Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
"Florida school boards will no longer get final say on book challengesUnder a new law, people can appeal to a state magistrate if a school district review doesn’t go their way.
This past spring, lawmakers added a provision to the law governing book objections that would allow parents to request a state magistrate review if they disagree with a school board’s action on a challenge. After hearing information from all sides, the magistrate would recommend a resolution to the State Board of Education, which would make a final decision.
School districts would be responsible for the cost of the review.
Parent Kim Mulrooney objects to the removal of Is He a Girl? because board chairperson Gus Guadagnino told Suncoast News, a subsidiary of the Times Publishing Company, that he thought the book was “stupid” and he’d rather see children reading something "more substantial."
"That’s not a legally valid reason for removing materials," said Mulrooney, who sat on the Pine Grove Elementary advisory panel that unanimously backed the book after a resident challenged it.
Mulrooney wants to appeal, but the district says the board vote is final. Soon, though, that should change.
This past spring, lawmakers added a provision to the law governing book objections that would allow parents to request a state magistrate review if they disagree with a school board’s action on a challenge. After hearing information from all sides, the magistrate would recommend a resolution to the State Board of Education, which would make a final decision.
School districts would be responsible for the cost of the review.
the avenue would be open to anyone, whether they are fighting to get a book returned to the shelves or get it taken away.
Stephana Ferrell, co-founder of Florida Freedom to Read Project, raised concerns that the model could have unintended consequences.
Because the cost of a magistrate review would be borne by districts, she said, some districts might seek to avoid the expense by taking books out of libraries and classrooms — or not buying potentially controversial ones — before any objections can be made.
Ferrell suggested the balance of power would remain in the hands of those seeking to remove books, not keep them.
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, further questioned whether the magistrate process could be objective, “given who’s in charge of the department.” The State Board of Education has seven appointees by Gov. Ron DeSantis, and education commissioner Manny Diaz recently told a Moms for Liberty convention that public education is too “woke.”
https://www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
Good news in Tulsa! ":Despite LGBTQ+ book brouhaha, Tulsa Public Schools renews CityYear agreement
City Year has partnered with Tulsa Public Schools for a decade to provide tutors and mentors for students at multiple sites throughout the district.
However, a June 15 Instagram post from the organization highlighting nine books featuring LGBTQ+ characters in honor of Pride Month had board member E’Lena Ashley characterizing City Year as “politically charged” and questioning whether the district should continue that partnership.
Students are standing up and speaking out against hateful rhetoric.
https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/edu...
In KansasSt. Marys officials again threaten library because of LGBTQ books
City commissioners says they don’t want ‘garbage’ on the public library’s shelves
Trigger warning: Very hateful language
Gerard Kleinsmith says he hates the idea of censorship.
He just wants to pull the lease for the city’s public library because he doesn’t like books about transgender people.
As a city commissioner, he feels it is his duty to remove transgender content — “garbage,” as he refers to it. Kleinsmith said during a city commission meeting that removing the library was part of his job as a city official, emphasizing “God doesn’t make mistakes,” and his belief that people can’t change genders.
“My goal is to terminate the lease with the library,” Kleinsmith said. “If they want to have their library, so be it. Go do it. Find another building to do it in, I can’t stop that. My intention is not to stop that, but I will not ever vote for any taxpayer money, facilities, anything to be used anywhere that houses this kind of garbage.”
He is supported in this stance by the other members of St. Marys’ five-person city commission, a heavily religious group that attends the Society of St. Pius X, or SSPX, an extreme religious sect that broke away from the Catholic church. The commissioners have said at previous meetings that their views are influenced by their religious affiliation.
“Some things are wrong,” said commissioner Richard Binsfeld, during a city commission discussion about transgender books and the transgender community at large. “If you live up to your morals, if you stand by your morals at all, you’d look at it and say, ‘Why do we have it?'”
The public library has been under scrutiny from local officials for months, narrowly surviving an attempt to pull the lease at the end of last year. Library director Judith Cremer said she and her staff were trying to work with the commissioners while remaining in accordance with legal guidelines for public libraries.
She’s still not sure why the commissioners have taken issue with the library in recent months when it had operated in its St. Marys location for decades without problems. Cremer has held her position since 2003, and until last year, this was a position without controversy.
“We’re not part of the city structure and the lease agreement is the only leverage that they have seemed to be able to find,” Cremer said. “They seem to be continuing down that road, which I’m disappointed with because we have still been here doing our job, trying to help people, trying to do summer reading, and I feel like it’s a misunderstanding of who we are. We are trying to do our job and we have followed the rules."
The library formed an advisory group in an attempt to address community concerns with library materials, but efforts toward reconciliation have been unsuccessful.
The library’s lease renewal came up for debate last year because the library refused to accept a renewal clause asking for the removal of all LGBTQ and socially divisive books from the shelves. Facing intense public pressure, the commission in December renewed the lease for one year.
Now, city commissioners have renewed their campaign against LGBTQ books, despite federal legal protections for public libraries.
(More hateful rhetoric in the article)
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ST. MARYS — Gerard Kleinsmith says he hates the idea of censorship.
He just wants to pull the lease for the city’s public library because he doesn’t like books about transgender people.
As a city commissioner, he feels it is his duty to remove transgender content — “garbage,” as he refers to it. Kleinsmith said during a city commission meeting that removing the library was part of his job as a city official, emphasizing “God doesn’t make mistakes,” and his belief that people can’t change genders.
“My goal is to terminate the lease with the library,” Kleinsmith said. “If they want to have their library, so be it. Go do it. Find another building to do it in, I can’t stop that. My intention is not to stop that, but I will not ever vote for any taxpayer money, facilities, anything to be used anywhere that houses this kind of garbage.”
He is supported in this stance by the other members of St. Marys’ five-person city commission, a heavily religious group that attends the Society of St. Pius X, or SSPX, an extreme religious sect that broke away from the Catholic church. The commissioners have said at previous meetings that their views are influenced by their religious affiliation.
“Some things are wrong,” said commissioner Richard Binsfeld, during a city commission discussion about transgender books and the transgender community at large. “If you live up to your morals, if you stand by your morals at all, you’d look at it and say, ‘Why do we have it?'”
The public library has been under scrutiny from local officials for months, narrowly surviving an attempt to pull the lease at the end of last year. Library director Judith Cremer said she and her staff were trying to work with the commissioners while remaining in accordance with legal guidelines for public libraries.
She’s still not sure why the commissioners have taken issue with the library in recent months when it had operated in its St. Marys location for decades without problems. Cremer has held her position since 2003, and until last year, this was a position without controversy.
“We’re not part of the city structure and the lease agreement is the only leverage that they have seemed to be able to find,” Cremer said. “They seem to be continuing down that road, which I’m disappointed with because we have still been here doing our job, trying to help people, trying to do summer reading, and I feel like it’s a misunderstanding of who we are. We are trying to do our job and we have followed the rules.”
While commissioners have no governing influence over the library, the Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library would be forced to shift locations if the lease isn’t renewed, giving up a community spot it has held for decades and depriving St. Marys residents of easily accessible library material.
The library has been housed in St. Marys since the 1980s, operating on an annual lease with the city. The library acts as the headquarters for eight locations, including Alma, Alta Vista, Eskridge, Harveyville, Olsburg, Onaga, St. Marys and Westmoreland, with county residents funding the library through taxes.
