School libraries

Re “Fall from grace” (Your Views, March 3): David Murphy says that “no books have been banned” because he “can go on Amazon and buy every one of those books.” And that is exactly what curious students or people do, so banning books from schools and libraries can actually increased their sales. But not everyone has unlimited discretionary income. The whole point of libraries is to offer a wide selection of materials at no cost so that everyone can access the vast array of knowledge and literature on the shelves. Just browsing opens windows to the world.

I understand that some parents fear that their children will be “corrupted” by reading a book outside of that family’s belief system, but it is their personal responsibility to censor their own children rather than depriving others or vilifying librarians and teachers — most of whom are parents themselves. Why should you control what someone else reads?

From Girolamo Savonarola to Adolf Hitler to George Orwell’s Big Brother, the suppression of thought is antithetical to freedom, and is eventually unsuccessful. Most students (including those happily embedded in their parents’ belief systems) are simply curious about ideas outside of their own family’s bailiwick and are pretty resourceful. I trust that book-banning advocates have also removed cellphones, computers, radios and TVs from their children’s lives, forbidden contact with their peers, and provided earplugs and blindfolds for everyday use.

— Virginia S. Dopp, James City County