Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
Manybooks wrote: "Good news, but sadly, I am also afraid that soon Ron DeSantis will start having the police invade people's homes and churches to arrest individuals teaching these topics and students attending."Violation of First Amendment rights! Freedom of assembly. The ACLU is probably already prepared with a slew of lawyers.
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Unfortunately, the right to bare arms (pun intended) is likely the only amendment these extremists consider important.
Mostly good news again today but also some bad.'Freedom to read': Des Moines Iowa Public Library holds banned books read-in
https://www.kcci.com/article/des-moin...
Author John Greento join 2 Indianapolis panels discussing banned books
https://www.wishtv.com/news/local-new...
Gavin Newsom signs bill blocking California school boards from banning inclusive books
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-...
Stupid good news that shouldn't even BE news
Butts allowed back in Katy ISD library books after board clarifies book banning policy
"After an unprecedented round of book banning in Katy ISD led to the removal of several elementary library books depicting cartoon rear ends, the board of trustees on Monday scaled back the conditions under which a book may be banned.
The board unanimously approved a new update to the policy that in August was changed to add "nudity" as a reason for removal. Prior to the August change, elementary level books had never been banned in district history.
The Monday revision was requested by board members Dawn Champagne and Rebecca Fox, both of whom initially voted in support of the policy.
The district has now amended the policy to clarify that only “explicit frontal nudity” is grounds for a book’s removal.
Board president Victor Perez said the policy was not meant to be directed against books like No, David!, and a committee, not the board, removed the 14 newly banned books.
“The board's intent was never to remove well-known, cartoon-like children's books just because they showed a little drawing of a little boy’s rear end,” he said.
Paul von Helmond, whose children graduated from Katy ISD, chastised the board for writing the policy in vague and broad terms.
"Librarians are to enforce the rules and have no leeway in the result," he said. "The result is the embarrassing removal of books that nobody in their right mind wants to ban."
Champagne said she did not think it was fair to hold librarians responsible for the book removals.
“I don't blame the librarians for following the new policy the way that it was written about nudity and implied nudity, which obviously led to some of our most beloved children's books to be removed,” Champagne said. “I'm also personally sorry that I did not pay better attention to the implications of the wording in the policy that we voted on a couple of months ago.”
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neig...
Now the not so good news.This isn't new news but it's worth repeating
Clay County schools have most banned books of any district in U.S.
Florida leads the nation in number of banned books. Clay County accounts for a third of Florida’s total -- and most of the books were reported by one man Bruce Friedman.
According to Clay County Schools Coordinator of Communication/Media Relations Terri Dennis, “The large majority of our books, approximately 94% on the list, are from one community member, Bruce Friedman, representing the organization No Left Turn in Education. Due process allows a single individual to challenge materials with no restriction on the number of titles that individual may contest. All challenges are subject to the same procedure and follow the same process regarding potential violations based on F.S. Chapter 847.”
Clay school documents show in the 2022–23 school year, 489 books received objections. And in Florida, if a person wants a school book reviewed, it is immediately taken off the shelf. Clay has more banned books than the state of Missouri. And Clay’s number of banned books accounts for more than a third of the banned books in Florida.
In a recent presentation to the Clay County School Board, Friedman said, “Myself and my associates, we’ve submitted roughly 500 challenges to items in your libraries in this county… that shouldn’t be there. Maybe all of them aren’t the problem. Maybe only some of them.”
School board members declined to talk about the matter with First Coast News. Dennis said there is a procedure in place to review a book before it is permanently removed from the shelves, and she says the increased requests makes the process “absolutely time consuming for the limited amount of staff” who works through the process. She said the person in charge is now having to devote 20 – 25 hours a week for book reviews.
Some people in Clay County are concerned this is slowing down the purchasing of new books for school libraries.
Victoria Thompkins spoke at a Clay County school board meeting once and told the board, “And why are we at a standstill? Because one man has made it his personal mission to keep books out of the hands of Clay County students.” She continued, “Many, many people are against what he is doing. People are angry and upset, yet no one at a higher level is speaking out.”
https://www.firstcoastnews.com/articl...
In MichiganPossible book ban draws mixed reactions from Northview parents, community members
In the view of Northview Public Schools parent John Taylor, books that cover difficult or uncomfortable topics can provide crucial support to kids who are looking for a sense of belonging.
They can also help students who need an outlet for tough emotions they may be dealing with, Taylor said.
As Northview is considering the removal of eight controversial books that some community members deemed “sexually explicit,” Taylor said he believes the district should keep the books on the shelves as a resource for students who need them.
“Support can be on so many different levels, and to take a level of that away is detrimental to those kids. I don’t believe taking that level of support away from kids is right, and I don’t think this community stands behind that.”
Other community members, however, said school isn’t the appropriate place for students to access books with “inappropriate content.”
Northview School District resident Julie Herrmann argued people can access whatever books they’d like outside of school, but school shelves should be limited to age-appropriate books.
These are the eight books that are currently under review by the district:
“Kingdom of Ash” by Sarah J. Mass
“Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” by Alison Bechdel
“Push” by Sapphire
“All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M Johnson
“Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison
“Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins
“Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews
“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
The district is considering pulling the eight books from its library shelves after community member and former Northview School Board candidate Cal Morton complained that the books contained explicit material. Morton, a longtime Northview resident and the secretary for the Kent County chapter of Moms for Liberty, submitted his complaint to the district’s board of education over the summer.
The district formed a complaint review committee last week to formally review the books and recommend whether the books should be banned.
The committee, which is made up of community members, school staff and two Northview school board members, is expected to reach its decision by early December, Northview Interim Superintendent Christina Hinds said last week.
