As we all know, book bans have been increasing at a rather horrifying rate in the United States. According to Pen America, “Books are under profound attack in the United States. They are disappearing from library shelves, being challenged in droves, being decreed off-limits by school boards, legislators, and prison authorities. And everywhere, it is the books that have long fought for a place on the shelf that are being targeted. Books by authors of color, by LGBTQ+ authors, by women. Books about racism, sexuality, gender, history.”

Just look at this (crazy? insane?) chart from Unite Against Book Bans reflecting the number of “challenged” books in 2022 compared to prior years:

Or maybe this chart from Pen America showing the subject matter of books that were ultimately “banned” in schools around the country:

The co-founders of the Tucson Tome Gnome have been long-time supporters of the movement against book bans – and we’re disgusted by the intolerance, exclusion, and censorship underlying book bans. But, we wanted to take a moment to make our stance very clear by joining two organizations/movements that are doing fabulous work in this space: Unite Against Book Bans and the Book Sanctuary Movement.

We’ll be sharing more about each of these efforts over the coming months, but for now please know that, in alignment with Unite Against Book Bans, we believe that:

• Books are tools for understanding complex issues.
• People deserve to see themselves reflected in a library’s books.
• Parents should not be making decisions for other parents’ children.
• Individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions about what to read.
• Limiting someone’s access to books does not protect them from life’s complex and challenging issues.

We believe in the power of reading – it’s why we do what we do. For ALL people, books can be windows into the realities of others, not just imaginary worlds. Books can be mirrors that reflect the lives of readers. Books can be sliding doors – readers can walk into a story and become part of the world created by the author – becoming fully immersed in another experience. Approaching the sharing of stories through the lens of windows, mirrors, and sliding doors prioritizes diversity, honors the beauty of cultural differences, and promotes empathy (this concept of books as windows, mirrors, and sliding doors was developed by Rudine Sims Bishop).

So, what does all of this mean? Well, it means that we are committed to serving as one of Tucson’s first Book Sanctuaries. As a book sanctuary, the Tucson Tome Gnome is committed to:

• Collecting and protecting endangered books.
• Making those books broadly accessible (book hiding, anyone?).
• Hosting book talks and events, including sparking conversations about diverse characters and stories.
• Educating others on the history of book banning and burning.  

You can read more about the Book Sanctuary Movement below:

What’s a Book Sanctuary?: Book Censorship News, October 14, 2022

Or, you can read this great article from Teen Vogue about the movement (as an aside, seeing this included in Teen Vogue has given us so much hope for the next generation!)

To be clear, as a book sanctuary, our aim isn’t to dispel critiques or dialogues about books but to encourage them. As one of the interviewees noted in the article from Teen Vogue, “Criticism is an influential part of examining literature and, with this recent wave of book banning, it has been extremely politicized. It’s no longer examining literature from a humanities’ perspective and therefore has simply become a way to fearmonger, to take advantage of voters, and gain political power.” In our opinion, freedom to read is the very thing that allows us to create space for discourse and analysis of literature — a safe space to form individual opinions. And OF COURSE, not every book is for every reader: just because you don’t enjoy a book doesn’t mean that it doesn’t speak to someone else. Let’s talk about it – not ban it.

So, today we’re kicking things off by asking others in Tucson and Pima County to join us: indie bookstores, Little Free Library stewards, the Pima County Public Library, and the Tucson Festival of Books – will you join us and help us declare Tucson a Book Sanctuary City? We hope so. We’re ready to do our small part to make the Old Pueblo Arizona’s first Book Sanctuary City. Together, we believe we can make it happen. Honestly, if any city in Arizona can do it, Tucson can.

You might be wondering, “Why are we writing about this now?” It’s not banned book month, so why focus on this now? Well, if you’re paying attention, it’s an issue that seems to be getting worse by the week. Rather than wait for an “official” month to tell us it’s time to do something about book bans, we decided to kick off our new (fiscal) year with this message: it’s never a bad time to fight against book bans.

Do you want to help us continue to ensure that a variety of books are accessible to folks in our community through our random-act-of-kindness book-hiding and book-sharing efforts? Please consider making a donation to (what we hope is!) your favorite book and gnome-themed nonprofit!