Former President Barack Obama, in an open letter published on his social media accounts Monday, praised the country’s librarians for standing “on the front lines” as book bans spread around the nation.

In the letter to the “hardworking librarians of America,” the former president took aim at the ongoing efforts by conservatives, especially the Florida-based Moms for Liberty, a group recently designated as a hate and extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, to ban books covering issues regarding gender, human sexuality and race.

Writing on Twitter, Obama noted: “Today, some of the books that shaped my life — and the lives of so many others — are being challenged by people who disagree with certain ideas or perspectives. And librarians are on the front lines, fighting every day to make the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions, and ideas available to everyone.”

The former president outlined in the letter American authors and poets who made a significant impact on his life.

“Writers like Mark Twain and Toni Morrison, Walt Whitman and James Baldwin taught me something essential about our country’s character. Reading about people whose lives were very different from mine showed me how to step into someone else’s shoes. And the simple act of writing helped me develop my own identity — all of which would prove vital as a citizen, as a community organizer, and as president,” Obama said.

“Today, some of the books that shaped my life — and the lives of so many others — are being challenged by people who disagree with certain ideas or perspectives,”  he added. 

A report released by the American Library Association (ALA), covering its annual assessment of books being challenged or banned in the United States showed a dramatic increase.

According to the ALA, nearly 1,600 books in more than 700 libraries and library systems across the nation involving race, gender and the LGBTQ community, were targeted by conservative groups in many cases led by anti-LGBTQ+ groups like the Florida-based Moms for Liberty.

ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals.

Over this past year, libraries have found themselves at the center of a culture war as conservative groups led a historic effort to ban and challenge materials that address racism, gender, politics, and sexual identity. These groups sought to pull books from school and public library shelves that share the stories of people who are gay, trans, Black, Indigenous, people of color, immigrants, and refugees.

In an article published by The New York Times, the paper reported that as highly visible and politicized book bans have exploded across the country, librarians — accustomed to being seen as dedicated public servants in their communities — have found themselves on the front lines of an acrimonious culture war, with their careers and their personal reputations at risk.

They have been labeled pedophiles on social media, called out by local politicians and reported to law enforcement officials. Some librarians have quit after being harassed online. Others have been fired for refusing to remove books from circulation.

In his letter, he noted that Americans owe librarians a “debt of gratitude” for continuing to provide access to these stories.

“In a very real sense, you’re on the front lines — fighting every day to make the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions, and ideas available to everyone,” Obama said. “Your dedication and professional expertise allow us to freely read and consider information and ideas, and decide for ourselves which ones we agree with.”

The former president also cautioned: “It’s also important to understand that the world is watching. If America — a nation built on freedom of expression — allows certain voices and ideas to be silenced, why should other countries go out of their way to protect them?”

He highlighted the valuable contributions of librarians across the country writing:

“Together, you help people become informed and active citizens, capable of making this country what they want it to be,” he wrote. “And you do it all in a harsh political climate where, all too often, you’re attacked by people who either cannot or will not understand the vital — and uniquely American — role you play in the life of our nation.”

 Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association.