The eight books in question are not required reading at Northview Public Schools, but are available for selection by students in grades 7-12, district officials say. Many of the books have been challenged or banned at other school districts across the country.
Many of the books have LGBTQ themes and contain descriptions of violence, sexual activity, and other graphic matter.
Morton’s June 12 complaint to the district asked the Northview Board of Education to initiate a formal review of the eight books to determine whether they should be removed due to “sexually explicit matter.” He also asked that the books be removed from all school shelves until the review was complete.
A spokesperson for Northview Public Schools told MLive the books will remain on the school shelves until a further decision is made by the district’s administration.
https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...
Yes of course I would want a Christian group to be allowed to set up a LFL. It's a FREE library. Feel FREE to ignore it! It's a choice not a requirement. Also, what the mom said and also this library was set up by a KID and you're telling him he doesn't matter by denying him and others the opportunity to read about kids like himself. That's just mean.This one is in South Coast, Mass. which is full of weird, conservative people, one of whom just asked me "Why don't they teach this stuff (about Paul Cuffee, early American African American businessman, whaler and abolitionist) in schools?"
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[A little free diverse library in Rochester, Mass. is under attack]
"We are going to provide this resource to our community so that everyone has access to diverse books, antiracist books," said Rhonda Baptiste.
Three years ago, WBZ shared a story about a fundraiser her son Kelcey, who's biracial, started during the pandemic.
He was 10-years-old back then, and opened a vegetable stand to collect money to help stock the town's library with books featuring more characters that look like him.
Since then, Baptiste joined a group called Tri-Town Against Racism (TTAR), which created three Little Free Diverse Libraries in Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester, where there was a ribbon-cutting last June.
A month later, the town asked the group to remove a pride flag from it. Now, some want the whole thing removed.
"It's not political. It shouldn't be divisive. It should just be something that everyone's behind," said TTAR president Alison Noyce.
But at the most recent meeting of Rochester's Joseph Plumb Memorial Library Board of Trustees, letters with these comments were read out loud.
"I find this library…offensive," wrote one person. "Would you grant permission for a group of Christians to have a little library kiosk composed of Christian books and bibles?"
Another opponent wrote, "I am more than exhausted of having the LGBTQ + agenda and propaganda shoved in our faces."
"Anti-racism isn't an agenda," said Noyce. "I was hurt, I was hurt by it," she said.
She said the issue is up for discussion and a decision on the matter at the Rochester Library board meeting next Thursday night.
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/l...
For all the GOOD news yesterday, there's a lot of BAD today. I'll continue with the good to start!Federal judge declares Texas drag law unconstitutional
In a 56-page ruling, the judge said the law is an "unconstitutional restriction on speech."
The law, which Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed in June, expanded existing state law to prevent children from exposure to sexually explicit performances. While the legislation, Senate Bill 12, does not cite drag specifically, drag performers feared that it was passed with the intention of criminalizing the art form, which has deep ties to the LGBTQ community, and that it would repress their freedom of expression.
The bill’s statement of intent leads with and repeatedly cites drag shows as a threat to children. And on the day Abbott signed the bill into law, he shared an article about it and wrote, “Texas Governor Signs Law Banning Drag Performances in Public. That’s right.”
U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who was nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, writing that the law “impermissibly infringes on the First Amendment and chills free speech.”
“Not all people will like or condone certain performances,” Hittner wrote. “This is no different than a person’s opinion on certain comedy or genres of music, but that alone does not strip First Amendment protection.”
Hittner — who temporarily blocked the law from taking effect last month — added that the “chilling effect S.B. 12 will have on speech in general outweighs any hardship on the State of Texas.”
LGBTQ advocates and drag performers celebrated the ruling.
A spokesperson for State Attorney General Ken Paxton — the lead defendant in the case who was acquitted during a historic impeachment trial earlier this month — confirmed in a brief email late Tuesday evening that Paxton will appeal the ruling.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, also suggested after the ruling that legislators will again try to restrict drag performances in the state.
"#SB12, which restricts children from being exposed to drag queen performances, is about protecting young children and families," Patrick wrote on X. "This story is not over."
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-p...
Heartstopper: Volume One books about gay student lead to shorter book fair at Ohio schoolA southwest Ohio school district says it will scale back an annual book fair after receiving complaints about selling a book series that centers around a boy who is gay.
Little Miami School District instituted a "pause" on book fairs, saying it wanted to impanel a special committee to screen books sold at district fairs, after parent Silas Shelton told the board Aug. 22 that the book wrongfully encouraged children to "explore their sexuality."
After that complaint, school board candidate David Wallace wrote a letter Aug. 28 to the Little Miami school board members asking them to stop all Scholastic Book Fairs in the district until a committee could evaluate all the titles to be made available.
"As always, when we have a parent concern about a book, we have a system in place to review it," the district said in a statement. In response, a petition against halting the book fairs appeared on Change.org, garnering more than 680 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
On Friday, the district announced it would scale back, in a compromise: Instead of allowing students to peruse books during the school day, as has been past practice, the fair instead will only be open during two nights of parent-teacher conferences to ensure that children have parental supervision while choosing what books to buy.
Brad Underwood, the district spokesman, acknowledged late Tuesday afternoon that curtailing the book fair could result in fewer book sales, thus raising less money for the schools, but said he didn't know by how much, if any.
The school board is scheduled to meet Tuesday night at the district's central office, 95 E. U.S.-22 and 3 in Maineville. It'll be the first meeting since announcing compromise on its website Friday. Parents are likely to show up to speak on both sides of the book fair.
