West Virginia libraries have seen no challenges to book access so far this year, following just one challenge in 2023, according to American Library Association (ALA) Communications Specialist Raymond Garcia.
The data comes during a national downturn in reported book challenges, although some challenges and self-censorship may go unreported.
Last legislative session, House Bill 4654 proposed that the state hold educators criminally liable for displaying media deemed to be “obscene matter” to minors. The bill did not pass the West Virginia Senate. Lead sponsor Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, did not respond to requests for comment.
The West Virginia Library Association released a statement on HB 4654, comparing it to other states’ bills that ultimately removed books from institutions. It argued that the bill “opens our cultural and educational institutions to damaging attacks.”
Ron Titus, an electronic services librarian at Marshall University, has put together several digital resources about banned books in West Virginia, pointing to a history of book bans extending to the 1974 Kanawha County Textbook War. He said advanced literature classes often include difficult topics on their curriculums.
“I always say what you’re doing with your child that’s totally up to you, but that doesn’t necessarily give you the right to dictate to someone else what they do with their own child,” Titus said. Libraries should be “a place for the whole community.”
Titus said parents can pull their individual child from units with required reading. But he also encourages people to read and engage with books on a case-by-case basis rather than rely on organized groups trying to remove lists of titles, a trend in recent years.
“Talk to your kids,” Titus said. “They’ll let you know if they are uncomfortable with something.”
Jeannette Walls is the author of “The Glass Castle,” a memoir about her childhood that features her years living in Welch and includes extreme poverty and abuse. She said she still considers West Virginia “home.”
The book has faced challenges and bans outside of West Virginia but remains on many school reading lists. Walls said while she is often unsure of how to help specific communities resist book bans, she is “passionate” about advocating for the book’s accessibility.
“I tour a lot on behalf of it,” Walls said. This often includes “kids coming up and saying, ‘I thought I hated reading until I read your book,’ and, ‘Your story’s like mine.’”
“They tell me their stories and it just takes my breath away,” she said.
For Walls, writing the book opened ways to understand herself and connect with people from all different socioeconomic backgrounds. She said that seeing students have a similar experience in reading the book is more “meaningful” to her than any widespread recognition.
Walls also emphasized the importance of book discussion happening in the community space of a classroom, where she credits teachers’ skills in guiding conversations and creating space for students — like her West Virginia high school teachers did for her.
“I think we’re underestimating kids and their ability to understand and cope with these stories,” Walls said. “And I think that sharing and taking people out of their shame is the most valuable tool that we can give our kids.”
Banned Book Week 2024 runs from Sept. 22 to 28.