In 2022, Martha Hickson was nationally recognized for her efforts to oppose book bans.
The librarian at North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School received the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity in June of that year, which is awarded by the American Library Association.
Two years later, Hickson continues to lead the efforts against book bans in public schools in New Jersey, including in her own Hunterdon County district in Annandale, an unincorporated section of Clinton Township.
On May 7, members of the North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional Board of Education will vote on whether to ban “Let’s Talk About It,“ by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, a 2021 graphic novel that includes coverage of relationships, gender, sexuality and anatomy.
According to the meeting agenda, the board will be discussing the board Reconsideration Committee’s report, stemming from a formal complaint on Feb. 13. The complaint was filed by a community member requesting the book be removed for containing allegedly sexually obscene content, according to the North Hunterdon-Voorhees Intellectual Freedom Fighters, a group Hickson assembled.
Librarians are the “low-man, low-rung” members on the chain of command ladder when it comes to introducing new books into public schools’ libraries, Hickson said.
“But I do find it interesting that throughout all of these challenges that are occurring across the United States, the low-rung on the ladder — the librarian — is the one taking the heat and taking the punches,” she said.
“I have yet to see an assistant principal, a principal or a superintendent step up and say, ‘Hey, wait a second, don’t yell at the librarian,’” Hickson added.
Hickson was also named the 2023 Librarian of the Year by the New Jersey Library Association.
In 2021, Hickson opposed efforts to ban five LGBTQ+ books from the district’s library bookshelves. She became the target of personal attacks, which led to her taking an extended sick leave from the district.
She returned to her job and has continued to speak out at board of education meetings about censoring books in public school libraries.
“It does feel like as a librarian these days, that librarians are in a deep foxhole in the front lines of a culture war,” she said. “I’m not in that foxhole alone by any means. There are hundreds of us librarians, if not thousands, across the United States going through this.”
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Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com.