"I've just been flabbergasted at this entire situation," said Vanessa Srikantham, 39, the mother of a second grader. "Censorship and book banning: If you want to get me riled up and cranky, that's the best place you can possibly start."
Srikantham said she made a point to read the book once fellow parents flagged it as potentially inappropriate. She said she found the work "amazing."
"There's healthy relationship dynamics in this book between peers and authority figures," Srikantham said. "There's bullying and how to stand up to bullies and how to help others stand up to bullies. There's stories in this book about positive role models and, yes, there's also a boy falling in love with a boy."
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news...
On Tuesday Oct. 3, the Rhode Island ACLU is holding a Banned Books Week event at the Cranston Public Library.https://www.riaclu.org/en/events/we-r...
Book Riot and the EveryLibrary Institute have teamed up for a survey that examines parents' perceptions of public libraries and book bans. The survey asked questions like, "Do you feel your child is safe at the library?" "How comfortable are you with LGBTQ+ characters and themes in children's books?" and "At what age should children have access to age-appropriate puberty and sexual education books?"Survey says...
Most parents and guardians (67%) think book bans are a "waste of time" and 74% agree or somewhat agree that book bans infringe on their right to make decisions for their children. 89% said parents/guardians are the ones primarily responsible for what their child reads . 92% said they feel that their children are safe at the library, and two thirds said their child has never checked out a book that made them uncomfortable.
49% agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement "Librarians should be prosecuted for giving children access to certain books."
Another question asks when parents and guardians think children should have access to certain categories of books: LGBTQ books, books about race/racism, puberty and sexual education books, as well as books about social justice. Respondents were most comfortable with social justice books: 44% said children should be able to access them either at any age, Pre-K, or Elementary School age, and only 6% said children should never have access to them.
Books with LGBTQ characters or themes fared the worst, with 16% of respondents saying children should never have access to them, even by high school. When asked what kind of impact LGBTQ books have on children, answers were split fairly evenly between positive (36%), neutral (32%), and negative (32%).
https://www.everylibraryinstitute.org...
Now for the most egregious and horrendous news from the worst offender, Florida. Brace yourselves.Florida school district orders removal of all books with gay characters before slightly backing off.
Yes they finally did it.
Charlotte County Schools Superintendent Mark Vianello and the school board’s attorney, Michael McKinley, were responding to questions from the district’s librarians at a July meeting asking whether the bill, officially the “Florida Parental Rights in Education Act,” required the removal of any books that simply had a gay character but no explicit sex scenes.
“Books with LBGTQ+ characters are not to be included in classroom libraries or school library media centers,” the pair responded, according to a district memo obtained under a public information request by the Florida Freedom to Read Project. The nonprofit group, which opposes the law, provided the memo to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The district later backed off a bit, allowing some exceptions for high school libraries. But Charlotte’s policy remains one of the more stringent policies adopted by the state’s 67 countywide school districts to enforce the bill.
Florida Freedom to Read said Charlotte’s policy is “evidence that fear over thoughtful decision making is winning the day.” But the group says Florida Department of Education officials are to blame for any district confusion or overreach.
“Their failure to lead and use their power to benefit the future of Florida is a disservice to all Floridians, no matter their political leanings,” the group said in a statement. “Parents want politics out of education. We want all students to feel safe and included, so they can focus on their education while in school. Removing all representation of LGBTQ+ people in literature goes against our very principles of living in a free and just, pluralistic society.”
The department did not respond to a call and email Wednesday seeking comment.
At the July meeting, librarians were told by Vianello and McKinley that any mention of sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited from prekindergarten through middle school and in high school, “unless supported by the state academic standards.”
The librarians asked if that meant they had to remove a book even if, for example, it includes a secondary character who is gay or a main character with two moms or a gay best friend. The pair responded, “Yes,” and added that ban includes books children may bring to school themselves, even if they are not pornographic or explicit.
“These characters and themes cannot exist,” they responded, according to the memo.
The school district issued a statement to Popular Information this week clarifying some of the superintendent and attorney’s remarks, saying some material with LGBTQ+ themes or characters would still be available in high school libraries.
“Books featuring LGBTQ characters are accessible in the media center for grades 9-12. While they may not be utilized for classroom instruction, these books are available for individual study and can be borrowed by students,” the statement said.
https://apnews.com/article/lgbtq-flor...
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Florida school district orders removal of all books with gay characters before slightly backing o..."
So when will Florida prevent gay students from attending school, fire any teacher who is gay? SIGH ...
NoVA is still at it.Library critics call for closing obscenity 'loophole,' advocates say it protects against unfounded claims
Two candidates for office — one at the state level and one local — have recently called for closing what they call a “loophole” in Virginia's obscenity statute as it relates to libraries, schools and museums.
However, a legal scholar and library advocates say the provision is misunderstood and provides a safeguard for professionals who provide information that is not obscene, even though it might be objectionable to some.
Delane Karalow, a school board candidate in Frederick County, and Delores Oates, a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, have both cited a “loophole” in the code while speaking this month about Samuels Public Library in Front Royal.
Karalow, who filed two requests to remove books from Samuels, first mentioned the “loophole” earlier this month in an interview with The Winchester Star.
“I am not a book banner. I would not ban any books unless they are obscene, determined to be obscene and in there (the library) on a loophole,” she told the newspaper.
Under Virginia law, obscenity applies when a work (view spoiler)
The “loophole” to which Karalow was referring is Section 18.2-383 of the Virginia code, which refers to the definition of obscenity above and states, “Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to apply to the purchase, distribution, exhibition, or loan of any book, magazine, or other printed or manuscript material by any library, school, or institution of higher education, supported by public appropriation.”
