In Missouri, years of efforts to ban books take a toll on school librarians: 'It's too painful'

Mernie Maestas, a librarian at the Wentzville School District, sits with her husband Doug while they brainstorm Christmas gift ideas for their children and grandchildren on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, at their home in Foristell, Mo. The Wentzville school district has arguably been subject to some of the most intense efforts to remove books from libraries and classrooms. Maestas says the policies are threatening free speech, public schools and even our democracy.
The efforts to remove books from school libraries started with parents in local districts and eventually led to state legislatures. After two years of controversy, one Missouri school librarian says her colleagues are leaving the profession because it has become too painful.
Mernie Maestas remembers when the recent movement to ban books from libraries started in the Wentzville School District, where she is an elementary school librarian. The first book challenge came from a community member who didn’t have kids in the district’s schools, Maestas said.

Soon, the effort spread. Parents became concerned and started to speak out against school library books they said were “sexually explicit.”

“And, gosh, I don't blame parents,” Maestas said. “I feel like the way it was initiated was done in a way to foster fear. And every parent wants to protect their child.”

From there, Maestas said the effort snowballed. Book challenges were on the rise in school districts across the St. Louis region and the country. Soon, state legislatures took on the issue. In Missouri, hundreds of books were removed from school libraries after a new law made it a criminal offense to give students books with visual depictions deemed “sexually explicit.”