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Public libraries around the country have become major battlegrounds for today\u2019s culture wars. In 2022, the American Library Association noted a record 1,269 attempts at censorship \u2014 almost double the number recorded in 2021. Library events like drag story times and other children\u2019s programming have also attracted protest. How should we understand these efforts to control what stories children can freely access?\n\nEmily Drabinski is the president of the American Library Association and an associate professor at the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. She is steering an embattled organization at a moment when libraries \u2014 and librarians themselves \u2014 are increasingly under fire.\n\nThis conversation unpacks the political and cultural anxieties fueling the attacks on libraries. The guest host Tressie McMillan Cottom discusses with Drabinski how libraries are a bulwark against the increasing class divides of American life, how the \u201csmall infrastructure\u201d of the public library differs from big infrastructure like highways and bridges, how library classification systems can entrench the status quo, the parallels between political attacks on the library and the U.S. Postal Service, how censorship attempts fit in the broader landscape of anti-queer and anti-trans legislation and much more.\n\nThis episode was hosted by Tressie McMillan Cottom, a columnist for Times Opinion, a professor at U.N.C. Chapel Hill and the author of \u201cThick: And Other Essays.\u201d Cottom also writes a newsletter for Times Opinion that offers a sociologist\u2019s perspective on culture, politics and the economics of our everyday lives.\n\nMentioned:\n\nMore information about Ezra\u2019s lecture at UC Berkeley\n\nBook Recommendations:\n\nThe Promise of Access by Daniel Greene\n\nFlamer by Mike Curato\n\nHow Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue\n\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.\n\nYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.\n\nThis episode of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d was produced by Emefa Agawu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our senior editor is Annie-Rose Strasser. The show\u2019s production team also includes Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Sonia Herrero.