It goes on to protect the purchase, distribution, exhibition or loan of works of art by any museum of fine arts, school, institution of higher education, as well as theater performances and the like offered by museums, schools or universities.
Oates, a member of the Warren County Board of Supervisors and a candidate for the District 31 seat in the House of Delegates, said last week that if she is elected to state office, her first objective will be to close the “loophole" which she said "allows our children to have access to obscene content. In the code of Virginia, it is illegal to provide obscene content to children or minors unless you’re a library, a museum, or a school. It is my plan to have that as my first piece of legislation that I carry, to remove this exception and protect our children,” said Oates at a Sept. 19 board of supervisors meeting.
https://www.nvdaily.com/nvdaily/libra...
Obviously libraries do not order obscene content as that is against the law but that won't stop these people who want to push the LGBTQ+ community into the closet again and won't stop until they're all in hiding or dead. They also seek to erase Black voices and ignore sexual violence. Books that deal with those topics do not meet the qualifiers for "obscene" content.
More egregious news from Idaho. Sheriff scopes out explicit library books
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said he has heard from both sides about reportedly inappropriate materials available to youth at local libraries.
One side argued unsuitable reading materials were there and shouldn't be.
The other argued that if they were in the libraries, it was up to parents to monitor their kids and determine what was OK for them to read.
"Quite honestly, I didn’t know who to believe," Norris said Tuesday.
Clark Albritton, a candidate seeking election to the Coeur d’Alene City Council, said during a forum Monday that Norris “went to the public library today with a camera and exposed what is in children’s books.”
The sheriff said he did visit some libraries, but not the library in Coeur d’Alene, and not on Monday.
Earlier this year, in April, Norris went to the Post Falls Public Library twice and the Hayden Public Library once. One time he brought along a video camera.
"I wanted to see for myself what was going on," he said.
Norris said he assumed that sexually explicit material would be an area only accessible to those over the age of 18.
"That was not the case," he said.
Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL
Identical
both available in the young adults section.
Norris said, in his opinion, both books, which he had in his office Tuesday, contain sexually explicit material.
"I was a little bit shocked with the explicit text that I saw," he said. "I won't want my 15-year-old to read this book."
In his 30-minute library visits, he said he found other books with text he considered inappropriate.
Both libraries are members of the Community Library Network. According to the CLN website, young adult material is for ages 16 to 18.
Norris supported legislation last year that he said would have resolved the situation, but it was vetoed by Gov. Brad Little.
According to the Idaho Capital Sun, House Bill 314a would have allowed a parent or legal guardian to sue a school or library for $2,500 in statutory damages if their child were to access visual or reading materials that depict nudity, “sexual conduct” or content that is “harmful to minors.” This included pictures, books, sculptures, films, magazines or sound recordings.
The bill passed the House with a 42-26 vote and the Senate by a 26-9 vote.
"Republican legislators in support of the bill previously said it would protect children from obscene materials and pornography that they allege has been found in Idaho libraries and schools," the Capital Sun reported.
In a letter, Little said the bill made “sweeping, blanket assumptions” that would have unintended consequences for Idaho libraries and their patrons.
“Allowing any parent, regardless of intention, to collect $2,500 in automatic fines creates a library bounty system” that would be costly for libraries, especially those in rural Idaho, he wrote, as reported by the Capital Sun.
Norris said he believes it is an important subject to a lot of people.
He said no one is asking to ban books, but he believes books with explicit, sexual content should be in an area only accessible to those 18 or older.
Norris said if a youth read sexually explicit material, they could decide to experiment with it with a relative, friend or neighbor.
If that came to the attention of the sheriff’s office, he said they may investigate "if there is a criminal dynamic to people who expose young children to this type of material."
"I want to make it clear, this is not about sexual health or reproductive information. In my opinion, this goes beyond that," he said.
Norris said he didn't know if he would conduct further library visits to check on what type of books are available to youth.
"I'm thinking about it," he said.
Asked for his response for those who would argue it's for parents to talk with their kids about what they read and decide what's appropriate, Norris said he equates it to providing children with alcohol or drugs.
He believes allowing youth to read sexually explicit material is putting them at risk.
"You’re desensitizing them to a very, very critical area of growth," he said.
He said there are laws protecting the most vulnerable - children and the elderly.
"I would hope we don’t have parents who are exposing their children to pornography," he said.
He said if legislation similar to House Bill 314a comes up again this year, he would support it.
"We have protections on children. There would be criminal dynamics and certainly an investigation if we believe a child is in an unfit environment that would expose them" to pornography, he said.
When asked if he would be returning "Deal with it! A whole new approach to your body, brain and life as a gurl" and "Identical," to the CLN, Norris said no.
"I’ll buy them before I return them," he said.
The Post Falls Public Library on Tuesday had one copy of "Identical" available.
It does not have any copies of "Deal with it!" The last copy was checked out and due back in May, but never returned.
https://cdapress.com/news/2023/sep/27...
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This sheriff's rationale is completely ridiculous. Doesn't he remember being a teenage boy? Wouldn't he rather his 15 year old learn how to be safe, express their feelings and act on them in appropriate ways or gain empathy for those who may have difficulty doing so? Wouldn't a sheriff want his daughter to learn to speak up and speak out against sexual violence?
The New York Times reports Book Bans Are Rising Sharply in Public Libraries
Two years into a surge in book banning efforts across the country, restrictions that were largely happening in school libraries, where they affected children, are now affecting the wider community as well.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/21/bo...