An eight-member board of trustees provides oversight of the library’s operations, with Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee County commissioners appointing members to the board to serve four-year terms. The commission doesn’t have influence over board decisions.
The library formed an advisory group in an attempt to address community concerns with library materials, but efforts toward reconciliation have been unsuccessful.
The library’s lease renewal came up for debate last year because the library refused to accept a renewal clause asking for the removal of all LGBTQ and socially divisive books from the shelves. Facing intense public pressure, the commission in December renewed the lease for one year.
Now, city commissioners have renewed their campaign against LGBTQ books, despite federal legal protections for public libraries.
St. Marys City Commissioner Richard Binsfeld says the library's LGBTQ books conflict with his sense of morals
St. Marys City Commissioner Richard Binsfeld says the library’s LGBTQ books conflict with his sense of morals. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)
During the April city commission meeting, Kleinsmith raged against the book “Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition,” a coming of age story about a transgender teenager.
“This author is absolutely wrong. God does not make mistakes,” Kleinsmith said. “God cannot make a mistake. We can make mistakes. Mankind can make a mistake. God cannot make a mistake. … I will do everything I can to fight this kind of garbage.”
“If God makes you as a male, you are a male,” he added. “If God makes you a female, you are a female, no matter what.”
St. Marys Mayor Matthew Childs, who formulated the anti-LGBTQ renewal clause last year, said during the April meeting that the library’s contents would once again influence the commission’s decision to renew the lease.
“We don’t want transgender books in the library. … The elephant in the room is that we don’t want the library to be promoting certain types of material,” Childs said. “If the library is, we come back to the question, do we want to renew it at all?”
Sharon Brett, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, which warned commissioners to drop their censorship attempts during the first lease renewal discussion, said city officials need to remember constitutional protections.
“Each member of the commission should remember that their own discomfort with a certain book does not justify restricting its availability to everyone else in the community,” Brett said. “Not only is this potential censorship authoritarian, it has implications under even a basic reading of our First Amendment. We urge the commission to remember their obligations under the Constitution.”
Cremer said she and the library board had been trying to cooperate with the commission and concerned residents as much as possible.
“We’re providing services to the community,” Cremer said. “We’re taking care of the same people. I don’t see why there should be a problem.”
Following the April commission meeting, she sent a letter to the commissioners asking them to directly address their concerns with library staff, as they had a process in place to review book complaints.
Library staff are also participating in the advisory committee. Cremer said the library was sending regular updates about the library and the advisory committee’s work to the city commission.
But she is still fielding criticism from religious members of the community, including during a contentious June 28 library board meeting attended by Binsfeld and other St. Marys residents.
“As we move forward, we would like to see that all LGBTQ+ media — whether audio files, movies, books, activities, etc. — be removed from this branch altogether and from any access, including online ordering and inter-library loans, to any minor through this branch,” resident Stephen Murtha wrote in a letter to library board members.
The library should reflect the community’s Christian majority, Murtha wrote.
Cremer said for the most part, these complaints were from a small segment of the population and that she hasn’t had problems or complaints from a majority of library customers.
But she is concerned about the future of the library.
“We have continued, even though that stress and controversy has been significant,” Cremer said. “My staff and I have continued forward just as we always have to provide those services, because it’s not the people that we’re serving, it’s not their fault, but they’re the ones that are going to be losing.”
https://kansasreflector.com/2023/07/1...
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Do they not see the irony of their actions drawing attention to books that had not been checked out in years...
QNPoohBear wrote: "In an interview after the meeting, Hanna said the five pulled books had been donated to the school district and not been checked out for years."Kathryn wrote: "Do they not see the irony of their actions drawing attention to books that had not been checked out in years..."
I don't think they see anything past their own hysteria. They think if they ban the books, kids won't know they exist, conveniently forgetting the internet exists and kids gossip. If they go to school, they'll hear stuff in the hallways, get asked questions they don't understand. They'll turn to Google or Siri and then their parents will REALLY kick up a fuss about what they see there! My mom just said almost 11-YO nephew is one step away from discovering explicit content online. He watches a lot of YouTube and they have ads.
This is the most horrifying news I've heard. I didn't know that was possible let alone probable. Where one goes, the rest follow. Montana State Library Withdraws from the ALA
citing Marxist beliefs of ALA president (a volunteer 1 year term)
".In his motion to “immediately withdraw” the state library from the association, commissioner Tom Burnett directed that a letter be sent to the ALA explaining that “our oath of office and resulting duty to the Constitution forbids association with an organization led by a Marxist.”
Burnett was joined by five other members of the commission in supporting the motion, among them state Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. Newly seated commissioner Brian Rossmann, who works as an associate professor at the Montana State University Library, cast the sole opposing vote. Commission Chair Peggy Taylor abstained.
Several prominent members of the self-styled parental rights movement spoke in favor of the withdrawal, including Bozeman parent Cheryl Tusken and Moms for Liberty Montana chapter treasurer Jessie Browning. Both testified regularly during the 2023 Montana Legislature in support of proposals such as House Bill 234, the state’s so-called obscenity bill.
“I think this is a really good move to send a really clear signal to our national organizations that we are not in agreement with the direction they are taking these organizations,” Tusken said, likening the motion to the Montana School Boards Association’s decision last year to withdraw from the National School Boards Association. That decision was fueled by the NSBA’s request for federal assistance in addressing widespread threats against teachers and school board members over COVID-19 mask mandates and other issues — threats the NSBA likened to domestic terrorism.
Tusken and other parents were joined in public comment Tuesday by Derek Oestreicher, legal counsel for the conservative Montana Family Foundation, and by David Ingram, a board trustee at Kalispell’s ImagineIF library. Both framed their support for withdrawing the state library from ALA membership in the context of national culture-war issues, claiming the organization embraces policies tied to critical race theory and uses public funds to, as Ingram stated, “undermine truth and natural law.”
“Instead of pursuing the long-term viability of future libraries and supporting the traditional role of acquisition, preservation and circulation, ALA desires to inject the library into the vanguard of the culture wars,” said Ingram, whose local library’s recent struggles with such issues were the subject of an April article in the New Yorker. Fellow ImagineIF trustee Carmen Cuthbertson, who sits on the Montana State Library Commission, spoke in favor of and voted for the ALA withdrawal.
Similar points were raised by other individuals who alleged that the association is responsible for making objectionable materials available to minors, has advocated in support of conversations about gender identity among children, and is actively seeking to promote a Marxist ideology. Two commenters in the meeting’s Zoom chat wrote that they’d attended in the hope of initiating similar efforts to withdraw from ALA in Georgia and Kentucky.
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Several supporters of the motion did make the suggestion that the commission consider revisiting ALA membership once Drabinski’s term as president expires. Arntzen expressed the same sentiment in lodging her support for ALA withdrawal, encouraging fellow commissioners to “rebuild” and look elsewhere for professional opportunities in the meantime, but remain open to future ALA involvement when the organization “has a different leader.” Arntzen also acknowledged the vote had a “dollar impact,” referencing the average $1,000 that ALA membership has annually cost the Montana State Library.
A majority of the commission’s current members have been appointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte since he took office in January 2021. Rossmann is the commission’s only active librarian and was appointed last month by Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian.
