How a Quiet Librarian Became a Loud Threat to the Iowa Legislature: Book Censorship News, July 19, 2025

To see a future for public goods like libraries and schools, one of the most crucial steps we need to take is getting involved in local elections. This looks different for every person, but at the least, it involves knowing where and how school and library board elections work in your community–are they elected or appointed?–and voting in those down ballot races. Local engagement looks like encouraging friends and neighbors to show up and providing helpful information about who is seeking these roles to better the community and who is seeking these roles to push an extremist agenda.

Showing up to board meetings, either in person or via email, also makes a difference. If a library board only ever hears complaints from a small but vocal contingent, this not only skews the perception of what the community thinks of the library but it’s difficult for staff morale. Writing a short email to the library board and library administration or showing up in person to say that the library is doing a great job really matters. Setting aside 10 minutes a month to do this pays off significantly.

Another way to get involved? Run for office.

Without question, this option is not going to be for every person fired up over public goods. But for many who’ve never thought of themselves as public stewards, perhaps now is the time to think about where or how you may have the capacity to run for office. Run for Something, which has put more focus and energy into school board elections, reports that interest in running for local offices by progressive candidates has surged since the election. Their numbers as of mid-June indicate 50,000 people have signed up to run for local positions since November 5, 2025.

But for those with the capacity to do so, running for local-level offices is a huge opportunity to have a hand in changing the future for public goods. Today, I’m thrilled to share an essay from a librarian in Iowa who, fired up after seeing the right-wing legislation targeting libraries throughout her state, is choosing to run for the Iowa House of Representatives.

You may know India May, even if you haven’t heard her name yet. At a Friday, May 30 Town Hall Meeting in Parkersburg, Iowa (held at the convenient and accessible time of 7:30 AM), Jodi Ernst was at the center of a viral moment. She’d been asked about the impact of Medicare cuts in Trump’s budget and tax bill, and during her answer, a voice shouted from the audience that “people will die.” Ernst’s response was a startling heartless and honest “People will not — well, we all are going to die. For heaven’s sakes, folks.”

The voice from the audience was none other that India May.

**

When I was in elementary school my babysitter worked after school at the public library. I was left to my own devices in the stacks long enough that I caught the “reading bug” and fell into a lifelong love of literature. Now I work as a library director and I love the challenges of the job: finding the perfect book to recommend, arranging eye-catching book displays, helping job seekers spruce up their résumés, and watching the kids in my summer reading program catch the reading bug themselves. When I saw the legislation against libraries in my state, I turned to the group chat with my other Chickasaw county library directors. We had to speak up at a town hall hosted by our senator, Sandy Salmon, and representative, Charley Thomson. I could never have anticipated the interaction I had that day.

There were three anti-library bills in the Iowa Legislature—bills that would criminalize educators for sharing “obscene” material, ban books that depicted sex at all, and strip funding from libraries that are members of a library association. These bills were unconstitutional and, frankly, completely untethered from how libraries actually work. All accredited Iowa libraries already have existing procedures for handling disputed material within our library boards. But when I spoke up to explain this to our lawmakers, I was met with a blank stare from the sponsor of these bills. When I asked Senator Salmon about the basis for this legislation, she said, “I don’t know anything about that.” Worse, I learned that same day that Iowa had just repealed civil rights protections for trans and nonbinary people. I was crushed. That day, we became a state where trans folks can be fired, evicted, or denied care. Senator Salmon and Representative Thomson stood behind these laws without offering any rhyme or reason. They didn’t need a reason. Their minds were made up. I walked out of that town hall with a fire in my chest. I called Representative Thomson later, but he doubled down, claiming that “the American Library Association has an agenda to queer the catalogue.” I ended this call as politely as I could manage. I couldn’t get through to these lawmakers on their crusade to “save the children” from the boogeyman they claim is at the library or in the women’s restroom. So, as librarians do, I set to work on research.

I was lucky enough to attend an in-person local library event hosted by Annie’s Foundation, which is an Iowa-based nonprofit that protects the right to read and supports library workers and educators facing political targeting. I learned about groups like The FAMiLY Leader, which openly advocates for Christian nationalism, and Moms for Liberty, a far-right group known for demanding bans on books about race, gender, and history—especially those by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC authors.

I used to believe that if I stayed out of politics and focused on my work, then I could avoid ostracizing anyone and things would just work themselves out. But now, the work of helping my patrons feel safe, informed, and free is itself political, whether I want to participate in politics or not. Now, I’m willing to take the risk of being misunderstood. For context, I’m a librarian and a writer. I’ve published a couple of middle grade ghost story novels that are friendship-focused spooky stories about kids processing grief, autonomy, and curiosity through folklore. To Christofascists, those stories will be seen as nothing more than witchcraft. I’ve seen them call books like mine demonic simply because they contain spirits or non-Christian cultural traditions. My stories are wholesome and written with my whole heart (and a bit of ancient Iowa lore about effigy mounds).