Oregon - In a year of record book challenges, Salem Public Library sees little pushbackIn a year where Oregon libraries saw more book challenges than ever, Salem’s has seen more community support, librarians said.
Statewide, 93 books were challenged in 46 incidents between July 2022 and June 2023, a record high according to a recent report from the State Library of Oregon.
Many of the challenges targeted books about the experiences of people who are LGBTQ, Black, Indigenous or people of color, according to the report. The challenges came amid a nationwide conservative effort to challenge such books.
“In 15 incidents, libraries reported that objectors bypassed established challenge processes by taking objections directly to a library board, school administrator, or governing board, or even hiding, stealing, or trashing materials. In some cases, library staff were intimidated and harassed, called groomers and pedophiles, and/or received death threats,” the report said.
Salem saw one challenge in December 2022, after a patron threw away a stack of LGBTQ history books in the trash. The patron was asked to leave for the day and provided a copy of the library’s policy for requesting reconsideration of books, according to the State Library.
Sonja Sommerville, the library’s programming and outreach coordinator, said the Salem library saw a second challenge earlier this year, which she said didn’t align with the nationwide trend. A patron followed the proper reporting channels to ask the library to reconsider a nonfiction memoir for factual inaccuracies.
“Our library established that it was probably as true as any memoir, memoir being made of memory, so we did uphold the book on that and it continues to be on the shelf,” she said.
In Salem, patrons can ask that books be removed or reshelved under a different category, like fiction or moved from the children’s section to young adult. The process starts with a conversation with library staff, and if they’d still like to proceed after they fill out a form explaining why they think the material violates the library’s selection or categorization. The city librarian, currently Bridget Esqueda, makes the final decision about the material.
Sommerville said that despite the challenges to books statewide in Salem “those conversations haven’t really come up at all.”
Somerville said despite the lack of challenges, the staff attended preparedness meetings in light of the nationwide challenges.
The library also recently updated its request for consideration process, adding a stipulation that those who submit have to live in Salem, and books won’t be reconsidered more than once every three years.
The update also added an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement, which explains the library’s plan to continually curate a collection with a wide range of perspectives, identities and experiences.
“While we understand that not every reader will like every book, the other obligation that we are very serious about is making sure that there are books for every reader,” Sommerville said. “We want everyone to be able to come to our shelves and find something that speaks to their experience, answers their questions, resolves their curiosity, entertains them, whatever it is that they’re looking for that day.
https://www.salemreporter.com/2023/09...
Manybooks wrote: "So when will Florida prevent gay students from attending school, fire any teacher who is gay? SIGH .."They pretty much already have, forcing them in the closet by not allowing gender pronouns different from those assigned at birth, bathroom access limitations and "don't say gay". Officially? They'd have a big lawsuit on their hands. Public schools are the official state school and education is required for all children.
I think Florida schools are going to be so mired in the court system no kid will ever learn anything. Teachers are already quitting and can't be replaced easily.
Unsurprising news in Penn. Book ban efforts gain traction as ‘parental rights’ groups rise in Bucks Co., elsewhere
“Meet Mary IN THE School LIBRARY! Mary has a dirty little secret. She collects naughty children’s books! Do you have a recommendation for Mary’s book collection?”
Thus reads the description for a Facebook group called Mary in the School Library Michigan, one of at least nine nearly identical groups in different states that ask concerned citizens to report books that could be “pornographic in nature, obscene, or harmful to children.” The ultimate goal, as written on its page, is to “help write and collect detailed and easy to understand book content reviews” and circulate these reviews to parents “so they can make informed decisions.”
At first glance, there is nothing particularly remarkable about the desire to keep pornographic materials out of the hands of minors. Closer inspection of “Mary’s book collection”—hosted on the website Rated Books—however, reveals several titles that would likely not meet the legal standard of what’s considered “pornographic” or “obscene,” including Heather Gale’s “Ho'onani: Hula Warrior” Robie H. Harris’ “Who Has What?: All About Girls' Bodies and Boys' Bodies,” and Harry Woodgate’s “Grandad's Pride.”
The webpage also links to a national network of right-wing groups synonymous with book banning, including Moms for Liberty, Truth in Education, and No Left Turn in Education.
Moms for Liberty’s conservative reputation transcends Republican strongholds, with chapters mobilizing conservative voters in politically mixed areas. Nearly a third (30%) of its chapters are in counties where President Joe Biden won over half of the vote in 2020, according to an analysis of 2020 election data and Moms for Liberty chapter location data by Stacker. About another quarter (28%) are in more politically mixed counties where neither Trump nor Biden won at least half of the vote.
LGBTQ+ topics in classrooms, the group is perhaps best known for its campaign to restrict or ban books in public schools. Bolstered by funding from its conservative political action committee, members have gotten onto school boards nationwide, galvanizing supporters to challenge books.
Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice confirmed that’s part of the group’s strategy, telling Stacker in an email that the group provides a toolkit to potential candidates “as a resource on how to run an effective campaign.”
Take, for example, Central Bucks School District in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It is the third-largest school district in Pennsylvania, a swing county in a swing state. The district is still navigating the aftermath of a 2021 school board election that saw a conservative majority ban several books, many of which with LGBTQ+ themes. The district has also faced state scrutiny for “fostering intolerance” by banning Pride flags and retaliating against staff who spoke out against the administration. In October 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a discrimination complaint against the district for creating a “culture of discrimination against (LGBTQ+) students, particularly transgender and nonbinary students.”
