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Apr 03 2023
In a victory for the freedom to read, a federal judge in Austin, Tex., has found that a library board in Llano County likely infringed the constitutional rights of readers in the community by unilaterally removing books it deemed inappropriate. The judge has issued a preliminary injunction requiring that the banned books be immediately returned to the shelves and blocking the library from removing any other books while the case continues.
Mar 23 2023
With book banning and legislative attacks on the freedom to read continuing to surge across the country, the American Library Association announced today that it tracked a stunning 1,269 "demands to censor library books and resources" in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago, and nearly double the record-shattering 729 challenges recorded in 2021.
In a release, ALA officials said the challenges involved a record 2,571 unique titles—a stunning 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Once again, the vast majority of works challenged were written by or about members of the LGBTQ community and people of color; 58% of reported challenges targeted works in schools and 41% targeted materials in public libraries.
Feb 28 2023
"What was once an occasional distraction and disruption has increasingly become a daily occurrence," said Ray Daniels, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) chief communications officer, at the outset of the Winter Institute session "Book Banning: Stores, Authors and Communities: What Can We Do?" He went on describe how book bans affect bookstores, authors and communities, with challenges in stores turning into the quiet censorship of books turned spine-out, harassment of staff, social troubles and more. He then asked the panelists how they've addressed this issue in their own communities.
Feb 13 2023
A new Idaho bill would open schools and public libraries to lawsuits for allowing minors to obtain books, films and other media that depict sexual content deemed “offensive.”
The legislation, from Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, would allow parents to sue schools and libraries if employees gave their child “harmful” material or if the institution failed to take “reasonable steps to restrict access” to “harmful” materials for minors.
Feb 13 2023
More than 1 million books in Duval County schools in Florida are subject to review due to three state laws impacting certain subjects in education, including race, gender and sexual orientation, county officials told ABC News.
"As required by state law, we are in the process of having certified media specialists review all classroom library books," said Tracy Pierce, chief of marketing and public relations at Duval County Public Schools. "There are approximately 1.6 million titles in our classroom and media center libraries that need to be reviewed by a certified media specialist."
The books are under review based on several laws that restrict classroom topics, including the Stop WOKE Act and the Parental Rights in Education law, which was called the “Don’t Say Gay” law by LGBTQ activists.
Jan 28 2023
Native Washingtonian Kelsea Johnson realized many of the stories she was exposed to through books, TV shows and movies did not resonate with her lived experiences. When a story did center a person from a marginalized community, she said, it often included that person overcoming a feat. She wondered: Where were the stories about people of color being exceptional just by living “normal lives?”
These questions were part of a conversation with her college friend, Kyle Porro, in 2019 that inspired them to found their company, Stirred Stories. Since launching in 2020, Stirred Stories has published four books, with another five in the works. The books have reached 22 states and some are available on shelves at two local vendors, including the Outrage, a social justice store, and Little District Books, an independent bookstore sharing LGBTQIA authors and stories, Johnson said. The slogan is “publishing for a better tomorrow.”
“The intersection of being a Black person, and a woman really gives me an investment in marginalized communities and having our voices heard at mainstream levels,” said Johnson, 27 ... “We’re really excited to not just tell these marginalized stories, but to make them as authentic as possible.”
Dec 24 2022
Book bans have plagued many US schools throughout 2022, with stories focusing on LGBTQ+ and race issues being targeted by conservatives across the country, and the right aims only to step up its attempts at censorship in the new year, experts warn.
States including Missouri and Utah have seen intensifying crackdowns in recent months, with some Utah school libraries now requiring permission slips for students to borrow books covering LGBTQ+ themes. Elsewhere the convincing re-elections of Republican governors in Florida and Texas, which have some of the most restrictive laws around education, mean that change is unlikely there in the short term.
For all the furor among the right wing, however, Friedman pointed out it appears it is rare for the vocal pro-censorship people to have read the books themselves. Lists of offending books circulate among rightwing groups, and frequently conservatives will pluck titles and complain to school boards, while those complaints demonstrate a lack of familiarity with the works.
Oct 04 2022
In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, Deborah E. Mikula, executive director of the Michigan Library Association and Loren Khogali, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan, respond to the population of Jamestown, Michigan voting that they would rather defund — and possibly shutter — their only public library than keep books with LGBTQ themes on the shelves.
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When men are not regretting that life is so short, they are doing something to kill time.
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