- We always knew that it was gonna be a when, not if sort of thing.

So, you know, we knew we'd have to deal with this eventually, but we didn't really anticipate its form.

- [Will] With book bans sweeping the nation, Ferndale Library assistant director Jordan Wright says it won't be long before a wave of censorship hits Michigan.

In early June, two people checked out the LGBTQ books on display for pride month, trying to stop others from reading them.

The tactic, part of a national campaign called "Hide the Pride," by a group called Catholicvote.

The books were eventually returned, but Wright notes the larger trend of book banning is on the rise, to take the books completely off the shelves.

- So right now, the biggest target is LGBTQ books, particularly books with trans characters, or on trans topics.

- [Will] Pen America tracks book bans in school libraries, reporting 26% of banned titles have LGBTQ+ characters or themes.

- This past fall, you know, we were able to count over 1,400 instances of book bans, which equals about 800 or over, I should say, 800 unique titles being removed from student access in public schools across the country.

- [Will] Kasey Meehan is the Freedom to Read program director at Pen America.

- I think being able to see yourself represented in a book is critically important, as well as being able to see others who may differ from you represented in a book, is also critically important to, you know, continuing to foster, you know, what we would say is like an informed citizenry that's empathetic and understanding of each other and our differences.

- [Will] While some think all books should be included in the library collection, others believe certain topics are inappropriate.

- So I don't believe that, you know, topics such as gender identity, gender ideology, those types of things are appropriate for minors in school.

- [Will] Katie McFarland is the chair of the Oakland chapter of Moms for Liberty, which wants more parental control over their children's education.

- They have also been, I have also found as well, so many, so many people across the state of Michigan and across the country, pornographic material in our school libraries.

Just recently, we discovered the book "Genderqueer" in the Troy High Library.

- [Will] McFarland cites graphic sexual images in the novel "Genderqueer: A Memoir," by Maia Kobabe.

- Now, if that's not pornographic, I don't know what is.

- "Genderqueer" was the most widely banned book across the country this year.

It recounts the author's life growing up and accepting their gender identity and sexuality.

While some say the book is obscene, others argue it's misunderstood.

- I think there's a part of the strategy that can be provocative, that if you call out one book and label it as such, and that book, you know, and it kind of catches on, that people begin to fear that there are books that have, you know, that these books exist, and that these books are pornographic, sort of the rhetoric gets locked in the public discourse.

But, you know, again, we say there's, there is a legal test for obscenity.

- [Will] It's called the Miller Test, based on a US Supreme Court decision that defines obscenity.

Libraries can't acquire items without consulting the test.

Along with school libraries, book banners are targeting public libraries like Ferndale.

To counter that effort, the Michigan Library Association has an initiative called My Right to Read, which started in 2021.

- My Right to Read is about the value of protecting our First Amendment rights, which is the right of everyone to choose for themselves, what they read, what they want to read, and not making any assumptions about my neighbor, and what they can read.

- [Will] My Right to Read has a hotline, news of local incidents, tips for fighting book bans, and encourages citizens to join the cause.

For Mikula, more support for librarians feels essential.

- Censorship has been happening forever and ever and ever.

What we're seeing is the increased volume at our libraries at this point, and which is just almost overwhelming.

You know, the health and wellbeing of the profession is tired right now.

We've had to pivot so quickly to protect what is one of their most valued, you know, valued guiding principles, which is protecting the First Amendment.

- [Will] In Lapeer, north of Macomb County, a county prosecutor threatened to pursue legal action against library workers for allowing "Genderqueer" on the shelves.

at Patmos Library in Jamestown, Michigan, near Grand Rapids, citizens voted to defund the library.

- Basically, they were up for a millage renewal.

And the issue, the preventage of the millage renewal was that the library director wouldn't remove LGBTQ children's books from the library.

And so the millage didn't pass, so the funding ran out.

- [Will] The Patmos library is due to shut down in mid 2024 unless more funding is found.

In Ferndale, the library doesn't face those challenges.

- We put out a call, our strategy was basically to get enough copies of these books on hand, pre-processed, ready to go so that if this were to happen again, we can just put out more books.

- [Will] Wright said the library received hundreds of books in the following weeks, along with community support in the form of Facebook messages, personal thanks, even offerings of food.

- More and more libraries are community gathering places.

They're places, you know, they're the primary places for enrichment, education, entertainment and a community.

- The library is there for everyone.

And I think that we have to just keep that in mind is, all are welcome.

We have a diversity of books for all, and what's right for me is not, might not be right for you.

So choose a different book.