremes and events; search agents for affordable housing; access points for toileting, personal hygiene and diaper changes; internet and job centers; nexuses for mental health/social service programs and providers; education hubs for lifeskills, substance misuse, parenting, money management, language skills and racial/cultural interaction.

While even the most innovative models can’t cover this much ground, visionary libraries in San Francisco, Denver, Sacramento and Indianapolis serve as templates for how to approach concrete community leaders with concrete possibilities. Nobody’s saying these transformations are likely, even possible in most places. But name another existing vehicle for social good with so much unrealized potential.

What progressives everywhere can do is support their local libraries’ democratic practices, and challenge those put forth by rightwingers bent on highjacking yet another storied American institution. Our centers of learning cannot adapt to the times if they no longer exist.

Postscript: At last check the good folk in Vinton are still hanging in. You might send them a word of encouragement at vintonpl@vintonlibrary.com.

Don Rollins is a Unitarian Universalist minister living in Hendersonville, N.C. Email donaldlrollins@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, September 15, 2022

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