RESOLUTION BY THE ARLINGTON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
Whereas ready access to a wide range of books is essential for developing and maintaining an informed mind and is crucial for preserving intellectual freedom in the United States;
Whereas attempts to censor or remove library materials in the United States rose by 20% during the first eight months of this year, as compared to the first eight months of last year;
Whereas book banning efforts are now targeted not only at schools, but also at public libraries, where they inhibit access by anyone to the removed or censored books;
Whereas only 30% of the challenges to books in schools are initiated by parents of children with access to the books in question, and 70% of the challenges are initiated by people seeking to limit access to books by other people’s children;
Whereas the range of books sought to be banned has steadily expanded from books that contain any sensitive material, to books that simply have an LGBTQ character, to books about race, and in recent years even to folk tales, which are accused of promoting witchcraft; also books deemed to encourage children to avoid their household chores have been banned;
Whereas the current campaign to ban books, unlike most past efforts, is supported by national advocacy groups with substantial resources and targets many, not just a few, books;
Whereas many book removals from schools occur behind the scenes, outside of established review procedures, and go unreported, and in the current volatile climate some librarians are choosing simply not to acquire books that may cause controversy, and thus the full scope of ongoing censorship is not always apparent;
Whereas the Arlington Public Library has chosen to maintain a wide selection of books so that readers can learn about people, events, and other topics that previously were utterly unknown to them, as well as learning more about people, events, and other topics that are not new but about which their understanding was limited;
Whereas the Director of the Arlington Public Library has announced that during the upcoming Banned Books Week, October 1-7, the Arlington Public Library will declare its libraries to be Book Sanctuaries, meaning that they contain a diverse selection of books and promote and hold discussions of books by diverse authors; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, that the Arlington County Democratic Committee hereby supports the upcoming declaration by the Arlington Public Library that its libraries are Book Sanctuaries and the participation in Banned Books Week by public libraries in Arlington and throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia; and
Resolved further, that the Arlington County Democratic Committee hereby commends the Director of the Arlington Public Library for her leadership on these issues; and
Resolved further, that the Arlington County Democratic Committee hereby applauds the ongoing efforts of the Arlington Public Library to maintain a wide selection of books and other materials in order to continue to meet the needs of the people of Arlington County.
Passed and Approved on the 5th day of October, 2023.