PAROLE, Md.–Local libraries are currently facing almost a dozen different book challenges, with critics of stories like Bye-Bye Binary and The Blackbird Girls calling for their removal from shelves.
But these books and other challenged stories are still available on the shelves in Anne Arundel County, thanks in part to protections county officials have recently put in place.
The Anne Arundel public libraries this month became the first library system in the state of Maryland to be designated a “book sanctuary,” dedicated to collecting and protecting endangered books, and holding book talks and other events designed to make them broadly accessible.
“We want to preserve everyone’s ability to read the things they want,” said Rachel Myers, the branch manager of Discoveries: The Library at the Mall, one of the Anne Arundel libraries, located in this town near Annapolis.
Declaring the library a book sanctuary, Myers said, shows that, “We are steadfast in our dedication to being a place that is protective of books and of people’s freedom to read,”
After beginning in 2022 in Chicago, sanctuaries have since spread to twelve other library systems in North America.
In Anne Arundel, the library’s Board of Trustees decision follows the passing of the Freedom to Read act last spring, which Gov. Wes Moore signed into law. The act says that any library receiving funding from the state has to follow certain standards and can’t, among other things, remove material due to partisan, doctrinal, ideological or religious disapproval.
Over the past five years, Maryland public libraries have seen a dramatic increase in staff threats and bomb threats related to book bannings, according to the county website. More than half of them have also faced book challenges, officials said.
These attempts have been happening “not just in our state, but in our county of Anne Arundel,” said Maryland Del. Dana Jones, a Democrat from the county. She is author and sponsor of the act, and spoke at a recent press conference held during the national observance of Banned Books Week.
During the event, County Executive Steuart Pittman also declared the entirety of Anne Arundel county to be a book sanctuary.
Once the announcement concluded, Myers rang a big silver bell to announce that it was time for “Banned Book Storytime,” featuring a book called Grandad’s Camper, by Harry Woodgate.
Woodgate’s illustrated story – about a little girl traveling with her granddad after his male partner’s death – has been challenged nationwide.
But now it finds refuge in Anne Arundel County, and that means something to librarians.
“To have that backup as a professional, you can’t understate how much that means,” Myers said. “It’s not just us out here alone trying to do it. It’s backed by so many people.”