Last month, America’s favorite author, Stephen King, alerted his followers on X by proclaiming “Florida has banned 23 pf [sic] my books.”

King, despite his extraordinary ability to conduct deep research for his novels, is supposedly unable to provide valuable context to his assertion. No, 23 of Stephen King’s books aren’t banned in Florida. They can be purchased from almost any bookstore, online and are available in most public libraries. The truth is some of his books have been banned from school libraries in four districts in Florida. For those that don’t see the difference, I envy your ignorance.

As most culture war issues go, I find the discussion of book bans to be overblown, exaggerative and relatively shallow. The book bans of today are not the book bans of yesteryear. There is no book, by title, that is illegal to buy, sell, or possess in the United States, and as far as I am aware, there is no concerted modern effort to add a title to that list. Most of the debate today is regarding what books should be available to either children or adults within public institutions.

Kids owed right to viewpoint diversity in books they read | POINT

When it comes to libraries within our schools, I believe the question we have to answer is quite simple: do parents and voters have a right to determine what books our children have access to?

Regardless of how you answer that question, understand somebody must possess this control. Whether it’s the community, parents, school boards, or individual librarians, somebody must curate the selection of books available to our young minds. Until it is physically possible to give children access to all books ever published, somebody must act as curator. As usual, I tend to favor allowing parents to make these decisions over bureaucrats and politicians, and usually at the most local level possible.

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On the question of public libraries, I find the solution a bit more evasive. Though these are taxpayer-funded, public institutions, and should be responsive to the public’s desires to at least some degree, I disagree with the notion putting a book on the shelves is an endorsement of the contents of said book. I, personally, have no inclination to complain about any book being publicly available.

Though I am disappointed that many have turned their back on a culture of freedom and free speech by trying to limit access to books (especially for adults), I am more optimistic than ever regarding access to information. Though it may be true challenges to certain books in public libraries may have seen significant spikes, an individual’s access to literature is broader and easier than it has ever been in human history. With a click of a button, you can have a book delivered to your door or a digital file downloaded to your device of choice.

According to the American Library Association, the most targeted books for removal from library shelves during the first decade of the 21st century were those in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. If you haven’t noticed, efforts to keep children from learning of the adventures of Harry, Hermione and Ron failed in spectacular fashion. Good riddance.

I’ll end with this call to action:

For those concerned you or your child are being deprived of a book — buy it off Amazon.

For those concerned your child might catch an idea from a book like the common cold, or become gay by reading a book with a same-sex couple — go touch grass.

Sage Naumann is a conservative commentator and strategist. He operates Anthem Communications and was previously the spokesman for the Colorado Senate Republicans. Follow him on Twitter @SageNaumann.