The pressure is only mounting. I’ve spoken up on these topics to encourage others to take our leadership back and fight against this misinformation. Every person I turned to (organizers, former candidates, patrons, friends) urged me to run for office. Under normal circumstances, I never would have considered it, but I know what’s at stake. I am blessed with the bandwidth to take this risk, and as a public servant, I have many of the skills I need to win this race and to fight against these injustices.

Librarians are trained to research, research, research. (If only we expected the same degree of veracity from our lawmakers. Maybe they’d read the books they want to ban.) Librarians know how to stretch a dollar, to do more with less, and to accommodate for surprises. We center service, care, and personal freedoms every day. We solve problems and connect people with resources because we believe that everyone deserves the safety of a clean, well-lighted place. Our doors are open to all. That’s the mindset I want to see in public office.

The fight for the future of our democracy is right here in our communities. Book bans aren’t about “protecting kids.” They’re about silencing challenging ideas. Defunding libraries and stripping civil rights are assaults on public life, and they start with local and state policy. As the immortal words of a letter from some jailbird once stated, “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

I’m running for Iowa House of Rep because I refuse to let the loudest, most hateful voices dominate the story of our beautiful state. I’m running because our communities deserve better. I’m running because we deserve public servants who still believe in the public good.

Here’s my plea: If you love your library, run for something! Join an advocacy group. Speak up at a school board meeting. Volunteer for a campaign. Say the quiet part out loud: that people will die when civil rights are revoked, when healthcare is cut, when libraries close, when communities are denied access to the lifelines they need. I believe we still have time to write a different ending—if we’re brave enough to turn the page.

If you’d like to connect with me, visit www.mayforiowa.com. Keep up the good trouble, and read more banned books!

Book Censorship News: July 19, 2025

• “Alberta’s education minister says material the province deems sexually explicit must be gone from school library shelves as of Oct. 1, but says the announcement is not about book banning.” It’s the province of Alberta taking a page from Texas. Almost as if maybe there’s a political connection somewhere between the far right interests in each.
• Speaking of Alberta, officials used lists of America’s most banned books to pick their targets.
• While we’re international still, a piece about where and how danmei fiction writers in China are targeted for their writing.
• Here’s the full list of books banned earlier this year by the Department of Defense Education Activity, as released during court proceedings. Learn about the ACLU lawsuit against this book banning from the federal government here.
• In a big win, the republican governor of New Hampshire vetoed their state legislature’s book ban bill.
• This piece from a Minnesota outlet is surprised that the state has an anti-book ban bill but it hasn’t stopped book bans. Here’s a reminder that those are only as good as they’re enforced.
• There is finally movement on the lawsuit brought by library advocates against Prattville Public Library in Alabama. (Read here for the background of this lawsuit from those bringing it to court).
• Surprising no one, the librarian who was fired in Georgia for displaying a queer book during Pride was specifically and purposefully targeted for that firing. Here’s the play-by-play.
• Since COVID, threats to school board members have nearly tripled. Again, not surprising, given the landscape. It’s validating to have numbers.
• Further, here’s how one school board in Wisconsin flipped to being a far-right majority in only six months. (The answer is the policy of how these members are appointed–when your board is allowed to appoint the next member, guess what happens as the right takes over?).
• Sumner County Library (TN) board members can’t seem to pass their supremely hateful policy of banning trans books from the public library collection. Boo hoo.
• St. Charles City-County library officials (MO) are considering changing their book banning policy to make it a little harder to ban books in the collection. The policy would require a supermajority vote from the board for a title to be removed. It’s a step in the right direction and a reminder these policies are about who has power.
• A worthwhile read from a UK librarian about the erasure of knowledge, information, and access to materials in the US.
• Redlands Unified School District (CA) has banned numerous flags from the district but has failed to pass their book ban policy. Were California’s anti-book ban legislation being enforced, it wouldn’t have gotten to a vote here.
• Far-right politics have done untold damage to northern Idaho libraries (remember this?). Now the consortium which provided interlibrary loan services to 14 different libraries has been dissolved.
• Hanover schools removed more books than any other school district in Virginia, according to a new report from the state.
• Roxbury School District (NJ) is restricting access to Gender Queer. It won’t be on library shelves but behind the desk so students have to ask for it. That’s still censorship.
• Escambia County Schools (FL) can’t have their board members shielded from testifying in the lawsuit brought about over their book banning.
• Florida’s State Board of Education has changed the requirements for school library workers, reducing them from things like understanding teaching and learning to adhering to state standards. This is training them to be servants of the state, not their students.
• Fontana Regional Library (NC) now has a whole host of challenges ahead of them since pulling out of their regional library system over books they deem inappropriate for *all* members of their community. I do hope they see the lawsuits hinted at by one resident.
• Here are the 15 additional books that have been challenged in Beaufort County School District (SC) by the same woman who challenged 90-some before and who has been the single person responsible for nearly every one of the books banned state wide.