Would Chung stand for parents who want to ban certain books?

I read with interest the April 7 column “The Battle for the School Library, by David Chung. In it, he wrote about how as a child, he was discouraged by library staff from reading material found in the “big” section of the library. That any child should be discouraged from reading material they find interesting, no matter the age level of the material or age of the child, is something parents should decide. His father, after consulting with library staff, let them know his son was to be allowed to read whatever he chose. When Mr. Chung was a parent later on, he found himself having to do the same for his own son.

After those two incidents, Mr. Chung said he will always stand on the side of parents in these disputes. My question to Mr. Chung is this: will you stand on the side of parents who are intent on making sure not only their child, but every other child who uses the same facility, cannot access material they find offensive or don’t want their child to read? What about them? Do they have the right to decide for not only their own child, but everyone else’s child, which materials children should be able to access in public spaces like libraries? Or is that one instance where you will not stand on the side of parents over who decides what materials are allowed in a public or school library?

Lori Morris

Hiawatha