America's Assault on Libraries Is Only Getting Worse

New year, same awful shit.

Photo: Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Not to cast any judgment on anyone, but January 12th is the exact time when any given resolution-maker might start to lose steam. Each year the calendar turns and, despite all knowledge to the contrary, we feel a distinct sense of promise that things could maybe, possibly, actually be different this time around. Now, I do honestly believe you can do that thing you’re trying to do this year (you’ve got this!), but I’m also here to remind you that many terrible things are definitely still plaguing us. Like, for example, the deeply scary right-wing movement that’s aiming to dismantle public libraries and all they stand for. Happy new year! The more things change, the more they stay the same. Sorry. 

I first wrote about this issue last month after spending a few months watching the stories about book bans and library defundings stack up. I thought I’d done a fairly thorough job, but after I published my blog, the stories just kept coming.