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Why An Appalachian School Board Pulled 57 Books Off Library Shelves

School boards have become the latest front in America’s culture wars — especially when it comes to books in school libraries that some people think are inappropriate for students. That situation has been playing out in Rockingham County, Virginia, which sits midway down the Shenandoah Valley.

This conversation originally aired in the April 14, 2024 episode of Inside Appalachia.

School boards have become the latest front in America’s culture wars — especially when it comes to books in school libraries that some people think are inappropriate for students.

That situation has been playing out in Rockingham County, Virginia, which sits midway down the Shenandoah Valley. In January, the school board voted to remove 57 books from school libraries, prompting an outcry from people who see this as a book ban.

Ashlyn Campbell has been covering the story for the Daily News-Record. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams reached out to Campbell to learn more about what’s happening.

Adams: We’re talking about Rockingham County, located in the Shenandoah Valley, where the school board voted 4-1 to remove 57 books from school libraries. Why did they take this vote?

Campbell: This was something that multiple members of the school board campaigned on in November. A new majority came in who were very vocally conservative. They’ve said that they’re concerned over sexual content, profanity and violence. At the meeting where they took the vote, they said, we read the books, they’re deeply disturbing to us, and we want to protect the kids and the county. So that’s kind of the gist of why they wanted to remove the 57 books.

Adams: What kinds of books were removed? Can you share some of the titles?

Campbell: It’s a broad list of books. A lot of them have to do with the LGBTQ community, racial issues, mental health, stuff like that. One of the books, Felix Ever After, is about transgender teen, which is a coming of age story. There are some books on the list that are considered classics — books like The Bluest Eye, Beloved from Toni Morrison and Slaughterhouse-Five. There are books on the list that do have sexual content, profanity, violence. Looking for Alaska is on the list.

And then there are one or two books that don’t have any sexual content, profanity, violence. One of them is The Invisible Boy, which is a picture book. And then the other one is Drama, which is a middle school theater book that has kissing but no real sexual content. With The Invisible Boy, which is a picture book that talks about not feeling alone and having empathy, one of the board members said that they think it was mistakenly included. There’s another [similar] title that has to do with race and evangelical Christianity and stuff like that. One of the school board members did say that she thinks the picture book was mistakenly included on the list.

Adams: How did students and parents respond to this decision by the school board?

Campbell: [The school board] said that this removal is temporary while they develop a new policy to review library books. The vast majority of parents and students that I’ve talked to have been very upset about the ban. Students have walked out at several of the high schools. They held a rally about all of the issues going on with the book ban. I know a lot of people have sent a lot of emails to the board sharing their concerns — they don’t think they should ban books, because they help represent students, and it’s a slippery slope, and stuff like that.

There are community members that have spoken in favor of the removal. From their point of view, they don’t want sexual content in books at school libraries. But for the most part, the vast majority of parents and students I’ve talked to or have spoken out at meetings have been against the decision.

Adams: One of the things that comes up in your story is the board members do clarify like this, they say it’s not a book ban. It’s a “temporary removal.” So what happens next in terms of process?

Campbell: They’ve started the process of creating the policy of how books enter libraries, and how books are reviewed if they’re challenged. The other week, they met with school librarians to talk about what policies they have in place, what they would like to see from the policy, stuff like that. I think that was the first meeting to talk through what those policies will look like.

They’ve said they want to hear from community members, parents, teachers, librarians, all those kinds of people to start developing the policy. They’ve said that they would like to get it out sooner rather than later. They had that first meeting, and then I think they’re going to have another meeting where they hear more from the community. But from there, they’re going to develop a policy and we’ll see what they decide to include.

Adams: One of your follow-up stories notes that this isn’t an isolated incident, but part of a national trend. And certainly, we’ve seen other communities in Appalachia that have done something similar. Can you tell us a little bit more about what’s happening in the bigger picture?

Campbell: Rockingham County is not the only school division that has experienced both challenges, book bans and removals. A lot of school divisions have removed a lot of similar titles or have similar lists that they’re removing. A lot of that has to do with this website called Book Looks, which is a book review website that, while it says it’s not connected to Moms for Liberty, it has ties to the group.