In response to Tuesday’s vote, Montana State Librarian Jennie Stapp told MTFP that the ALA would be notified of the commission’s decision by day’s end. As for herself and her staff, she said, “We will continue to do our jobs to the best of our abilities to support all Montana libraries and all Montana communities.”
https://montanafreepress.org/2023/07/...
One of the founders of the ALA was the first librarian at the Providence Public Library in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. That library was the first to have separate libraries like a children's library. Children? reading NOVELS? Pass the smelling salts! He argued that if a kid likes a book such as a Jules Verne sci-fi novel, he'll ask the librarian for more or ask what's really under the sea/are there men on the moon, etc. and the librarian can direct him to non-fiction so he's learning something! The library set up a children's library, reference room, music library and adult reading room. The children's library has moved around a bit but they still have one and a teen library and adult stacks. No more reference room or music room with records or CDs but you can download music and the piano room remains.
In Wisconsin, "A hearing today will determine the fate of a Waukesha teacher who has been publicly critical of the Waukesha School District's decision to ban the song "Rainbowland" from an elementary school concert.The hearing comes almost two months after Waukesha School District superintendent James Sebert recommended Melissa Tempel be fired for a tweet criticizing the district's decision to ban the Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton song, saying it violated district policy. At the time, Tempel was working as a first-grade teacher at Heyer Elementary School.
Before the hearing, the parent group Alliance for Education in Waukesha is planning a silent rally at 11 a.m. outside the district's Blair Administration Building. Attendees are encouraged to wear black armbands and black face masks."
[She has many supporters!]
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/e...
https://www.milwaukeemag.com/the-wauk...
Song lyrics
https://www.google.com/search?client=...
Yes folks we've resorted to banning rainbows. Yup rainbows. and songs about acceptance and tolerance.
in Athens, Tenn.A librarian from Athens could lose their job over a book display set up during Pride Month.
Last month Athens residents and city leaders called for the removal of books they thought were inappropriate for children.
In response, some thought city leaders abused their power.
Now, E.G. Fisher Public Library faces a new hurdle, with a petition asking for the resignation of Director Peyton Eastman.
Athens mother Kelly
“We have some more problems here, because we've got books in the library collection that go against what the actual annotated code states," says Kelly.
Kelly says that the issue with the book display was not political but that she and others who signed the petition found the content on the display to be inappropriate for children.
The petition claims that the books on the display violated a Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-902, which prohibits obscene materials from being distributed to minors.
But Eastman says...
"Library displays are created to briefly accent portions of the library collection that may be of interest to some patrons. As stated in E.G. Fisher Public Library's Collection Development Policy, 'Materials available in the Library present a diversity of viewpoints, enabling citizens to make informed choices necessary in a democracy. The library’s acquisition and display of these items does not constitute the endorsement of their content but rather makes available its expression.'"
Director Eastman sent us a comment saying in part...
"Vice-Mayor Larry Eaton and Mayor Steve Sherlin directed the display to be removed on the day it was placed in the library. They said because of the significant funding the library received from the city, they could not ignore this request."
In an investigation into the city council's involvement in the removal of the display, the city attorney found that the council members had no involvement.
Conversations also arose about where the display was located.
"The display was located in the rear of the library and was not near the teen or children spaces," says Eastman. "The display was not a children's display and contained no materials from the juvenile collection."
But Kelly says "it doesn't matter."
"If it's in the back of the library, in the front of the library, outside the library, or inside the library bathroom, it's still on library property," says Kelly.
In response to the petition, Coffey says...
“It's kind of ironic to me that this is supposedly under the guise of protecting children, when we're not protecting the LGBTQ+ children here in Athens at all.”
Athens resident John Duggan tells us one book of concern was Here and Queer: A Queer Girl's Guide to Life
"It's adult content that cannot be aired on your network, but it's allowed in a publicly funded library for kids to look at and pick up and read?” says Duggan.
Duggan says he believes in freedom of speech, but he says the library should be a neutral ground.
“To promote one thing over another, and to and to advertising is not right, because we all pay into that" says Duggan."
But others have questions about how that specific book got on the display.
“We have some good information that the book was very possibly planted in the display," says Michael Coffey, McMinn County Democratic Party LGBTQ+ Caucus Chair.
https://newschannel9.com/news/local/p...
One last piece of good news, from CanadaThis little library is the 1st of its kind in Guelph.
Michelle Maloney is a resource advisor from the People4People Self Advocacy Group that, together with Community Living Guelph Wellington, helped build the city's first accessible little library.
It's located at 197 Dufferin Street in Guelph. This new one is the first to be designed so that it is easier to access for people with disabilities.
Maloney said there are a number of features that make the new little library easier to access for all.
"They built it in a way that is closer to the ground," she explained. "So anybody accessing it, like children or somebody who isn't as tall or somebody who's in a wheelchair, they can easily open the door and access any level of books. We're also working on an accessible handle, so if somebody is not able to use their hands, they can use their fingers, they can put their arms through and open the library."
She said the library has already seen a lot of use in the short time that it's been up.
"A lot of the books on tape have been taken, a lot of the books that have sensory [features] and they've been taken," she said. "I haven't heard a lot of feedback.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitche...
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Montana State Library Withdraws from the ALA
citing Marxist beli..."
These frigging morons do not even know what Marxist means, but the fact is Social Conservatives are collectivists and Stalinists (not economically, of course, but certainly with regard to their politics).
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This little library is the 1st of its kind in Guelph.
Michelle Maloney is a resource advisor from the People4People Self Advocacy Group that, together wit..."
Guelph is often avant garde and forward thinking.
A few more stories crossed my in-box today"In northern, New Jersey, parental rights candidates are rattling NJ school boards. Meetings have been tempestuous
Elected in 2021 and 2022 as part of a political backlash to COVID-era school shutdowns and masking policies, these candidates campaigned on a promise to inject parental influence into how public schools are run and to push back on state mandates and what they consider “woke” curricula.
Now, with large enough numbers on school boards, they’re delivering on that promise.
https://www.northjersey.com/story/new...
In Missouri, SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - There are nearly 400 public libraries in the state of Missouri covering just about every community.But Taney County does not have a publicly funded library. To get one voters will have to decide whether or not to pay for it.
Many people use the Taneyhills Community Library in Branson. Director, Marcia Schemper-Carlock says the non-profit has been a staple in the area for decades.
But without the help of voters, the doors to the institution will have to close.
“Now we’re to the point where we have outgrown this space and to build a new library based on maybe getting grants and maybe getting donations from the community is not a sustainable model,” said Schemper-Carlock.
County commissioners are proposing a tax levy. For every $100 of assessed value on real estate and personal property, $0.18 will be collected.
Orr says it’s a small fee to protect a big part of the community.
“If we’re not supporting education in our country then I’m not sure what we’re focused on,” she said.
If the vote doesn’t pass on August 8th this library will close on December 31st.
https://www.ky3.com/2023/07/12/taney-...
I'm betting they put conditions on funding the library. Follow the ridiculous laws and ban diverse books or get cancelled.
Finally, a preview of coming attractions:"Hungary’s largest bookseller has started wrapping books that feature LGBTQ+ characters in plastic to prevent customers from opening them in stores after it was taken over by a private foundation with close ties to Viktor Orbán.
