In line with Banned Books Week in September and the Freedom to Read Day of Action on Oct. 19, libraries across America are taking a stand against censorship and rising book bans. One topic, however, remains taboo.

Last December, a display of children’s books for Read Palestine Week at New York Public Library’s Roosevelt Island branch drew the ire of parents, who proceeded to check the books out indefinitely in protest. NYPL issued an apology, acknowledging how the display, which presented books about Palestinians alongside titles about Native Americans, “fell so short” and was “one-sided.”

According to the news website Hell Gate, the organization introduced a new policy in February requiring book displays on sensitive topics to be mindful of “differing viewpoints.” Subsequently, one librarian was reportedly told not to create a book display about Israel and Palestine.

In summer 2023, “A Little Piece of Ground,” a teen novel about a Palestinian boy, was removed from school curriculum in Newark. This year, New Rochelle Public Library in Westchester cancelled an event after complaints about the authors’ pro-Palestine leanings. In Brooklyn, a special education teaching assistant and the president of a Community Education Council were removed from their roles due to their zealous pro-Palestine advocacy.

As protests over the Israel-Palestine conflict engulf the city, school and public libraries are notably silent despite their fervent advocacy against censorship. At some schools, educators have been told not to express pro-Palestine views or wear apparel with images of watermelons or olive trees since they are “offensive” and “political,” according to a letter sent by the New York Civil Liberties Union and two other organizations to schools chancellor David Banks in June.

“I think there’s an extraordinary silence over Palestinian materials in libraries,” said Emily Drabinski, an associate professor at Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. “That we had a banned books week and this wasn’t a prominent theme strikes me as evidence of a problem.”

During a September panel on censorship at New York Public Library’s main branch next to Bryant Park, Drabinski said, “We need to talk about the voices from Palestine.” The other panellists, comprising three NYPL employees and a state librarian, seemed to avoid explicit mention of the issue while lending their support in vague terms.

“The reason I could speak about it at a New York Public Library event is because I don’t work at New York Public Library,” said Drabinski, who is also a former president of the American Library Association. The topic of Palestine has become “the third rail,” she said. “The cost of broaching it at all is extraordinarily high.”

When approached, librarians at several Midtown NYPL branches said they could not speak about the matter without permission, which the library did not grant.

School libraries have faced similar situations. Mina Leazer, president of the New York City School Librarians’ Association, said a community member accused a book display she put up on Israel and Palestine at the Seward Park Campus Library of being “unbalanced” and lacking a Jewish perspective.

Such incidents are often handled internally and kept off the record, Leazer said. Being a tenured librarian, she is able to speak out and “bear the brunt” of public criticism, whereas “untenured librarians are very cautious.”

In contrast, a pro-Israel view seems to be tolerated in some school curriculums. Leazer said that the Institute for Curriculum Services, a pro-Israel lobby group, has been endorsed by the Department of Education to conduct trainings on antisemitism and the Israel-Palestine conflict – referred to in its materials as the “Arab-Israeli conflict.”

“Libraries serve multiple constituents,” said Melissa Jacobs, the director of library services for New York City public schools. “You want to have representation of Palestinians, Israelis, all the different communities involved. Being exposed to these perspectives helps young readers develop empathy.”

To be sure, New York City libraries worry about larger, more existential threats such as funding cuts and reduced hours. “The biggest issue we face is that administrators are eliminating library positions in schools,” said Teresa Tartaglione of MLK Campus Library right by Lincoln Center. “There are about 1,600 public schools in New York City and only about 200 certified librarians.”

Still, she said, libraries have a mission to serve as a ‘third space‘ – an environment separate from home and school. “Libraries are safe spaces where young people feel they are seen. Our materials need to be reflective of what the world looks like.”