For Rockingham County, the board member who compiled the list said, I pulled these from parent complaints, but then went and researched through Book Looks. She has this document that the vast majority of the books that she researched, which was about half of the list, she said is from Book Looks. There’s at least one screenshot for one of the books that she pulled directly for Moms for Liberty, too, which is a similar theme across a lot of school divisions where they’re using Book Looks or sources like Moms for Liberty to either pull directly from those lists of books, or, like in Rockingham County, the board member used to research it.

PEN America has said that book challenges [and] book bans are on the rise. A lot of this has to do with those groups that are now pushing removal of books, like Moms for Liberty, who in a lot of school divisions are directly going in and advocating for removing a lot of the books that are also on the Rockingham County list.

Adams: So this decision was made back in January, and it’s got a lot of attention. There was a Washington Post op-ed, I see there’s a thread on Reddit, and a lot of other outlets have picked up the general story. Do you think that bigger attention has made a difference in Rockingham County at all?

Campbell: For the school board, no. Now, the National Coalition Against Censorship sent a letter to the school board, advocating for them to put the books back and to have certain things in their process to review books. PEN America also worked with a number of authors to again advocate for them to return the books, to not have a book ban.

When I’ve talked to the chair of the board about this, he said that he’s not interested in national groups’ opinions about what’s going on because he’s listening to his constituents in Rockingham County. I think he sent a one sentence email back to PEN America that was like, “My constituents are in Rockingham County.” When I talked to him about the National Coalition against Censorship letter, he said something similar. He’s not taking anything that they’re saying into account, because he’s listening to people in Rockingham County.

Adams: Have there been any changes since this happened in January? It’s been a couple of months.

Campbell: The biggest thing that’s happened is that meeting with librarians where they shared their thoughts. A lot of them said that the decision really hurt them because the board didn’t consult them beforehand. But for the most part, I think the board is going ahead with the new policy to review challenged books, and then also to determine how books end up in school and classroom libraries. There’s been a lot of backlash. There’s been a lot of discussion about what’s going on.

But from what I’ve seen from the school board, I think they’re just going to go forward with their plan of how they’re going to develop the policy. In one of the work sessions, they did pull from a lot of other school divisions that have examples of policies for libraries. And they’ve said, not everything that are on those policies they want to include, but they want to pick and choose.

Adams: From reading your story, it looks like there are existing procedures already set up for the libraries. Can you tell us more about what those look like?

Campbell: They have collection development policies for each school. So they use things that compile reviews. There’s a number of websites that they use to look at books and determine what’s going to be included in their libraries. The division has also had a policy that was used to review challenged material for library books or instructional material. Now, the board has said that’s only for instructional material. It’s been a practice to use it for library material, but really, the policy is only written for instructional material. The policy has been used for library material for a number of years.

For the school division, libraries have collection development policies. Parents can go in and research what books are in their school libraries. And parents also have the option to be notified when their child checks out books, so they can see what their kid is checking out and, from my understanding, it’s in the single digits for the number of people that have actually utilized that option. So there are school-specific collection development policies. They use a lot of similar resources. There also was a county policy that they said is used for instructional material, but has been used for library material in the past.

A Talk Of Budgets And Taxes

On this episode of The Legislature Today, lawmakers are mulling over countless tax proposals that would directly affect West Virginians and their wallets. Randy Yohe sat down with Kelly Allen, the executive director at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, to discuss budgets and taxes.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, lawmakers are mulling over countless tax proposals that would directly affect West Virginians and their wallets. Randy Yohe sat down with Kelly Allen, the executive director at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, to discuss budgets and taxes.

Also, in a Friday morning session, the Senate advanced legislation on the postal service, parental rights and pro-life education. Jack Walker has the story.

With controversy still bubbling over a proposed bill that could impose felony charges on a librarian or museum curator for exposing obscene material to a minor, it was Library Legislation Day at the Capitol.

This week, our high school correspondents look at the role of the lobbyist in the legislative process. Hollywood often portrays them as throwing large sums of money around, but even the smallest nonprofit organization can have a lobbyist.