Libri, which is also the country’s largest publisher, said in an email that the packaging was a request from the Hungarian consumer protection authority to follow the controversial “child protection” law that came into force in 2021.
Two years ago, the government passed a widely criticised law banning LGBTQ+ people from featuring in educational material or on TV shows for children. The legislation prohibits the promotion and display of homosexuality and gender reassignment, though the definition of “promotion” is vague.
The law has also come under fire for conflating homosexuality with p____ilia. According to the interpretation of Háttér Society, a Hungarian organisation focused on LGBTQ+ rights, a parent could break the law solely by buying a child a young adult novel that features an LGBTQ+ character.
In 2021, another bookstore, Líra, had to pay a £600 fine for selling a children’s book by the American author Lawrence Schimel depicting a day in the life of a child with same-sex parents. The bookseller failed to indicate that this was a “family that is different from a normal family”, according to Hungarian officials.
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The state-run consumer protection authority recently fined Libri 1m forints (£2,280) for “improper display”. Libri claimed that the authority forced it not only to sell the books separately from others but do so in “closed packaging”.
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Eszter Polgári, Háttér Society’s legal programme director, said: “The major downside is that these books will leave the shelves where they belong. They will not be placed in the youth section but the adult literature section, so the target audience will not even notice them.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...
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"Hungary’s largest bookseller has started wrapping books that feature LGBTQ+ characters in plastic to prevent customers from opening them in stores after ..."
Hungary has become increasingly Nazi like.
Manybooks wrote: "This is of course NOT about books per se, but considering how expensive feminine hygiene products often are, the idea of a Little Period Library is a totally wonderful concept. But I bet, in certai..."Yes my city now offers free feminine products in city buildings. This has been an ongoing effort since 2013 and the subsequent 2019 Academy Award winning documentary Period. End of Sentence.
https://thepadproject.org/period-end-...
https://thepadproject.org/period-end-...
Lots of book news today. I couldn't sleep in the wee hours of the morning and came across a TON of articles! for now just headlines and links with maybe a quote for two. There is some good news to followHearing to be held in New Hanover County, North Carolina on potential ban of the book Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
https://www.wect.com/2023/07/12/heari...
The battle rages on still in Arkansas where they still think Gender Queer: A Memoir is p___
"a federal lawsuit pending over the new state law governing what content Arkansas libraries can make available to their young patrons.
State Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro), the ringleader in a successful campaign to cut funding to the Craighead County Library System and a sponsor of the new Act 372 that limits content available to young readers statewide, has set his sights on Central Arkansas.
Sullivan has been posting creenshots of text messages from Nate Coulter, the executive director of the Central Arkansas Library System. He secured the messages under Arkansas’s Freedom of Information Act, which allows citizens access to documents and communication about government business. Sullivan implies the messages amount to a smoking gun, but it’s not clear what he thinks is inappropriate.
Sullivan called Coulter’s communications a “Web of Deception.” The communications show Coulter texting with colleagues as he plans the lawsuit that was filed in federal court.
Sullivan also recently said he would like to defund all libraries that are associated with the American Library Associations.
Last week, state Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a motion in federal court to oppose the plaintiffs’ request for a judge to halt Act 372, the book-banning law set to take effect on August 1.
Griffin argued in the filing that the law does two things: prohibiting the furnishing of obscenity to minors and allowing people to hold libraries accountable for selecting materials for the public. He said the curation of library collections is government speech that “falls outside First Amendment analysis.” Griffin said the state can impose “whatever rules it wishes” on libraries’ selection criteria, including creating an avenue for people to hold libraries accountable."
In Pittsburgh, Penn. New library books at Hempfield Area schools could be reviewed by the public first under proposed policyThe amendment would require librarians to submit a public list of requested books for a 30-day review. The review period would allow residents to raise concerns about any of the proposed books.
School directors on Monday put the latest iteration of policies for selecting resource materials and for requesting the re-evaluation of resource materials on 30-day review. The policies will be up for final approval following that period.
The latest proposed changes to the district’s policy around the selection of resource materials include defining s___l content as “offensive representations or descriptions of ultimate s___l acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated” as well as ethnic intimidation.
It also lays out the additional step for librarians.
“In selecting resource materials for high school students, the selectors shall seek to prioritize the selection of materials which do not contain other s___d content, even though permitted, such as visual depictions of nudity,” the proposed revisions read.
Once librarians post the list of requested books for 30-day review. Once librarians post the list of requested books for 30-day review – which will be publicized as a report not requiring board action – district residents are able to comment. After a review period, the assistant superintendent would share whether those books would be purchased.
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/edu...
They've already challenged
All Boys Aren't Blue
The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/edu...
The debate over book bans in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district is heating up again.In May, CMS Superintendent Crystal Hill said she was restructuring the district's current policy on how books are selected in schools.
"We're not saying ban them -- sure, if you're a parent, and you want your kid to read this, that's fine," Brian Weiss, a CMS parent said. "But don't leave it open for every child to open and read."
"The American Library Association does explicit vetting in books any claim that there's obscenity in our libraries is dishonest at best," Stacy Staggs, a CMS parent said. "It's not p____y because you say it is."
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/edu...
From the Washington PostWhy parents are trying to ban so many picture books
Lots of statistics in this report
https://www.washingtonpost.com/educat...
Washoe, Nevada library board chair not reappointed after concerns raised over Drag Queen Story Hour
"We have a very dire situation where we're losing community members who are afraid to step up in these positions because of the lack of decorum that is found in our chambers," Mariluz Garcia said.
Library Board of Trustees Chair Amy Ghilieri was up for reappointment to another four-year term. It was rejected in a 3-2 vote.
Ghilieri could reapply to be a library trustree, but she says she will not. This leaves two openings after another trustee resigned last week.
Preliminary steps for a library audit are being pursued by the county's internal audit manager.
“While I’m disappointed that I will no longer be able to support our amazing librarians by standing between them and a very vocal and vitriolic minority, I cannot deny that I am also relieved,” she said.
Some criticisms of the board, Ghilieri said, do not reflect the actual powers it holds. The library board does not control whether to host events such as Drag Queen Story Hours, nor what books the library selects.
“We do not oversee programming,” Ghilieri said. “We don’t get into the nitty gritty of the day-to-day operations.
“We look at the budget. We look at the strategic plan. We do the annual evaluation of the director. We hear presentations each month from teams at the branch we're visiting.”
A presentation by library collections manager Debi Stears – who oversees the acquisition of books for the Washoe County Library System – is tentatively scheduled for the Aug. 15 board of county commissioners meeting. She will explain the process of how books are selected, in the wake of public commenters at a previous meeting reading controversial passages from an adult book, "Lawn Boy," which is available in local high school libraries.
Commissioners Herman and Clark have requested an audit of the library system.
Assistant District Attorney Nate Edwards said he’s not sure the board has the authority to have a library audit done and recommended that commissioners work with the library board to figure out a plan.
https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2023/0...
In Brainerd, MinnesotaSchool Board passes contested book policy
With public comments both for and against the policy for allowing materials in the school district, the board held a vote on the materials policy for the coming school year.
Passing with a 4-2 vote Monday, July 10, board members DJ Dondelinger and Randy Heidmann voiced their concerns over policy 606 which is used for selecting materials in the district, specifically the books in Forestview Middle School’s library.
