While the drumbeat of news stories of libraries and schools relocating or removing books continues, it’s important to remember that librarians have allies in the fight against book-banning. Here’s how a few notable figures American Libraries spoke to or covered over the past year reflected on advocacy, diverse stories, and censorship-free libraries.

“There’s a reason [for the lyrics of] ‘Bulls on Parade’ by Rage Against the Machine: ‘They don’t gotta burn the books / They just remove ’em.’ That’s what authoritarian regimes always do. Libraries and books are always the first step, along with picking out marginalized and oppressed communities. We have to point it out for what it is, and we have to fight back against it.”

Chris Kluwe, author, activist, and former NFL punter

“All readers deserve to have stories in which they can escape or a story with which they can identify—one that reflects their own culture, history, challenges, and existence. We can’t really know [one] another without knowing each other’s story.”

Pam Muñoz Ryan, Pura Belpré Award and Newbery Honor winner.

“Soft censorship is incredibly hard, and it has many pointy edges.”

Tara Cooper, librarian at Columbus (Ohio) City Schools, speaking at the session “Soft Censorship: How to Recognize It and How to Combat It,” at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2025 Annual Conference.

“I regularly hear from an educator or librarian saying, ‘I have one student in particular who needs this book.’ To me, the way that these folks are paying attention to readers, to the people in their spaces, and that direct connection that they can make with the story, feels so big. It feels so much bigger than saying, ‘Everyone needs this book.’ To know that one book could make an impact on one person’s life.”

Vashti Harrison, author and illustrator of the picture book Big, which follows a girl’s journey to self-love and which won the Caldecott Medal and Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Honors.

“The teachers and librarians I’ve spoken to are scared, and their jobs are already not easy. It’s a lot easier for them to just not choose my book, to not have me in as an author. It’s easier for my books not to be shared. And I understand that, but that is also really, really heartbreaking. If they’re scared to share books as noncontroversial as Dim Sum for Everyone!, where are we?”

Grace Lin, Caldecott and Newbery Honor winner.

“I can speak out. I’m not going to lose my job and salary. It’s really an ideal role to be a changemaker.”

Barbara Stripling, retired academic librarian and former ALA president, at the panel “Retired Librarians as Changemakers: Working Together on Advocacy” at the 2025 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition.

“Who could be better prepared to choose the books that go into a public library than a professional librarian? We don’t need private citizens with no background in library science or information science to make those determinations.”

James W. Lewis, former District of Columbia Public Library board member and library philanthropist.

“[I don’t like] Brussels sprouts. [But] just because I don’t like them doesn’t mean that you can’t eat them. Diversity is just having choices.”

Former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, speaking with author Kwame Alexander on the main stage at the 2025 ALA Annual Conference.

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