There are things that parents will just not stand for. Things they will not take kindly and will stand up when they think that it is wrong. That is exactly what parents did when they came across pictures of a dumpster at a school that was full of library books that were headed to the trash. The picture has been shared on social media, and thousands have joined in on the anger and disgust. It was infuriating to them to see good books that were destined to trash. They were also equally upset that these books seemed to all be about Black culture, indigenous culture along with other topics that are more important now than ever. Topics children need to be exposed to.
According to Fox9 News, this dumpster belonged to a middle school in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. The principal of the school has finally spoken out about the incident after the pictures started going viral on social media. Ryan Swanson told the news outlet that when he heard about it happening, he had to go see it for himself. “I was so mad, I just left” is what he had to say.
He also confirmed that the books all appeared to be non-fiction and they included topics like Native American history, the Constitution and World War II. He said he was able to save about 30 books, but that he also saw other people retrieving the books to donate them. Regardless of topic, books in good condition should never just be thrown away.
The middle school principal sent out a notice to parents saying that their media specialist had put the books out after “weeding through the collection.” They stated that they do this to books that are 10 years old or more and it helps them ensure that their material is up-to-date and that their needs for books change as their curriculum and students change.
The principal also stated that they tried to donate the books to Little Free Libraries in the area but due to the pandemic, a lot of organizations were not taking donations at this time. Ryan said that he had spoken to the principal about the incident, but that he still feels that it was handled poorly.