“I'm not a book banner, I'm a school book banner maybe,” Heidmann said.
The Kite Runner
What Girls Are Made Of
The two books are not used instructionally or assigned to students, Tim Murtha, director of teaching and learning at the district, confirmed in a June email to the Dispatch. They are both on the mature readers list in the Forestview library, meaning they are only available to seventh and eighth grade students who have signed permission slips from parents.
As of the meeting July 11, no request to challenge the material in the district had been made to the board.
https://www.brainerddispatch.com/news...
Sort of goodish news
In Nixa, Missouri, they didn't reach a consensus on Unpregnant so it stays. Article behind paywall now. It was free earlier today.
https://www.news-leader.com/restricte...
In Clovis, CaliforniaIn a Facebook post by Councilmember Diane Pearceabout books on LGBTQ+ topics placed in the children’s section of the Clovis Public Library, Pearce wrote “might want to wait until June is over to take your kids to the Clovis Public Library.”
Cue the usual name calling and controversey
Councilmember Pearce explained she did not post on behalf of the city council, use a city logo or post a video, she posted as Diane Pearce, the woman elected by the people of Clovis.
“This community elected me with resounding support for who I told them I was and what my guiding principles and morals are. Staying silent out of fear is the easy response but I care about our children and their well-being to stand with me – unafraid. Our children deserve that and our conscious should demand it,” said Pearce.
Mayor Ashbeck did not see it that way stating Pearce does not have her own constituents.
“You weren’t elected by a constituency, you were elected by 18,000 people not all of them are Republicans who believe like you. So we are here to lift up the whole. You often say ‘my constituents’ – you don’t have any, you have 125,000 constituents. We all have them too so you kind of get those mixed up,” said Mayor Ashbeck.
The topic of the LGBTQ+ books in the library took up 45 minutes of the council meeting and left Mayor Ashbeck concerned.
“To me, you have raised a distraction, staff spent time today trying to work it out, and we’ve got people ready in case something happens, all for nothing. All for nothing. Because you know what, the county library is not our business.” said Mayor Ashbeck.
YourCentralValley.com spoke with Councilmember Pearce to get more clarification about the incident. She says the issue is about children, not about what adults do.
“This is an issue about our children, not about what adults do in their private lives in their private time. This is about protecting children and their innocence,” said Pearce.
Councilmember Pearce added she knew not everyone would agree with her opinion – but that was not going to hold her back.
“In this state, in particular, we have things that are being forced on us from Sacramento and from what I believe is a very dangerous agenda, and if I’m not willing to speak up for the people who live in Clovis who voted for me to be their voice on those issues, I don’t think I’m doing my job well,” said Pearce.
Councilmember Pearce reiterated she does not have a problem with LGBTQ+ books or the LGBTQ+ community.
“I want to be very clear. This isn’t about what books should or shouldn’t be in the library. This is just about what content is and isn’t appropriate for our children. And I think that the real problem is that we’d like to have a discussion about these things, but when people on the other side only want to spew hate and venom, that doesn’t really lend itself to constructive, civil discourse,” said Pearce.
https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/dig...
https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/dig...
Now the better news storiesA Kent, Washington school librarian rallies against rising book censorship based on race, sexuality
While Kentridge High School Librarian Gavin Downing preps his library for the coming school year, he performed a diversity audit of his collection.
“To make sure I have a variety of perspectives and voices. It brings the world into the library for our students,” he explained. “We are in a democracy that encourages a diverse range of voices.”
The former Cedar Heights Middle School librarian was in the thick of heated talks last year. A student and parent pushed the Kent School District to ban a few books with LGBTQ themes, namely, Jack of Hearts
“When these book bans come up, look to see whose voices are being silenced because that’s what these book bans are about. It’s about silencing voices and determining who is not allowed to participate in our society,” Downing added.
The board ultimately voted to put the books back on school shelves, in part because they are not required reading, and after the ACLU of Washington threatened legal action.
“We believe the decision to read a book or not read a book should be a private conversation between a parent and a child and not be made on behalf of an entire student population,” ACLU Youth Policy Program Director Roxana Gomez explained.
https://komonews.com/news/local/kent-...
Rancho Peñasquitos Library revives Pride display after protesters removed most of the booksBranch officials replenished the display with other books connected to Pride from their own collection and from donated books sent over by other locations in the city of San Diego’s 36-branch system, library spokesperson Jennifer McBride said.
The branch has also received dozens of donated books related to Pride and roughly $6,000 in cash donations since the anti-LGBTQ+ protest got significant news coverage in late June.
Councilmember Marni von Wilpert has also been working with the San Diego Library Foundation on collecting donations to replace the checked-out books.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...
Good news in Old Lyme, Conn. The library has voted against banning Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human, You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other ThingsOn Tuesday, the board of trustees determined that the two books in question meet the selection criteria stated in the library’s Collection Development Policy for inclusion in the library’s tween/teen section. The board recognized that some materials are controversial, but they will not select materials based on approval or disapproval, but rather on the principles stated in the policy.
Middle school age members of the community are able to visit the library unaccompanied. The board said parents should assume unaccompanied youth have full access to the library and its collections.
“Limiting access to content is the responsibility of the parent,” the board said in a statement. “If you feel you need to accompany your child to the library or any particular collection we welcome and encourage your presence.”
https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut...
This will never fly but good news"A memo from Pennsylvania Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti sent to members of the state Senate promises a bill to tackle book bans in the next legislative year, 2023-2024, putting Pennsylvania among states like Illinois, New York, and New Jersey who have sought to do the same.
Cappelletti’s bill mirrors that of Illinois’s, the first to successfully pass in any US state. It would require libraries which receive state funding to include as part of their policies that they follow the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights or that they develop their own language around preserving the right to read for all.
“The idea of banning books is a direct contradiction to First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press, integral elements of democracy. Americans have a right to explore and engage with differing perspectives to form their own views. Public libraries are places where young people should be able to learn about themselves and people who are different from them, not denied access to the diverse perspectives that books and art offer us all,” reads the memo that went out July 10, 2023.
https://bookriot.com/pennsylvania-sen...
This one has a LOT of harmful language and is so heartbreaking to read but good for the mom for standing up for their child and others like them!A Mom Who Is Actually for Liberty Shames Tennessee School Board
https://news.yahoo.com/mom-actually-l...
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Oni Press team up for new anti-censorship initiative and fundraiser partyAs part of this Fight Censorship, Read Comics! program, CBLDF will be sponsoring a welcome party and art auction at San Diego Comic-Con. The fundraiser event will feature newly commissioned artwork by a variety of high profile comic creators, including Gender Queer creator Maia Kobabe
https://boingboing.net/2023/07/12/com...
Contrary to popular belief among those who have nothing better to do than read fake news on social media or watch it on TV, the National Education Association did NOT recommend Gender Queer: A Memoir for elementary schools. They recommended it for educators.Several Fox News hosts have falsely claimed the National Education Association recommended the graphic memoir for young students.
“Educators read diverse books so that they can better understand their colleagues, students, and families they serve,” it said. “The books here are not recommended for students.”
https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking...
A good piece on Shannon HaleShe's expanded her popular Princess in Black series to include The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink, upsetting the traditional gender norm parents.
