The Tennessee Association of School Librarians opposes the legislation now awaiting Gov. Bill Lee's signature.
Former past TASL president Lindsey Kimery says lawmakers made spurious claims to drum up support for the bill.
Its house sponsor, Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station), said school libraries in nearly every county contained "obscene" and "pornographic" material. He said lawmakers had gathered a list of more than 70 books that were not age appropriate. That list has not been provided to the media.
Kimery says school librarians are highly trained to determine which books are right for certain ages and grade levels. Because middle schools bridge the gap between children and adolescents, some school libraries do contain books that parents of younger children might find objectionable, but parents of older children would allow. In those cases, librarians try to guide children to the appropriate books.
Kimery and other librarians fear that a Republican-appointed commission with the authority to ban books would likely focus on titles written by or about marginalized communities, such as racial minorities or students who identify as LGBTQ.
She and other librarians were also disturbed when Rep. Sexton appeared to advocate book burning as an appropriate response to literature deemed offensive by the state.