Moms for Liberty has a strong presence in Bucks County, and members frequently attend Central Bucks school board meetings. Two Moms for Liberty members currently sit on the school board.
For Lela Casey, a mother of two students in the Central Bucks School District, the division sown by the school’s administration is a betrayal of the reasons she chose to raise her kids in the county in the first place.
People she used to feel a sense of neighborly camaraderie with, despite political differences, have become hostile, Casey told Stacker. When she attends school board meetings with her daughter, a freshman in high school, Casey said they both face harassment from the Moms for Liberty contingent.
The impact of the book bans and other policies is most strongly felt by LGBTQ+ students and kids of color in the district, according to Casey. “They’re the ones primarily who show up at meetings and say, ‘Look, these policies are hurting us,’” she said.
To challenge a book, most libraries have “request for reconsideration of material” forms, where patrons can ask librarians to reassess a book or other material. Forms often ask the complainant to describe the issue, cite specific passages they find inappropriate, and suggest actions for the library to take, such as removal of the books.
The questions these forms pose are intended to ensure people have actually read the materials and can lodge their complaints knowledgeably. However, an online ecosystem of conservative book ratings sites, Facebook groups, and artificial intelligence tools has allowed people to skirt that step.
The undisclosed number of parents behind Book Looks claim on the website that they do not support book banning, but rather seek to be a source for parents who are “frustrated by the lack of resource material for content-based information regarding books accessible to children and young adults.”
Despite this assertion, Book Looks reports have been cited in countless attempts to remove books from libraries. The site’s founder, Emily Maikisch, told Stacker in an email that she was a member of Moms for Liberty from January to March 2022; she and her husband started Book Looks after she ceased her involvement in the group, citing different goals. Maikisch also said Book Looks operates independently from any other groups, though Moms for Liberty lists Book Looks as a resource for examining and challenging library collections. Descovich and Justice of Moms for Liberty also told Stacker that the organization “has no affiliation with any of these book sites in terms of helping to run them.”
Book Looks reviewers rate books on a scale of 0 to 5, classifying whether kids and teens should have access to the material. A score of 4 means no one under 18 should access the material, and 5 is considered “aberrant content.
Same-sex parents and mentions of racism are often grounds for Book Looks to give a picture or juvenile fiction book a rating of 1, or “child guidance,” meaning it isn’t appropriate for young children. Of the 133 picture and juvenile books rated “child guidance,” nearly half mentioned “alternate gender ideologies” in the summary of concerns, and at least a quarter mentioned “alternate sexualities.” “Racial commentary” was cited in 17% of the reports, like Lynda Blackmon Lowery’s “Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March.” Maikisch told Stacker that LGBTQ+ content is not a “major factor” in Book Looks ratings, but they want parents to be “prepared to provide the proper guidance.”
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news...
Andddd my mom seemed shocked that some of her high school classmates were the nasty , Fox News type of conservative. I asked if they lived in Bucks, Central York, Northampton and she cited Northampton. SO MOM are you SURPRISED? (Her town isn't, yet, a book banning town, but some towns in the county are waging war on books. Classmates probably live there too). If you're reading this Southern Lehigh High School, I'm calling you out. None of you have minor children and what your grandkids and their peers read is none of your business.
UP, MichiganNorthwoods libraries respond to increasing book challenges
Before 2022, the Phillips Public Library Director, Rebecca Puhl, certainly had parents question the material of library books.
They’d sit and talk it out.
She’d explain that as a public library, they’re for everyone and they’d talk about the importance of representation.
Before 2022, a book challenge never actually went all the way to the library board.
But that changed pretty quickly.
Last year, the library had 30 titles challenged in the children’s books section.
That included books with LGBTQ+ content, books about race, books that talked about puberty, and others.
As a result, after many board meetings, the library made a separate section called the “parental guidance” section.
Now, that’s where their titles on gender, death, puberty, illness, incarceration, gun control, safety, and race are housed.
“I think the family discussion section is actually a pretty good compromise because we can make people aware of the fact that that section exists and then they know that that's where those books are. But you know, for people who come in in the summer that don't know that that's there, I don't know,” said Director Puhl.
They also decided to place a sticker on the inside of any children’s book that touched on LGBTQ+ content.
Puhl said that while children don’t seem to notice the changes, their parents have been upset.
“As I said, we've gotten pushback about the stickers. We've discussed it twice now at board meetings. We're trying to, we're trying to do what we think is best for our community,” said Puhl.
This past month, Puhl received two more challenges- for the first time, one of them to a Young Adult book.
“I'm worried about the new YA challenges, I think that the teenagers will notice,” she said.
Reflecting on the situation, Puhl said- “I think library patrons need to understand that in a public library setting, you, as parents, have complete control over what your own child consumes, and what your own child checks out, and what you read with your own child. You do not have the right to restrict what anyone else's child might read. And I think that that's getting lost in a lot of places.”
Other local libraries have had fewer issues.
https://www.wxpr.org/community/2023-0...
Some good newsPush Back Against Book Banning with People For’s Banned Books Challenge
Read Banned Books, Win Prizes, Fight Authoritarianism
https://www.pfaw.org/blog-posts/push-...
FloridaDozens speak out for and against book removals at Volusia School Board meeting
More than 30 people spoke during public comment.
In a school board meeting that lasted around six hours Tuesday, dozens spoke for and against book removals in Volusia County Schools.
There seemed to be some confusion before public comment about the process to get a book removed from shelves and put under review.
Members of Moms for Liberty spearheaded a move to read passages they objected to during the public comment period.
Some interpreted a Florida state law to mean that if a person were to read a passage from a book during the board meeting and a school board member asked them to stop reading due to the content being inappropriate, that book would be removed from shelves.