" In a Twitter thread a few weeks after the book came out, Hale addressed the hypocrisy of readers who embrace a strong female character but reject a male character who isn’t conventionally macho. 'A girl who wears black and fights monsters: acceptable,” she wrote. “A boy who wears pink and likes to decorate for a party: wrong.'”
https://www.motherjones.com/media/202...
More links to stories of interest at the bottom of the page
The censors are not going away but there are people fighting back.In Temecula, California where they rejected textbooks for mentioning Harvey Milk (in the teacher's book only), California state leaders vow to provide textbooks for students after a school board rejected a social studies curriculum.
"“California will secure textbooks for students in Temecula if the local school board fails to take action at its next board meeting and the state will enact legislation to impose fines on any school district that fails to provide adequate instructional materials,” the governor’s office said in a news release.
In response to the governor’s announcement, Joseph Komrosky, who serves as the president of the district’s board and voted against the curriculum, said the district “did not ‘ban’ a book at its May 16, 2023 regular meeting. Instead the Board of Education determined not to adopt as curriculum a history-social science program for District-wide use that had been part of a pilot study conducted by the District.”
Komrosky added that board members shared concerns about supplemental material he described as “not a textbook” that was part of that curriculum related to a lesson for fourth graders about Milk."
Komrosky said in June that his statements about Milk “were not based upon him being a homosexual, but rather based upon him being an adult having a relationship with a minor.”
In Thursday’s response, Komrosky continued, “But what the Governor has conveniently ignored is that members of the Board of Education expressed other significant concerns about the District’s process, including whether it had adequately engaged the community regarding the adoption of curriculum.”
“Cancel culture has gone too far in Temecula: radicalized zealots on the school board rejected a textbook used by hundreds of thousands of students and now children will begin the school year without the tools they need to learn,” Newsom said in the statement.
“If the school board won’t do its job by its next board meeting to ensure kids start the school year with basic materials, the state will deliver the book into the hands of children and their parents — and we’ll send the district the bill and fine them for violating state law.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/14/us/cal...
Yes the Wisconsin teacher who publicly objected to cancelling a first grade performance of the Dolly Parton/Miley Cyrus song "Rainbowland" has indeed been fired. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...
And bad news from Maryland, Requests to remove 39 books from school libraries to be reviewed by Carroll County Public Schools committee.
"Carroll County Public Schools officials are reviewing requests for the removal of 39 books from public school library shelves.
Superintendent Cynthia McCabe said Wednesday that the system has received about 30 formal requests in the past several weeks to remove books and each will be considered individually. She said next steps are review by a superintendent-appointed Reconsideration Committee.
The group includes chairperson Kathleen Brunette, the school system’s supervisor of media; two school media specialists, two school-based administrators, one teacher and three parents, McCabe said. Three high school students are also included when the committee reviews books previously deemed appropriate for high schoolers."
"The Maryland Association of School Librarians says its collections are developed according to principles of intellectual freedom and include titles that meet the needs of diverse communities. The nonprofit organization condemns efforts to censor and remove books from school library shelves, saying they threaten the rights of students to read, explore and engage with literature.
Carroll County Moms for Liberty used the website booklooks.org to help identify which books to recommend removing, according to chapter vice chair Jessica Garland, although there is no official connection between the organization and the website, she said."
"According to Carroll County Public Schools Supervisor of Library Media Kathleen Brunnett, “once a reconsideration form is received, the Reconsideration Committee has 30 school days to read, meet and evaluate the title. With the number of current reconsideration requests, the committee is reading and evaluating several titles at a time to keep the process moving forward.”
"Hart, of Moms for Liberty, has said there are at least 11 more books that her group intends to submit to the school system for reconsideration."
https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland...
_______________________
And so we return to the antebellum era when Anna Ella Carroll wrote about all the bad things the government was doing to harm innocent women and children. She was pro-Union and planned the Tennessee campaign.
Good news for the day‘Banned Bookmobile’ to tour states and distribute books to communities impacted by ban.
MoveOn Political Action says they’re going on a multistate tour to sound alarms on Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, and other GOP policy makers, censorship and ban on books across the country.
The “MoveOn Banned Bookmobile” plans to distribute books in communities most impacted by the ban.
MoveOn Political Action, along with local lawmakers and activists, officially launched the tour Thursday outside Sandmeyer’s Bookstore, located at 714 South Dearborn Street, in downtown Chicago.
https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/b...
Good news for the day‘Banned Bookmobile’ to tour states and distribute books to communities impacted by ban.
MoveOn Political Action says they’re going on a multistate tour to sound alarms on Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, and other GOP policy makers, censorship and ban on books across the country.
The “MoveOn Banned Bookmobile” plans to distribute books in communities most impacted by the ban.
MoveOn Political Action, along with local lawmakers and activists, officially launched the tour Thursday outside Sandmeyer’s Bookstore, located at 714 South Dearborn Street, in downtown Chicago.
https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/b...
A new petition showed up in my in box, one to support a federal "right to read" actSign the petition to support the Federal Right To Read Act of 2023 to fight against book bans and help ensure that all U.S. students have access to a school library staffed by a certified school librarian.
https://www.saveschoollibrarians.org/...?
Via BookRiotMontgomery County, Texas, will be restricting restrict teen access to LGBTQ books and they will add books with conservative themes,
In two separate motions, the court gave Purchasing Director Gilbert Jalomo authority to expand the county's book vendor list for access to more conservative book themes and asked Library Director Rhea Young to group books by genre within the children's section, labeled and restrict access to sexually explicit books to those older than 18.
The motion applies to all seven libraries in the Montgomery County Memorial Library System.
County Judge Mark Keough said the age limit on the books is needed.
“If you don’t put an age on it, then we are really solving any of the issues of younger kids having access to this information,” Keough said.
Michelle Knuckles, a resident of The Woodlands, said she contacted the library about more than 100 books on the shelves that address “alternate gender ideologies” but none that address traditional views on gender.
Knuckles said the staff confirmed there was a lack of traditionally based books in the system due to the fact the vendors the county uses do not have access to those books.
“The library policy requires balance,” Knuckles said.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neig...
The Brandywine, Michigan school board continues to pull books that don’t align with their conservative values. In November, four newcomers were elected to Brandywine’s school board. The board members — Thomas Payne, Angela Seastrom, Michelanne McCombs and Elaine McKee — were all endorsed by the conservative action group We The Parents and already the group is making its presence felt in the district.
Since January, the board has formed an “Explicit Book Review Committee” that has stopped the library from buying new materials. Around 30 books have also been pulled from shelves in a move that’s become increasingly common around the country as right-wing school boards and local governments attempt to remove materials from libraries.
Conservatives, including board members in Brandywine, claim they want to restrict books that are supposedly inappropriate to children, but Debbie Mikula who’s the executive director of the Michigan Library Association said most of the books being challenged are books that deal with racism or have LGBTQ characters.
Conservative board members at Brandywine have even played a 10-minute video titled “The P___ Pandemic” during one of the review committee’s meetings, insinuating that the school library contains p____y.
That video especially angered Ambrosia Neldon, a Brandywine alumnae who’s attended all of the committee meetings. She supports the policy that district had put in place last winter where parents could prevent their own children from checking out certain books since those individual decisions wouldn’t affect the rest of the student body.
