It is a sad fact that librarians have become warriors. Soldiers for truth. They do that just by the fact of their job which is to preserve and disseminate knowledge.  But libraries have been under attack for quite some time. That forces librarians into battle and bravely and happily librarians have usually been up to the task. They are frequently courageous  and competent foot soldiers.

Some libraries in Florida were recently closed so that staff can go through their entire stock of books and materials to ensure that they are complying with the new laws. They need to make sure that they comply with the censorship laws brought in by Ron DeSantis and his cultural warriors of censorship. The staff have no choice. Often, they don’t want to do that, but by law they must. As a result, instead of working hard to make reading materials available to their members they are working hard to ensure the materials are not available.

Librarians have been forced to go through tens of thousands of books to make sure they are acceptable. That is a travesty of their function. Those who require it are part of a basket of deplorables to enlist a phrase with a checkered past.

As Richard Ovenden said, “The idea that libraries are engaged in serious matters for the good of society needs to be shouted out.” They are not dusty old places overseen by ancient schoolmarms. They are places of battle, The battle for civilization. Nothing less.