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March 30, 2022   |  News

Statement of the MCLS Board of Trustees

MCLS Board of Trustees Statement


MCLS is eager to reach a resolution with the city of Ridgeland. We appreciate the city’s acceptance of the library services contract as presented by MCLS as well as their willingness to work towards an acceptable MOU. As we continue to work towards this understanding, the MCLS Board of Trustees stands firm in our support of our staff and the outstanding library services they provide to everyone in our communities. Our libraries are a repository of knowledge and culture, providing far more than access to books. We provide computer and job training, early and family literacy programs, homework help and tutoring throughout the school year, upstart business resources and access to digital resources for those who don't have access at home; we bridge the information technology gap, keep children reading and fed during the summer months, offer free access to educational and cultural events; we supplement the school libraries and collaborate with area teachers on STEM programs as well as outreach to retirement and nursing homes, to schools, daycares and community events, and the list goes on. In short, our libraries have a significant and positive impact on the lives of all of our citizens. In response to requests for comment, the MCLS Board of Trustees stands by the previous statement issued by the Library Director and released here again with additional comments.

MCLS Board of Trustees


Director's Statement


MCLS, including the Ridgeland Library, has a long history of providing excellent library service to our patrons and our communities. We are well-respected among libraries in this state and across the country which has made the conversation with the mayor and this entire situation even more difficult. My staff and I just want to continue to do what we have always done – provide our communities with a true and legitimate library that serves the informational, educational and cultural needs of everyone. We are trained professionals and public servants. We do not have an agenda – we have a mission and that mission is to provide information, knowledge and resources for everyone in our communities.

Governed by the Library Board of Trustees as outlined in the state statutes, MCLS follows board-approved, standard library practices for selecting, cataloging, displaying and shelving of library materials. To be clear, adult books are not displayed in the children’s area and 4 books on the top shelf of a display of over 100 new books covering multiple subject areas is not an agenda or political statement. We strive to have a diverse collection in format, content and scope that meets the needs of our communities. In considering materials for inclusion in the collection, we do not exclude an item based solely on its subject matter, including topics some may find objectionable. We consult professional review resources, recommended and best seller lists, the interests and requests of our patrons as well as the needs of the collection and look for credible, authoritative sources and publishers. Generally speaking, we are limited only by budget and space.

As a parent, I understand wanting to guide our children – it’s what we all want - to do what’s best for our children, but it’s up to each of us to decide what that is for our own children and our own families. MCLS has always maintained that we do not act in loco parentis. It is not only every parent’s right, but their responsibility to guide and direct their children towards materials they deem appropriate. But not all families look the same, or have the same beliefs and affiliations. So the book that is not right for your child may be just what another family needs and, in fact, may be their saving grace. As a public librarian I have a responsibility to serve all parents, all children, all families who use the library in a way that is fair and consistent.

Because the library is for everyone and because we serve the entire community, our collection is as diverse as the individuals and families we serve. It is up to the individual to select materials appropriate to their own needs. According to the United States Supreme Court, the library is a place of voluntary inquiry which means everyone is free to choose what to read or not to read, which programs to attend or not attend, which resources to use or not to use. It’s a right guaranteed by the First Amendment. No one person should control access to information for everyone based on their own personal beliefs. It’s by providing a diverse collection with different viewpoints and perspectives that we empower patrons to make those decisions for themselves and for their families. When you take that right away from one of us, you take it away from all of us.

And that’s what public libraries are about; empowering people to make informed decisions, enabling people to see themselves and beyond themselves, to build empathy for those whose lives are vastly different from our own and a sense of community from the similarities we find, as well as a respect for different viewpoints so that even in our disagreements – those times when we agree to disagree - we at least have a better understanding of each other.

Censorship (including hiding books away so others don’t have to be offended by just seeing them) sends a clear message to those who see themselves in those books – you are not welcome here, your story shouldn’t be told, you are “less than”. Everyone’s story deserves to be told and no one should be made to feel “less than”. Community spaces should be safe places where everyone is welcome.

Censorship teaches that everyone is or should be the same. But we don’t live in a bubble – everyone’s life experience is not the same. Seeing and knowing that fosters empathy and understanding. Diverse and inclusive representation is important for all of us. We don’t have to agree with a book to know its value – we just need to understand the value of having the freedom for our own stories to be told and understand that others have that freedom as well.

“Mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors” wrote children’s literature researcher, Rudine Sims Bishop. We all need to read and see stories that reflect our own lives for a shared sense of belonging, to know we are not alone and that others have walked this path before us, and to even understand and know ourselves. But we also need to read and see stories that open doors to the lives of others. We need to see ourselves as the hero, but we also need to know that others are heroes, too. In our diversity, we need to look for the things that truly matter and bind us together, not for the things that might drive us apart. Kindness, grace, compassion, respect, love. These are things we all deserve and where we can find common ground because, ultimately, censorship and the banning of books doesn’t protect us from the world, but acts as a barrier to us understanding the world, ourselves and others.

My staff is committed to continuing that long tradition of excellent library service and to have libraries that stand for free speech, freedom of information, ideas and thought and, most importantly, where everyone is welcome.

Tonja Johnson,
Director Madison County Library System



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Madison County Library System
102 Priestley Street
Canton, MS 39046
601-859-7733

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