Testimonials
Erin Cataldi,
Adult & Teen Services Librarian at the Clark Pleasant Branch of the Johnson County Public Library
"Whether it’s at a school library or a public library; book banning is only ever negative – there is no positive outcome. Book banning is censorship and takes away people’s right to choose what is right for them."
Kay Walker,
former librarian
"Book bans cause me a great deal of concern. If you look back through history you see that banning books was often one of the first things that oppressive governments used to control the people and to control what they thought or believed."
Kaitlyn Burdine,
a Registered Behavior Technician with aspirations of becoming a school psychologist
"I'm firmly against [book bans] as they inherently deny young adults access to a diverse array of perspectives and ideas. Authors often write to challenge, educate, or resonate with their readers, and when we ban these voices, we hinder our youth's personal growth and understanding."
Elaine Murphy,
a retired teacher and school board member now serving on the New Albany City Council
"There is a strong conservative movement to limit diversity and diverse thinking—it’s a move to restrict the 1st amendment; it’s an attack on public education. It definitely has a negative impact on public educators because it diminishes their role as professionals and it’s used as a scare, intimidation tactic."
Legislation in a different setting
First-year teacher Faith Weitzel, who grew up in southern Indiana but moved to Tennessee for college and decided to stick around, said that the state has a system in place so that the state government and parents have more transparency about what books are in classrooms.
“In my experience, students have to be added to a mature reader list if parents allow them access to certain books. There have also been things put in place where books have to be scanned and uploaded into a Tennessee database that allows the state and parents to see all the books in your classroom,” Weitzel said. “I have also noticed that books that are being challenged or banned usually fall in the categories of LGBTQ+ books, books seen as sexually explicit, books containing self-harm, and books containing some sort of abuse.”
Faith Weitzel,
a first-year teacher from Indiana now teaching in Tennessee