On January 7, 2025, the Bayonne Public Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously to designate the Bayonne Public Library as a book sanctuary!
What is a book sanctuary? A "book sanctuary" is a space where access to books and the right to read them are at the forefront of its mission. This is a local measure that libraries (and municipalities!) can take to help protect a basic right of a democratic society: intellectual freedom and our right to read.
What commitment does a library need to make to be a book sanctuary? A book sanctuary commits to doing at least one of the following: collecting and protecting endangered books; making those books broadly accessible; hosting book talks and events based on banned books; and educating others on the history of book bans and burning.
Does being a book sanctuary preclude book challenges? No. The Bayonne Public Library has a "Materials Selection and Reconsideration Policy" which establishes our Collection Development policies and our procedure that allows library users to submit their concerns about the appropriateness of materials in our collection. The book sanctuary resolution ensures that challenges follow these procedures and underscores the library's commitment to upholding the First Amendment rights of all citizens and ensuring equitable access to information.
Why are we doing this now? On December 9th, 2024, Governor Murphy signed the "Freedom to Read Act" into law, which prevents arbitrary book banning and protects the rights of students, parents, and communities to have free access to age-appropriate books and learning materials at school and public libraries. This act also provides protections for library staff members against civil and criminal lawsuits related to complying with this law. You can read more about the "Freedom to Read" Act here.
Our goal in becoming a book sanctuary is to express explicit support for the freedom to read for our patrons. There are currently 43 library systems (including Bayonne Public Library!) and 4 municipalities in NJ that are designated book sanctuaries. You can view them all here.
But isn't this what you already do at the Library? Yes! This is simply a public statement that we aim to protect access to books and the freedom to read.
Do people actually ban or challenge books in New Jersey? Sadly, yes. In the last few years, there have either been book bans or book challenges in a number of NJ towns, including Roxbury, Sparta, Bernards Township, Washington Township, Westfield, North Hunterdon, and Wayne Township. You can read more here. And all over the country, we have hundreds of attempts to censor library materials and services every year.
What kinds of books get banned? These days, most banned or challenged books include Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) or LGBTQ+ characters or authors.
But over the course of the last 30 years, banned books have included everything from the children's picture book about penguins "And Tango Makes Three", classics like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain and "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling, and the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series. You can read more from the American Library Association about book bans nationally here.
Who can I contact to get more information? You can email our Director, Melody, at [email protected]