This article was originally published in Maryland Matters.
Local libraries are currently facing almost a dozen different book challenges, with critics of stories like “Bye-Bye Binary” and “The Blackbird Girls” calling for their removal from shelves.
But these books and other challenged stories are still available on the shelves in Anne Arundel County, thanks in part to protections county officials recently put in place.
The Anne Arundel County Public Library this month became the first library system in Maryland to be designated a “book sanctuary,” dedicated to collecting and protecting endangered books, and holding book talks and other events designed to make them broadly accessible.
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“We want to preserve everyone’s ability to read the things they want,” said Rachel Myers, the branch manager of Discoveries: The Library at the Mall, one of the county system’s libraries.
Declaring the library a book sanctuary, Myers said, shows that, “We are steadfast in our dedication to being a place that is protective of books and of people’s freedom to read.”