Jasmine LaBine, another Brandywine alumnae and Neldon’s sister, added that the review committee’s most recent meeting was held at 7 p.m. on a Friday which she feels was a blatant attempt to avoid scrutiny.
Opponents to book restrictions also point out that children are exponentially more likely to exposed to actual inappropriate subjects online or through media outside of libraries.
Both LaBine and Neldon also take umbrage with other recent actions by the majority conservative board, including a recent curriculum review session in which board president Thomas Wayne brought in Jordan Adams, a consultant who’s been criticized by other school districts for fostering right-wing ideologies and having little experience in building curriculums.
“We’re very concerned that the next phase of this may involve them limiting the books that teachers are allowed to teach,” said LaBine.
Travis Walker also sits on the book review committee by virtue of his position as the district’s superintendent. In an interview with WVPE, Walker said he is trying to make sure all members of the school community have their concerns addressed, though he also said he wasn’t aware of any parents having issues with books in the library until the past year.
“As a public entity we do have to listen to our stakeholders and try and find what’s best for everybody. Obviously when you have such diverse groups within a school district, you’re never going to find anything that makes everyone happy,” Walker said.
In public meetings, Walker has also expressed concerns that restricting access to books will leave the district open to First Amendment lawsuits.
https://www.wvpe.org/wvpe-news/2023-0...
24 books are currently being reviewed at Big Walnut School District (OH) after complaints. The first decision won’t be made until November on Looking For Alaska. Superintendent Ryan McLane to provide an update at the board meeting on Oct. 20. He said there were 25 books being challenged, but later clarified it to be 24 books, since the 25th hadn’t officially been challenged yet.
“When I look at this, I have to think about the process and procedures while at the same time following board policy,” McLane said at the board meeting. “We have a limited number of human resources in the district, and I have to prioritize things or the only thing we’ll be doing this year is reading books. So, our first priority is a book that has been challenged that is required reading by all students in a class with no alternate options. As far as I’m aware, we have no books in this category.
“The second category would be books that are an option for a class,” McLane continued. “We do have a few books in this category, and this is where we have started. Finally, books that are challenged that are in our school library are honestly just going to be less of a priority. That’s not to say we will not review them; however, we will do so at a more appropriate time of the year when there are not as many other things going on.
Some people have asked me why can’t we pull the book until the committee makes a recommendation, and again it’s about the process. Our students at Big Walnut are very smart — they remind me of the kids I went to school with. If they knew a book gets pulled whenever it is challenged, I know my friends would have challenged our physics book, our honors geometry book and many others,” McLane concluded.
In response to a request for a list of the books being challenged, McLane told The Gazette, “Of the books below, none are required reading in a class; four are options students can choose from; and the remaining are in our library catalog.”
https://www.delgazette.com/2023/07/10...
Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Humanwill be moved from the teen section to the adult section in Ketchikan Public Library (AK), a decision made by the city council after they voted to keep it where it is, pending the fact it might be a First Amendment violation to move it.
The book’s controversy has been going on for months in Ketchikan. The citizens’ request to remove the book from the teen section started in February. It first went to the library’s head of children’s services who denied the request. An appeal was then made to the library director who upheld the decision, saying it met the requirements of the library’s policies. A request to move the book rather than remove it was then brought to the Library Advisory Board. That request was denied, though the board can only make recommendations. Then, a request to move the book was brought before the city council.
And the issue still might not be over. More meetings about the library’s book policies are being scheduled.
https://www.krbd.org/2023/07/11/ketch...
In Elk Grove, California Unified School DistrictThe Bluest Eye
The Big Bath House
Parent Gandy Reinsch addressed Kyo Maclear’s challenged book, “The Big Bath House,” which contains illustrations of nude women and children bathing at a Japanese bathhouse. She noted that some protestors displayed the nude scenes on a posterboard at a past board meeting and they suggested that the book be removed from school libraries.
Reinsch passed out copies of the book to trustees and stressed that the story must be understood in its context.
“I think that sometimes with this banning it’s just a section of the book that’s taken out and you’re not able to see the entire book,” she said. “You’re not able to see the good points of the book and why it was chosen by librarians.”
On the other side of the library book debate were a few outspoken parents often appeared at board meetings and called for removal of library books they deemed to be pornographic.
Ron Owens spoke about a scenario where students eagerly show each other images or passages from library books. He also said that he would be accused of sexual harassment if he was a district employee who made sexually charged comments. Owens said that Elk Grove Unified could face tens of thousands of sexual harassment lawsuits in a district of 63,000 students.
Parent Kirk Thomson told the school board that no one is advocating for library book bans.
“Whenever you ban something that is easily accessible, it just creates more interest in that thing,” he said.
Thomson proposed that the school board should remove all “objectionable books” from school libraries and distribute them to local public libraries or parents “who believe this will be solid educational material for their kids, especially if they may be struggling with their sexuality.”
He called it a fair compromise.
“This would give parents like me a peace of mind that our kids are not stumbling upon these books, or worse, forced by teachers to read these books and then hide the assignment from their parents,” Thomson said.
After the board meeting, the district’s school support executive director Jenifer Avey told the Citizen that the district’s leadership is reviewing board policies and administrative regulations for instructional materials, and to see “where revision would help to clarify the (book) selection process.”
Avey explained to the Citizen how her district’s library book selection process works. Books are chosen based on factors such as literary merit, literary awards, student interest, and range of accessibility and topics.
She said that book orders are often made through the Follett system which has reviews from “vetted agencies” to help library staff see if a book fits a school’s needs.
“It is the responsibility of the library tech or credentialed librarian to submit the purchase request,” Avey said.
As for concerns about library books being inappropriate for students, she referred to the district’s Administrative Regulation 1312.2, which details how complaints over instructional materials can be reviewed by school officials.
This policy says that the superintendent or a review committee can deliberate on the challenged materials and consider factors such as teachers’ opinions, community standards, and the district’s educational philosophy.
Avey said that parents can make a request to their school’s librarian or principal to block their children from accessing certain library books.
https://www.egcitizen.com/news/heated...
Goodish news via Book RiotThe number of people filing complaints and appeals on books in Greeley-Evans schools [CO] represents less than 1% of the total number of voters who participated in a District 6 ballot issue late last year.”
"The majority of the 211 people who filed nearly 4,500 paper complaints on 11 books in December also indicated they had not read the book and they do not have a student in District 6 schools.
Most of the complainants also requested parental permission for a student to use any of the books in question, including in the district’s three comprehensive high schools: Greeley Central, Greeley West and Northridge.
Board Vice President Terri Pappas has not held back during board meetings on the consistency of the complaints offered by the appellants.
“It’s a small group of people, and we’re getting the same complaints,” Pappas said this week. “All the same quotes, page numbers and nothing different. That’s where I was frustrated. It’s a small group who hasn’t read the books, and they’re bringing up the same excerpts.”
Fall said the district received additional complaints on books following the Dec. 12 meeting, adding to the 11 titles identified in the thousands of complaint forms.
Complaints on those four titles were filed electronically and fewer than complaints for the original 11, Fall said.
All 11 books challenged by the complainants late last year are on the list for evaluation and recommendation by the book review committee — including “Beloved” by Toni Morrison and “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie. Those books by far generated the largest number of complaints.
The district said with most books — but not all — a complainant filed a complaint for each school where the book was located.
