One of my mother’s favorite brags is that I learned how to read at the age of 3½. It is one of the things that she is most proud of.

The key to getting a young boy like me into reading was exposing me to books. During those days, there were few bookstores, so much of what I read as a child was from the local library. In the same breath that my mother talks about how early I started reading, she also mentions how she had to fight the librarians to get me my own library card at such an early age.

The first library I went to in Prescott, Arizona, was a three-story building, and much of the publicly accessible books were on the second floor. It was always a thrill going up and down in the elevator—down especially when there was a stack of books in my hands. While there was plenty to read in the children’s section, I always enjoyed the bookshelves in the adult section that were taller than me with thousands of books.

Then I went to the library in Chino Valley, where I grew up. After getting used to the fact that there was no elevator and the entire library was on a single floor, I also enjoyed perusing as many books as possible. It’s safe to say that being in healthy reading environments was what helped me to become a writer.

The only downside I could say about the libraries of my youth is that there was not any literature (at least, that I could find) involving gay characters. That was one of the biggest motivations for me to start writing books was because I wanted to fill the void and write the stories I wish I could have read growing up so I could realize being gay was not the worst thing in the world.

Fast forward to today, and there are plenty of other authors—both for children and adult books—who are bringing the LGBT community to life. Those books are getting into the libraries. I consider myself fortunate that some of my books have been put on the shelves of the local library where I live today.

Unfortunately, some libraries—pressed by their board of directors—are being told to relocate or remove LGBT literature for fear it will corrupt our children. A library director in Rutherford County, Tennessee, was fired because she refused to move 100 children’s books to the adult section of the library.

Luanne James wrote in a letter to the board, “I will not comply” with the order. She has worked for libraries for 25 years and secured $6 million in grants for the libraries in Rutherford County.

Librarians know that people become better educated when they read a variety of books. Many books I’ve been satisfied with, but there have been some books that left me with a pit in my stomach. However, I’ve always been a better person for reading outside my lane on more than one occasion.

Librarians expose us to literature, not shield us from it. It’s up to parents to decide what books are appropriate for their children to read. Notice that I said “their children” and not “everyone’s children,” because even though parents are tasked with instilling values in their own children, they’re not permitted to override what other parents want their children to see and read.

Luanne James lost her job, but the story caught fire in LGBT-focused publications, and a GoFundMe set up to help her shot past its initial fundraising goal and has—as I’m writing this—raised more than $129,000. Besides the money, people have praised her for sticking to her guns, knowing that censorship has never been a tool to creating an educated society.

I wonder if Luanne would have skipped arguing with my mother and just handed me a library card as a young boy without a second thought.

We need to back our librarians. We need to oppose censorship, whether it’s burning books, banning them or even relocating them. Most people who manage libraries have spent years figuring out what books belong where, so instead of Monday morning quarterbacking the keepers of knowledge, maybe we should all pick up a book and see if it can change our minds about the world.