Finally, former state senator John Pat Fanning died recently. Fanning was elected to the West Virginia Senate on three different occasions. His first term began in June 1968 and lasted until 1980. He came back to the Senate in 1984 for a single term that ended in 1988. His longest time in the Senate was from 1996 to 2012. He left his position in 2012. Bob Brunner brings us this profile.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

WVU Continues Cuts With Reductions To Library Staff

WVU libraries will be asked to further reduce their budget by up to $800,000 as part of a review of 20 academic support units.

During a Campus Conversation Zoom call Wednesday morning, West Virginia University announced more planned cuts as part of its continuing restructuring in the face of a $45 million budgetary shortfall.

WVU libraries will be asked to further reduce their budget by up to $800,000 as part of a review of 20 academic support units.

Unlike academic units, academic support units are not subject to the Board of Governors’ rules and will not have a chance to appeal.

Mark Gavin, the associate provost for academic, budget, facilities and strategic initiatives, said the cuts will come from reductions in staff positions without disrupting offerings.

“This sounds like a heavy lift for a unit that has already seen reductions, and it is,” he said.

In June, the university announced libraries would reduce spending on collections by 8 percent for fiscal year 2024. In the same announcement it was noted that the libraries’ personnel expenses have already been reduced by 7 percent.

“Under its current structure saving $800,000 from the personnel roster would be rather debilitating, but through restructuring efforts, the Dean of Libraries Karen Diaz is confident she can realize these savings without negatively impacting service levels for students, faculty and staff,” Gavin said.

The university’s recommendation also includes an evaluation of the physical footprint of the libraries, but Gavin said it does not include the closing of any library facilities.

The Teaching and Learning Commons, a unit that provides broad services including classroom support, multimedia production and course and curriculum design support, will have many of its functions moved to other units.

Several positions for instructional designers and multimedia specialists will be moved to the WVU Online unit, as well as micro-credentialing and its related positions. WVU Online’s own recommendation letter states “there is confusion regarding who is responsible and accountable for certain activities/services.”

The management of Zoom and related functions and associated personnel will also be transferred from the Teaching and Learning Commons to an as-yet unnamed unit.

WVU Press and the Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative received recommendations to seek external funding. In the case of the Smith unit, the recommendation specifies “a plan to fully shift the unit’s salaries and operating expenses off of University general funds by FY 2026.”

The Women’s Resource Center and LGBTQ+ Center were among six support units that received a recommendation to continue to the current level of activity with no action. The full list of recommendations for all 20 support units can be found on the university Provost’s website.

Gavin apologized for what he called an “unfortunate and unavoidable” pause to the review of academic support units which began in May.

“The portfolio review process ended up demanding the full attention of our office so that we could deliver on the accelerated timeline set by the Board of Governors,” he said. “We had to pause our review of the ASU and recognize that in doing so, we created unrest and uncertainty.”

Reduction in Faculty

Administrators also briefly touched on details of the reduction in force (RIF) process for academic units that were approved to be cut by the Board of Governors on Sept. 15.

Faculty in the affected units will have until Sept. 30 to complete an “affirmation form” stating their desire to be considered for contract retention. WVU General Counsel Stefanie Taylor said faculty will learn whether the position has been eliminated no later than Oct. 16.

“The week of October 23rd, we will have due process hearings or meetings for certain types of faculty and classified staff that will be subjected to a RIF,” Taylor said. “On October 30, we’ll let folks know the results of those due process meetings and then December 1 is the last date by which you could sign and return a severance agreement if you were offered one.”

A Levy Funding Dispute And The State’s Longest Serving Senator This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, a levy funding battle between one West Virginia county’s school, library and parks systems could have statewide implications.

Also, Briana Heaney sat down with the longest serving state Senator in state history.

On this West Virginia Morning, a levy funding battle between one West Virginia county’s school, library and parks systems could have statewide implications.

Also, Briana Heaney sat down with Republican Donna Boley from Parkersburg – the longest serving state Senator in state history – to learn about the changes she has seen.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University. Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Libraries Keep Kids Learning Over The Summer

Summer is the perfect time for students of all ages to relax, but it’s also a time when learning loss can occur. One of the best resources to avoid the so-called “summer slide” is the library.

On a recent Tuesday morning, the Morgantown Public Library is holding its weekly Summer Reading Program event. Dwight Overstreet helps his youngest son Riley complete the worksheet about friendship in literature. His older son is upstairs, looking at anime books.

