Louisiana librarian, anti-book banning author to speak on censorship at Iowa City Book Festival

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IOWA CITY — When Louisiana school librarian Amanda Jones spoke at a library board meeting in her small town two years ago, she didn’t set out to start a movement.

But when she saw the agenda to discuss “book content,” at a meeting in 2022, she knew what it meant — and she knew she couldn’t stay quiet.

There, she was one of 20 to 30 others speaking out against literary censorship, where she delivered a basic speech on the harms of censorship and why banning books isn’t necessary, given proper library policies to remove objectionable content.

A few days later, the backlash started. Today, there’s still no end of it in sight.

“I didn’t set out to be the face of anti-censorship. I just wanted to be a citizen,” said Jones, 46. “It’s been a continuous nightmare for two years.”

Since standing up for books that discuss racism or LGBTQ themes, she’s been called a groomer, a pedophile and a pornography pusher everywhere from her work’s social media to her grandmother’s Facebook page. Bolstered by a crusade of dark money organizations flooding places like Livingston Parish, about 20 miles east of Baton Rouge, a dedicated group wears T-shirts with bananas to mock her every move — calling her “bananas crazy” when she speaks.

Even worse, she’s received death threats. Aside from travel for her new role as a coveted keynote speaker, she sticks to home. Now a self-described hermit, she gets her groceries delivered and her prescriptions from the pharmacy’s drive-thru in her small town to avoid dreaded interactions.

“I had someone tell me God’s going to wrap a millstone around my neck and (send me) to hell. People tell me to read the Bible — and I have twice, cover to cover,” said Jones, who was raised by Southern Baptist Republicans. “It’s very difficult for me to still live here.”

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The librarian, who has for decades worked in the same school she attended as a child, filed three police reports — each of which went nowhere.

So the 2020 Louisiana School Librarian of the Year and 2021 School Library Journal Co-Librarian of the Year decided to do something more — sue her harassers for defamation. Requesting damages of just $1, she wanted to set an example for the students who look to her to combat bullies, and for the librarians across the country facing similar challenges.

“I was raised to speak out, love thy neighbor,” she said. “I’m just doing what I was raised to do.”

“That Librarian,” her new book released in August, is part memoir and part manifesto on the front lines of America’s latest culture war. As she maps the book banning crises occurring across the country, she calls on book lovers to fight for intellectual freedom — a right fundamental to everyone’s freedom of speech.

As she studies book bans and court cases, she notices a few trends. Since book bans started in states like Texas, Florida and Louisiana, she said book censorship has spread to all 50 states in some way or another.

But now, in some of the states that were first to initiate the discussion, the pendulum is swinging back as others realize the mistruths they were fed — like the idea that librarians were putting pornography on children’s book shelves.

“I’ve been a resident my whole life here and a library cardholder since I was 5,” she said. “I’ve been at this school 24 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

But she refuses to be driven out of the home she’s always known, and news from other states encourages her. In Minnesota, for example, she sees anti-book banning bills being signed into law.

As she prepares to speak at the Iowa City Book Festival, the keynote speaker calls on the public to act against dangerous rhetoric that is making life difficult for readers everywhere.

She asks others to pay attention to meeting agendas for the library board and school board, which are usually posted in advance. Pay attention to what happens in meetings. Use a library’s resources and materials. And, in election years, vote.

“If you’re not paying attention, that’s when they slip these policies in,” Jones said. “They’re doing this in smaller towns where it’s easier to control the narratives and rile up people with false information.”

Iowa City Book Festival

The 16th annual Iowa City Book Festival is packed with a dynamic mix of events and programming celebrating the power of written word and the exchange of ideas Oct. 13 to 20.

Among 50 events this year, appearances include:

For more information and a full schedule of events, visit iowacityofliterature.org/icbf.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.