We write as a group of independent bookstores from across New Hampshire to raise our voices against censorship and for the freedom to read. Our nine companies span the state and differ in many ways, but we are united in this: We are proud to live in a state that values education, books and civil liberties.
We have been disappointed, however, to see the state legislature repeatedly pass bills that would jeopardize each of those things for the sake of misinformation and misrepresentation of the content and purpose of books. As people whose livelihoods depend on love of books, and who want to see literature and reading celebrated as they should be, this is extremely concerning. Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s previous veto of House Bill 324 last July showed leadership and keen judgment, and we ask her to veto SB 434 as well.
SB 434 has the same problems Ayotte pointed out with HB 324 when it was vetoed. New Hampshire law already gives parents the ability to opt their children out of lessons with certain content. Since parents can already make decisions for their own families, all this bill would do is let some people make decisions for other families. That’s not “parental rights,” it’s censorship. And as she said, it is not the place of the state to determine the literary value of certain books or decide for parents what their kids should read.
Decisions about book curation, community values and library policy should be made locally with the guidance of trained librarians, educators and media specialists. Instead, this bill will allow the superintendent or an unnamed “designee,” who may not have any familiarity with the book or library best practices, to make a decision impacting the whole community. Instead of empowering a democratically elected local body like the school board to make a sensible policy, this bill will incentivize censorship groups to use pressure and secrecy to take books off shelves and subvert the process providing for public comment.
As booksellers, we know how important it is that young readers discover a love of reading early. That love of reading is jeopardized when it becomes harder for schools to stock age-appropriate books in their libraries or when established book challenge processes are weaponized for political purposes. New Hampshire’s high literacy rates and low numbers of book bans are a sign that the system is working and does not need superfluous legislation.
We strongly urge the Governor to veto this bill, for the sake of free speech, the future of bookselling and young readers.
The bookstore owners involved in the My Turn include: Willard Williams of Balin Books in Nashua, Michael Herrmann of Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, Casey Gerken of Innisfree Bookshop in Meredith and Laconia, Katharine Nevins of Main Street BookEnds in Warner, Michelle Hale of Morgan Hill Bookstore in New London, Allie Levy of Still North Books in Hanover, Emerson Sistare of Toadstool Bookshops in Keene and Peterborough, Dan Chartrand and Steph Kiper Schmidt of Water Street Bookstore in Exeter and Laura Cummings in White Birch Books in North Conway.