Oct. 19 is the Freedom to Read Day of Action. Communities across the country, including in Idaho, are celebrating their local libraries and showing support, writes a group of Latah County-area writers. (Getty Images)
Before we were writers, we were readers. The books we read as children in libraries and classrooms inspired our creativity, sparked our curiosity and expanded our worlds. Today, we in Latah, Lewis and Nez Perce counties, as well as people across Idaho, are standing up for the right to read freely.
Oct. 19 is the Freedom to Read Day of Action. Communities across the country are celebrating their local libraries, showing support for their librarians and educators.
Censorship is a reality in Idaho. The Legislature passed House Bill 710 in 2024, which “requires Idaho public and school libraries to move materials deemed harmful to children, or face lawsuits … if libraries don’t move materials within 60 days of receiving a request to relocate the material ‘to a section designated for adults only,’” according to the Idaho Capital Sun.
This law casts a shadow over libraries, forcing them to take action out of fear rather than in the best interest of their community.
This is especially harmful to our rural libraries, which are often small spaces with small staffs and limited ability to create “adults-only” sections. In turn, this hurts rural kids, whose access to books is already limited. For example, at the tiny but well-loved Donnelly Public Library, children can no longer enter without a parent present, or unless a parent signs paperwork allowing their child to attend programming or check out materials unsupervised.
The Donnelly Public Library opened its doors in 2017. The teepees in the playground outside are an important space for after-school and summer programming. The teepees also are used to educate local youth about the Nez Perce Tribe’s ancestral land, on which the library sits. (Mia Maldonado/Idaho Capital Sun)
Many of us are parents, and all of us love the kids in our lives. Families must be able to choose books that are a good fit for them without government intrusion. Moving, restricting, removing or banning books and intimidating librarians and educators takes away this freedom.
We trust our librarians to choose books, as do 69% of Idahoans, according to a recent Boise State University and Idaho Policy Institute survey. We believe librarians’ skills and knowledge equip them to build collections for children, teens and adults that represent the broad spectrum of human identity and experience, including stories of LGBTQ+ people and people of color. We believe this representation is essential to democracy.
Here’s where Idaho District 6 candidates stand on this issue.
Democratic candidates Julia Parker (running for state Senate), Trish Carter-Goodheart (House seat 6A) and Kathy Dawes (House seat 6B) have clearly affirmed their support for the freedom to read. Republican incumbent Rep. Lori McCann (House seat 6A) has as well, and voted against HB 710 in the Legislature.
However, Republican incumbents Sen. Dan Foreman and Rep. Brandon Mitchell voted in favor of HB 710, which has already hurt communities across Idaho and threatens Idahoans’ right to read.
We can work together as community members to protect the freedom to read — for young future authors and all children in Idaho.
Signed,
Eija Sumner (Idaho chapter lead for Authors Against Book Bans), Kim Barnes, Samantha Burns, Leontina Hormel, Jeff P. Jones, Noah Kroese, Annie Lampman, Cameron McGill, Tiffany Midge, Stacy Boe Miller, Tara Karr Roberts, Alexandra Teague, Robert Wrigley and Sara Zaske
Disclosure: Roberts has worked as a freelance copy editor for Kathy Dawes for Idaho. Dawes was not involved in writing this letter.
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