Overstreet brought both his sons to the Morgantown Public Library to take part in the day’s activities and pick out some new books.

“I’ve never seen the excitement on both of my boys’ faces when they walk into the library,” he said. “I think it is of such a huge vital importance for a child’s development to come to a public library like this.

Despite living in Morgantown for almost a decade, Overstreet says it’s only the second time he’s brought his children to the library. But as a middle school teacher, he recognizes the importance of summer reading.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Overstreet said. “I do think a lot of it is for them to utilize their abilities, to enhance them because reading is such a fundamental skill that you use from a young age to even as an adult.”

Libraries provide a unique bridge for children during the summer months they’re out of school. A study by the Education Commission of the States found that while students make similar achievement gains during the school year, disadvantaged youth fall significantly behind in reading during the summer.

The same analysis found that two-thirds of the 9th-grade reading achievement gap can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities during the elementary school years.

Sarah Palfrey is the director of the Morgantown Public Library system. She says Overstreet isn’t alone in delaying a trip to the library in recent years. But she says this summer has shown a marked increase in the public’s engagement with libraries since the COVID-19 pandemic emergency subsided.

“The enthusiasm is through the roof, both from the staff side of things and from the community,” she said. “We have been really pleased to see people, the return of a lot of families that we hadn’t seen for a while.”

Palfrey says increased engagement is great to see because reading experts agree that all reading counts toward a child’s development.

“But any kind of reading, all reading counts,” she said. “That’s our always at the baseline of everything.”

That means everything from picture books, to more traditional chapter books, graphic novels and even audiobooks count, regardless of topic.

“I think the biggest benefit that most kids get out of summer reading is sort of being in charge of choosing their own books,” Palfrey said. “Kids get told what to read a lot and summer reading gives them an opportunity to explore their own interests, read all the Minecraft books, all the Lego books.”

If your last experience with summer reading was from your own school days, things have changed a little bit.

Megan Tarbett is the director of the Putnam County Libraries as well as the president of the West Virginia Library Association. She says libraries have moved away from challenges or reading counts, and instead try to encourage library visitors to embrace the reading experience.

“We’ve moved away from quantitative logging of books for the children. We do bingo sheets and the things are, ‘I read for 15 minutes, I read outside, I picked a new book, I’ve visited the library,’” Tarbett said. “It’s different things instead of ‘I’ve read 100 books this summer,’ or ‘I only read two books this summer,’ because we don’t want to make anyone feel like their reading is less worthy, because they didn’t read as much.”

Libraries across the state and the country are hoping to not only keep kids learning during the summer, but more importantly spark a self-directed love of reading and learning.

Libraries also help with what Tarbett calls the business of life.

“Copiers, faxes, notaries, sometimes people are scrambling to try to print things and they forget that, you know, the library is there for them,” Tarbett said. “A lot of it is getting them to come to us with what they need, whether that’s entertainment or sustenance.”

Some libraries in West Virginia even serve as locations for summer food services, places where students can get free meals. And as temperatures heat up, libraries can play another important role in the community as simply a place to cool down and get away from the heat.

“It’s also uniquely situated as we require nothing of you to be in the building,” Tarbett said. “You can come in, use our computers, read our books, look at our magazines and never get a card. I don’t need to know who you are. And you don’t have to pay me a dime to just be in this place. And that is such a rarity. The library expects nothing of you.”

Library Benefits And Remote Working Opportunities To Offset Population Decline, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, summer is the perfect time for students of all ages to relax, but it’s also a time when learning loss can occur. One of the best resources to avoid the so-called “summer slide” is the library. Chris Schulz has the story.

On this West Virginia Morning, summer is the perfect time for students of all ages to relax, but it’s also a time when learning loss can occur. One of the best resources to avoid the so-called “summer slide” is the library. Chris Schulz has the story.

Also, in this show, with the addition of the New River Gorge region, the Ascend West Virginia program now has five destinations that are welcoming new remote working residents to the Mountain State. With the incentives of cash and free outdoor adventures, the program hopes to help offset the state’s population decline. Randy Yohe reports.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and produced this episode.

Teresa Wills is our host.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning