Conservative publisher Brave Books and author Kirk Cameron are planning a one-day mass children’s book-reading at public libraries nationwide, but the libraries may be making plans of their own.
An American Library Association official provided tips on thwarting the “See You at the Library” gatherings that Mr. Cameron and Brave have slated for Aug. 5, including tightening rules and scheduling other events for the same day to fill up the public meeting rooms before they can be reserved by local Brave Books fans.
“You can limit access to meeting rooms to persons eligible to hold a library card in your community. You could make a priority for library-sponsored programs,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, in a virtual June 8 presentation posted on Library 2.0.
“And what if your library decided to offer a whole host of programs in its meeting room on Aug. 5, making it unavailable for the public?” she asked. “That’s another option for you.”
Brave Books accused the association of attempting to “sabotage conservative or Christian parent groups from gathering in public libraries on August 5th.”
“It’s been revealed that the ALA is yet another institution that has been captured by wokeism,” Brave Books CEO Trent Talbot told The Washington Times. “They are stealthily removing Christian voices from the public square by encouraging libraries country-wide to suppress Christian conservative parent groups from meeting within public libraries.”
He added: “Let’s force their hand and see how far they will go to cancel Christians who want to host library story hours. Onward! See You at the Library on August 5th.”
Brave Books has called on “all families who love God and love America” to host children’s story hours at their local libraries in line with Mr. Cameron, who has crisscrossed the nation this year reading his Christian-themed books as a counterweight to library-sponsored Drag Queen Story Hour events.
The goal is to “gather at our local public libraries to pray, sing, and read a children’s book of virtue,” Mr. Cameron said.
“Imagine thousands of local libraries filled by you and your friends, your pastors, your representatives, turning our nation back to God and moral goodness,” he said in a video promoting the Aug. 5 event. “Imagine the tidal wave of hope and positive change that will bring. Are you with me? Go to BraveBooks.com and sign up to be part of See You at the Library.”
Sounding the alarm was BookRiot.com, billed as the “largest independent literary site in North America,” which said the Brave Books event “aims to stoke the moral panic around public institutions like libraries.”
“If you’re a public library worker, now is the time to prepare for what could be either an onslaught or a big nothing burger,” said the June 5 post by former librarian Kelly Jensen.
🚨 1/ BREAKING: We have obtained exclusive evidence that the taxpayer-funded American Library Association @ALALibrary is circulating guidance to sabotage conservative or Christian parent groups from gathering in public libraries on August 5th. One ALA director gave suggestions on… pic.twitter.com/iBqwIChNhJ
— BRAVE BOOKS (@BraveBooksUS) June 26, 2023
Brave Books said that it has already received messages from potential hosts “seeking guidance on overcoming barriers to reserving space at their libraries.”
“One of the common tactics libraries are using to sabotage the event is to claim that August 5th is completely blocked off for events,” the publisher tweeted. “We have evidence this is coordinated from above.”
Brave Books posted what it described as a leaked email from an internal library source in New Jersey warning about the Aug. 5 event and saying that “I hope that many of you already have library related programs scheduled in your meeting rooms that day.”
New Jersey State Librarian Jennifer Nelson said the system was not attempting to squelch the Aug. 5 event.
“The New Jersey State Library is not trying to prevent any organization from holding readings at local public libraries,” Ms. Nelson told The Washington Times. “Each local library has its own policy and procedures related to the use of meeting rooms by outside parties.”
The Washington Times has reached out to the ALA for comment.
In her presentation, Ms. Caldwell-Stone gave advice on how libraries can implement rules on access and behavior that allow them to “maintain control of the library” and “maintain it as a safe space” without running afoul of the First Amendment.
“You might want to ask, why is it important that the library have the ability to establish reasonable rules to govern user behavior and access to the library?” she said. “I’ll tell you why. That’s because we’re seeing groups that seek to censor LGBTQA materials or disparage or silence LGBTQA library users [and] exploit the open nature of the public library to advance their agendas.”
She named Brave Books and CatholicVote, which has urged supporters to check out, and thus remove temporarily from circulation, books with “progressive sex- and gender-related content aimed at children” as part of its second annual “Hide the Pride” campaign.
“For example, right now, Brave Books and Kirk Cameron are conducting a campaign to take over libraries on Aug. 5 by encouraging individuals to apply to use library meeting rooms for Kirk Cameron story hours,” Ms. Caldwell-Stone said.
She emphasized that libraries may enact “time, place and manner restrictions” in allowing groups to reserve public meeting rooms, but not rules based on viewpoints or beliefs.
“You’re a public agency and unfortunately, it’s a little bit of Caesar’s coin there,” Ms. Caldwell-Stone said. “You’re committed to nondiscrimination in the provision of services. If someone who’s eligible to use the room books the room, and has a Kirk Cameron story hour, they’re entitled to do that.”
At the same time, she said, “What you can do is exercise your own speech as an institution.”
“And so if you have a Kirk Cameron story hour booked in your library, you could actually have a library-sponsored Pride festival the same day and fill the library with rainbows, and have other programming in place,” she said. “You can put posters on the wall that make clear what the library’s mission and commitment to inclusion and diversity is.”
Based in Chicago, the ALA bills itself as the “oldest, largest and most influential library association in the world,” with more than 50,000 members.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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