LinkedIn and Speaking Out

I use LinkedIn pretty regularly, and since the U.S. elections last November I've really struggled with adhering to unwritten rule that suggests were supposed to keep politics out of our conversations there. The idea being that LinkedIn is a place where we present only our most agreeable and professional selves; checking our strong opinions on hot-button topics like politics and religion at the door.

Rows of teen books are seen on shelves in a library

The issue for me and those in my field is that we work in a profession (libraries) that is very much on the front lines of politics. Specifically, we are working at a time when politicians and legislators are attempting to control what books can and can't be held in our library collections. We have politically aligned interest groups working to dictate the kinds of programs libraries can offer. We see politicians seeking to restrict access to the professional associations of those in the field. Laws are proposed that would criminalize making certain books available to certain patrons. Staff are being trained on how to respond when ICE enters their library. We even have politicians policing the public restrooms of libraries.

For just a random sample of how politics and policies are impacting libraries around the country, scroll through this latest set of legal updates from School Library Journal. I wish I could say that's a full accounting, but at this time it's just the tip of the iceberg.

So, while avoiding politics on LinkedIn might be an option for some professions, libraries and library workers can't. We are forced to grapple with politics every day. And lest you think things like free expression, equitable access for all, opposition to censorship, and a commitment to serve every member of our communities are tangential niceties that can be negotiated at the edges of policies, they are not. Those things are the philosophical and ethical underpinnings of the work we do and the services we provide. Library workers, and those who hold to the ethics of our profession, stand behind all of those values and more.

The fact is, ignoring the political threats that libraries face would be a disservice to libraries and the communities they serve. Now is not the time to be silent. Now is not the time to censor ourselves. Now is the time to stand up and speak out. Wallace Stegner famously called our national parks, "the best idea we ever had". I may be biased here, but I'd argue our best idea was actually libraries. I'd argue too that they're worth fighting for.

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