Among the complainants were Ashlee Tilley and Stacey Casteel, candidates for the District 6 Board of Education later this year according to the Colorado Secretary of State website. Tilley did not list a town of residence, according to the information. Casteel is a Greeley resident. She has filed appeals with the board of education on Pilch’s decisions on books.
https://www.greeleytribune.com/2023/0...
Stamped Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You will be put back on shelves in Pickens County Schools (SC) . The board voted unanimously to allow the book back into high schools. However, they added that the book’s availability would be “subject to parental consent.”
https://www.foxcarolina.com/2023/07/1...
Crazy newsin Iredell-Statesville, North Carolina to take photos of the books that she claimed were naughty
The district is still dealing with this.
Greg Mueller of Mooresville said he appreciated what progress Mimnaugh and others have made in having books removed from schools in Iredell County but questioned the progress. He proposed that any book that was brought into question by parents be removed from schools while it is evaluated.
Superintendent Dr. Jeff James said more than 250 books had been asked to be reviewed by adults. He said books are removed during the evaluation process.
Lisa Bulloss of Troutman echoed the previous remarks as she asked for anything obscene to be removed from the library.
“Smut should not be contained at its present level, but be outlawed by every state in the union,” Bulloss said.
Lillian Ubinas of Mooresville also spoke out against pornography possibly being in schools and questioned what the school board was doing to protect students.
“We have a greater authority than the state. We have the authority of God. God gave you guys these positions to protect the little ones. We’re all called to protect the little ones. They don’t have a voice, they don’t have a choice. They’re forced to listen to this smut, to look at these visuals. Is that right? Is that fair? Is that responsible, it’s not.
“If you have a heart, you’ll change policy.”
Students fear speaking out and no longer trust their teachers.
https://statesville.com/news/local/ed...
Via Book RiotAccording to Heger, books like The 57 Bus won’t stop bullying in schools of LGTBQ students, as that is a cultural problem for the school. However, she worries that books like The 57 Bus, which focuses on a non-binary student being set on fire while on a bus and their journey of gender identity, will encourage students to use gender pronouns and potentially identify themselves with the ‘attractive’ LGBTQ lifestyle.” Whether or not The 57 Bus remains a choice book in West Bend High School Junior English classes (WI) will be determined later this month. The complainer doesn’t have kids in the school and doesn’t think the book should even be a *choice* to read.
https://www.gmtoday.com/daily_news/ne...
The Public Library of Enid (OK) will allow an LGBTQ+ history display in October.
Bartholomew County Public Library (IN) did a huge audit of their teen section after fielding complaints about the usual suspects, including demands to move some of the teen books to “more appropriate” sections. Turns out, books are where they should be and they don’t have enough LGBTQ+ books there, either.
https://www.therepublic.com/2023/07/1...
The Indian Valley Public Library (PA) will not be defunded over LGBTQ+ books.
10 of the 30 folks who showed up at the Yankton, South Dakota, public library board meeting spoke about the library’s Pride month display. Most spoke in favor of it.
Canada's Most Banned List 2022
https://cfla-fcab.ca/wp-content/uploa...
The Kite Runner is also under fire in the West Bend School District (WI) and a parent without kids in the school is involved.
Mod
The Bluest Eye
The Big Bath House
Parent Gandy Reinsch addressed Kyo Maclear’s challenged book, “The Big Bath House..."
North America with its hysterical and unhinged attitude towards nudity is funny if it would not be so sad and so majorly unhealthy!!
I am not surprised The Big Bath House is increasingly being challenged, but it does make me shake my head and say that ignorance regarding nudity is definitely like a disease.
Mod
"The majority of the 211 people who filed nearly 4,500 paper complaints on 11 books in December also indicated they had not read the book and they do not have a student in District 6 schools."
Mod
"The majo..."
There are indeed a lot of individuals who harp about books in specific school libraries who have no children at the schools in question, and I would agree that this should make you totally ineligible to launch any kind of complaints. And no, if you have not read the books in question, you should also not be permitted to complain. However, book banning happy politicians actually seem to cater to and to also rely on the latter to push through their agendas and thus these kinds of rules will likely never be out on the books (at least not in states that are very much pro censorship), sigh.
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Out of the Blue (other topics)The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink (other topics)
My Rainbow (other topics)
Butt or Face? Volume 3: Super Gross Butts (other topics)
The Day the Books Disappeared (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jodi Picoult (other topics)Sarah J. Maas (other topics)
Ellen Hopkins (other topics)
Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Scott Stuart (other topics)
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Moms for Liberty call for labeling LGBTQ books at Billings Public Library
The public meeting was prompted by Billings City Councilwoman Pam Purinton after she received complaints from several parents concerned that an activity in the library's teen lab featured “gay pride stickers.”
“Some of these were home school parents who were not aware that something like this was being done,” Purinton said, adding she was personally worried that patrons as young as 11 could access the event.
When five of nine library board members agreed to meet, the meeting was opened to the public and held on the second floor of the library.
More than 100 people attended the meeting and at least 33 people made public comments. All of the commenters opposed labeling or removing LGBTQ content. Many commenters also spoke to the importance of free speech and accessibility to information in a public place like the library.
“As a red rock conservative, I understand family values," one man began. "...But leave mine to me and my family, and I’ll leave you to your family. Protect the library, please.”
The Moms for Liberty representatives wanted to emphasize that discrimination against LGBT people and book banning was not their goal.
“We are not here to target a specific group,” Yellowstone County chapter chair Alba Pimentel said. “We are here to set a boundary for our children.”
Instead of banning books, she said books and programs featuring LGBTQ material should be clearly marked. She suggested adding a sticker to books with LGBTQ content or moving them to a dedicated section.
Rev. Patrick Lewis of Billings First United Methodist Church also remarked on the futility of labeling books.
“If you need to have something labeled, you should probably label the Bible,” he said. “Love your neighbor, love God.”
In addition to labeling books, Moms for Liberty and Purinton asked that parents be informed about LGBTQ events in advance.
At the end of the meeting, Billings Public Library Director Gavin Woltjer said the future was murky.
“I do not know where we go from here, but I hope that we maintain this decorum of respect,” Woltjer said.
After one hour of public comment and around 30 minutes of discussion from Moms for Liberty, several library board members argued they didn’t have any obligation to label LGBTQ content.
Board member Peggy McSweyn explained that while book complaints can be brought to the board, the final decision follows policies determined internally by the board at regular meetings. She said hosting LGBTQ content does not necessarily mean the library endorses LGBTQ content.
She also reminded attendees of the responsibility of parents in what their children read.
Board member Roger Young said he hesitates to limit access of any materials based on the principles of what a library represents.
“I’m a basically conservative individual, politically,” Young said. “But our ability to always go to the library to find answers… One of the major roles of the library is to satisfy our curiosity.”
Not all board members were in agreement.
“Is it really necessary to have a conversation about sexual identity in the children’s section?” board vice chair Staci Samuelson asked.
Woltjer said that while he isn’t sure what the next steps will be, the library would work toward a solution that both sides could appreciate. He said his goal is to give everyone information, regardless of what they seek to do with it.
“We will do our part to try to represent every segment,” Woltjer said. “We will fail, and we will keep trying… Whether I agree with it or not, I serve you all.”
https://billingsgazette.com/news/loca...