The conversation was really about library collection development policies, according to Unite Against Book Bans, a national initiative supporting the fight against censorship and the panel sponsor. Nancy, in her words, tried to say she has put Holocaust denial books on library shelves because it’s still literature that should be accessible.
She said the same thing in a 2017 article for The World. Here’s a snippet from the article:
Pearl says there have been times where she’s come across a book she doesn’t agree with or finds offensive. This is a time where she says she has to give herself a “stern talking to.”
Books promoting Holocaust denial have come to Pearl’s library. She puts them on the shelf, regardless of her opinion.
“It wouldn’t be a library if there weren’t books that annoyed people.”
Ultimately, she says, reading makes people more compassionate. “It makes us get outside ourselves.” Something she feels people need to do more and more in today’s political and cultural climate.
The banned books movement is to ensure books covering different experiences are made available to readers, especially children depending on the reading level and genre. The fate of books that could be classified as misinformation — defined as incorrect or misleading information, or disinformation — defined as false information deliberately and often covertly spread in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth, is still up in the air.
