Perceptions of Social Justice Education in Rural Nevada Public Libraries
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Authors
Polley, Catherine E.
Issue Date
2024
Type
Thesis
Language
Keywords
Bans , Censorship , Nevada , Public Libraries , Rural , Social Justice
Alternative Title
Abstract
Social justice education is a critical practice as it confronts and challenges existing inequities within society and helps equip participants with the tools to change them. With a growing number of conservative book bans and censorship occurring nationally, social justice education is at risk, as the bans often target books involving themes of racism, sexuality, gender, and history. Though most bans and censorship are occurring in K-12 schools, public libraries have not been immune. In 2022, every state, but Nevada, had some type of book challenge or implemented bans or censorship. Because most conservative bans are occurring in Republican dominated regions, this research will specifically explore Nevada's Republican voting counties, all of which are in rural Nevada, and why bans have not been as prevalent. This research is guided by two main research questions. RQ1: How might differing definitions of social justice influence the importance of social justice texts in public libraries? and RQ2: How does perceived demand of social justice texts impact the availability of these types of texts in public libraries? Additionally, this study will examine who Nevada's librarians are and what additional resources and means of community support are provided through rural Nevada libraries that may indirectly contribute to advancing social justice efforts. This research uses a mixed methods approach, including in-depth interviews with six Nevada librarians and results of a demographics survey. Findings show that rural Nevada librarians perceive the importance of these books to be equal to other types of texts, yet the demand for them is low, thus the availability of them is low as well. This study contributes to extant literature on the purpose of a public library, the role of perception and bias in decision making, and social justice education in public libraries while also providing a further examination of how these all influence the current debate of book bans and censorship in public libraries.