Vote for sitting library board candidates
To the editor:
Three of the seven board members of the Sanibel Public Library District are up for re-election on Tuesday, Nov. 8, General Election Day: Susan Holly, Barbara Ruben and Roy Gibson. I urge you to vote for these fine people who support open access to all library materials. You can read their brief biographies at www.friendsofsanlib.org.
This election would ordinarily be a sleepy non-event but for a growing “parents’ rights” movement in Florida. “Parents rights” supporters are endorsing a competing slate of library board candidates. “Parents rights” is the euphemism for parents who want institutions to censor kid’s books on certain topics, such as those that address sexual orientation and gender identity.
If censorship takes hold in the library, what’s next? Did you know that, in 2015, the American Library Association included “The Holy Bible” and “Fifty Shades of Grey” in its Top 10 most challenged books? The Harry Potter series made the list in 2019. Yikes.
Libraries are a place to be exposed to all ideas. Adults can stay clear of topics or authors they don’t like and can guide their kids to do the same. “Parent’s rights” folk may object to kids’ books about gender identity. Atheists may object to kid’s Bible story books. Parents have long had to deal with these issues in their parenting just like other important and sensitive issues: creation/evolution, healthy food/M&Ms, abstinence/healthy sexuality/porn, just to name a few.
Please vote to keep the Sanibel Public Library an open place to all learning for all ages — vote for Holly, Ruben and Gibson. This is not a political issue — it’s the essence of what libraries are. Keep in mind that not voting is not an option — it opens the door to the election of the censorship slate of library board candidates, each with a four-year term.
Mark your calendar now and take the time to do it. You can make a difference.
John Dembeck
Sanibel