Well done Auckland libraries

Stuff reports:

Auckland Council libraries have stated there is no plan to pull two “transphobic” books which describe being transgender as a mental illness, despite complaints.

The books in question are Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters by Abigail Shrier and When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment by Ryan T. Anderson.

The complaints came in the wake of Mighty Ape choosing to pull the books after a number of people who are transgender complained.

Em, a transgender, non-binary Aucklander, said they had emailed Auckland Libraries with concerns after they noticed the books were available to borrow from a number of locations.

“They refused to remove it from their shelves citing freedom of access to information.”

“I think it’s reprehensible Auckland Libraries are providing access to hate speech while hiding under the cover of free speech.”

The books had the potential to cause real harm, Em said, particularly to vulnerable young transgender, non-binary and takatāpui rangatahi.

Or they could just not take them out. Or trust parents to be able to read a book and decide for themselves if there is any merit to the arguments in it.

Auckland Council Head of Content and Discovery Catherine Leonard said she understood the concerns the community had, but the books would not be withdrawn.

“In line with the Auckland Libraries collection development policy we have no plans to withdraw these titles.

“As a very large public library, we retain titles for a variety of reasons and our role is not to censor or limit what people may choose to read.”

Bravo. At least the libraries still stand for allowing people the right to choose what they read.

One could argue that some of Karl Marx’s books should be banned as they have led to hundreds of millions dying. But you know, I think people should be allowed to read it and make up their own minds.