But during Tuesday's meeting, the board said their understanding of the law meant
a book would only be removed if they have an objection form filed for that book. Before public comment, the board said they currently had no submitted objection forms for books. Though Kelly said she had sent an email about books, she objected to before public comment.
The board printed out objection forms for those who wanted to send them in. Several people still read book passages they objected to. Some board members asked them to stop and submit a form. There were also a number of people who spoke out against removing books.
Citizens for Truth and Justice in Education brought a number of members in opposition to book removal.
A number of people filled out book objection forms during the meeting. Those forms will then be taken under review.
https://www.wesh.com/article/october-...
With Escambia County a key battleground in a broader debate about school books, plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the county school board urged a federal judge Monday to reject a request to dismiss a challenge to the removal and restriction of library books.Attorneys for authors, a publishing company, parents, and a non-profit organization filed a 51-page document disputing the school board’s arguments that the case should be dismissed. The plaintiffs contend the board violated First Amendment and equal-protection rights in removing 10 books from school library shelves and restricting access to more than 150 others.
The document was a response to a motion that the school board filed last month arguing that Pensacola-based U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell should toss out the case. In part, the school board contended that the plaintiffs don’t have legal standing to pursue the case. It said, for example, that removal or restriction of books from school libraries does not create a “constitutional injury” to the authors who are plaintiffs.
“The board has not inhibited or prohibited the author plaintiffs’ ability to write, market, and sell their books, even to the board’s students,” the motion said. “The mere fact that their books have been removed or restricted from the board’s shelves does not give the author plaintiffs standing to challenge the board’s decisions and their claims should be dismissed with prejudice.”
The case is one of two federal lawsuits involving decisions by the Escambia County Board to remove or restrict books. The other case, which also is filed against the Lake County school district and the State Board of Education, centers on the children’s book “And Tango Makes Three.”
A decision on the motion for a preliminary injunction could be delayed because U.S. District Judge Brian Davis last week transferred the case from Jacksonville in the federal Middle District of Florida to Tallahassee in the federal Northern District of Florida. It was originally filed in the Middle District, which includes Lake County but was moved to the Northern District, which includes Escambia County.
https://www.wuwf.org/local-news/2023-...
https://www.wuwf.org/local-news/2023-...
More lying liars who lie in FloridaCharlotte County denies allegations of LGBTQ+ book removal from school libraries
An online article is sparking controversy in Charlotte County. The website, ‘Popular Information,’ claims all school libraries are being stripped of books with LGBTQ+ themes.
Charlotte County Public Schools confirmed that this is grossly inaccurate.
“We have never ordered librarians to purge LGBTQ+ books,” CCSO Public Information Officer Claudette Smith said.
State statute requires all K-8 classrooms to be free from any books that would be considered: pornographic, sexually explicit or overall inappropriate for the student’s age range. The district said that’s all they’re looking for during these book reviews. They say the claim that they’re targeting the LGBTQ+ community is flat-out wrong.
“Those statements he’s attributing to Superintendent Mark Vianello are not statements from him. They are not direct quotes,” Smith explained.
She said the only difference between Charlotte County Schools and other districts is that media centers are considered classrooms since librarians provide grades for special rotations.
“Our district prides itself on inclusivity and the success of all students. We want all students to be able to be successful and advance in learning and education,” Smith stated.
“Under state law, it’s very prescribed the procedures each school district and school board must follow when they select instructional materials and that includes books,” said Jennifer Sughre, a professor at FGCU’s College of Education.
Smith shared that LGBTQ+ material is accessible in high schools. If you’re concerned about what kids are reading, she suggests making your voice heard.
“Now is the time to get involved. If you have an opinion, we want to hear it. We welcome you to attend the focus groups, take the survey,” Smith said.
https://nbc-2.com/news/local/charlott...
Also in FloridaIn Hillsborough school board races, book challenges are an early focus
Some candidates are seeking a middle ground, while others see books as a conservative rallying cry.
It was one of those Tuesdays when speakers line up to express to the Hillsborough County School Board their disapproval of racy reading material in the school libraries.
Dalton Gregory Williford, a candidate for a board seat in District 3, suggested parental permission slips to protect school employees from being prosecuted if a student checked out a book deemed pornographic under state law.
Julie Magill, a real estate professional, said school-based “indoctrination” might be the reason for a doubling in the number of students identifying as transgender or nonbinary.
The two struck up a conversation and, three months later, Magill is running for school board too.
With the qualifying deadline eight months away for the 2024 races, culture war issues such as sex in school library books have already emerged as recurrent themes among this new crop of candidates.
their digital footprints show at least half are taking cues from conservative organizations like Moms for Liberty, which have put the nation’s school districts on defense.
Magill, for one, is open in expressing cultural messages that extend beyond books.
“We will fight to keep your kids from being taught anything other than academics,” she says on her campaign website, referring to “gender manipulation suggestions,” the U.S. Department of Education’s “liberal agendas” and “teachers’ values or ideologies.”
Some lament what they say are missteps — such as placing “This Book Is Gay,” a nonfiction book that is recommended for high school readers, in the library at Pierce Middle School. The school board removed the book from middle schools in late March, and incidents such as this one have some candidates searching for a middle ground.
“I do not believe that teachers go into education to indoctrinate children,” said Bonnie Lambert, a former teacher and administrator who is challenging Jessica Vaughn of New Tampa for her seat in District 3. "However, I definitely believe there are books that need to be taken out and not taught in our schools.”
School board member Henry “Shake” Washington, who does not yet have a challenger in District 5, said at a board workshop: “I feel like if a book has any type of sexual connotation, take it off. But that’s me.” When a constituent countered that “I want my kid to understand life,” Washington said, “I couldn’t debate that.”
Board member Lynn Gray, who has five challengers for her countywide seat, said that as a grandmother who opposes children’s access to p___graphy, “I definitely think it’s desensitizing our youth.” But she acknowledged some books are being challenged even though they do not fit any reasonable definition of p___raphy — for example, children’s books that showcase same-sex couples.
Board chairperson Nadia Combs, who is being challenged in District 1 by Magill and Layla Collins, grows frustrated at the attention the book issue is getting. In her visits to schools, she said she sees media specialists working with students with a high degree of professionalism. She has maintained consistently that children face far greater threats on their smartphones.
To the critics, she asks: “Why don’t they go to the schools and see what I see? Librarians are the center of their communities. Why don’t they spend a day in a library and talk to a high school librarian and find out what’s happening?”
But even candidates who do not fully support the book challenge movement typically agree with the need for some controls.
Gray said the system in place for selecting and reevaluating books in Hillsborough is “good, but not excellent.”
Ashley Hartfield-Viewins, who teaches middle school in Hillsborough through a contracting agency, is running for Gray’s seat but has taken a similar position. “I understand the importance of literacy and how a whole universe can open to you by just a single book,” Hartfield-Viewins said. “But for me, mind does have to be paid to the exposure and grade level. I don’t want my 5-year-old daughter exposed to a middle school book or one with sexuality and profanity.”
First-time candidate Karen Bendorf, another challenger for Gray’s seat, said she has long felt the school board and district are too prone to promoting liberal policies and practice. A social studies teacher at Plant City’s Tomlin Middle, she would like to see a more balanced board and has found herself in some uncomfortable situations at work. She applauded the work of state lawmakers, who recently approved additional “parental rights” legislation.
“Starting this year, I can just be in a classroom and teach,” Bendorf said. “I don’t have to worry, as a parent first of all, about a teacher asking my own child what their preferred pronoun is. As a teacher, I don’t have to worry about a student wanting me to call them something that’s different.”
On the issue of books, she said, “I wouldn’t say I’m running because of that, just because I think we are on the right path. But I do think that is an important issue. I think it’s important that our kids should have access to good, healthy reading material that is safe and that is academic and that is not pornographic and isn’t inappropriate. And I would make sure I always vote in favor of something that would do that.”
https://www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
A local bookstore has two sections of contemporary issues in the children's area and they have A Court of Mist and Fury in the YA section with a sign saying "Yes this is young adult! Trust me. It's a subgenre known as new adult. Google it. "The library in the neighborhood had some controversial books on display too but up high where kids can't grab them. I literally have never once seen a kid running around grabbing books off the library shelves willy nilly, let alone kids in the adult section or YA section!
The news today shows blatant homophobia which is truly disgusting. A person who owes allegiance to their CHURCH above all else should not be working at a public job in a public government funded position.
Alabama- Huntsville library director orders mass relocation of LGBTQ books
Many of the books have subject headings making it clear why they were included: “gay parents,” “lesbian mothers,” “gender identity.”
https://www.alreporter.com/2023/09/28...
Alyx Kim-Yohn was busy attending to their normal duties as circulation manager at the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library system last Monday when their branch manager pulled them and others into a meeting to discuss moving children’s books to the adult section.
In that meeting, the branch manager shared with them a spreadsheet of book titles in the library’s catalog, and informed them that the children’s books listed were to be moved into the adult nonfiction section immediately by order of HMCPL executive director Cindy Hewitt.
According to Kim-Yohn, the branch manager told them that Hewitt coordinated with the systems librarian to cross-reference titles in the library’s catalog against a list by the Alabama Public Library Service of challenged titles.
When Kim-Yohn went to check the APLS list for herself, it wasn’t there—because that list does not yet exist. The APLS board did vote unanimously to create a system for Alabama parents to flag titles, which will be collated into a list that will then be distributed to libraries as a resource. But APLS will not be vetting the challenges, and libraries will not be required to do anything with the information. To APR’s knowledge, the APLS website does not yet even have the a page for parent to submit complaints.
When Kim-Yohn asked to follow up on this, they found that the list had obviously not been cross-referenced against the nonexistent APLS list—instead, the flagged titles were collated based on keywords, or “subject headings.” The spreadsheet includes all subject headings for the books, but the headings they have in common help to reveal what some of these search terms were.
“Lesbian.” “Gay” “Gender.” “Identity.” etc.
While APR has not spoken with Hewitt or the systems librarian to verify how titles were selected, there is further evidence of the process within the list itself.
The first 10 books on the spreadsheet all have subject headings that make it clear why they were included in the list: “gay politicians,” “gay parents,” “gender expression,” “lesbian mothers,” “gender identity,” “gay pride,” etc.
Then the reader comes to the 11th book listed, “Read me a story, Stella.” Unlike the first 10 books, this one does not seem to have anything to do with LGBTQ+ content. But if the reader were to scroll over to the call number, they would find “E GAY.” The book’s author is Marie-Louise Gay, enough to land this book on the list of kids’ books to be moved—without examination—to the Adult Nonfiction section.
Kim-Yohn confirmed to APR that the request was for all children’s books to be moved directly to Adult Nonfiction, while Young Adult Fiction books should be taken on a case-by-case basis.
APR’s review of the list shows 70 titles in the juvenile section that would fall under that order for immediate relocation.
That list includes a graphic novel based on the highly popular Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series that has experienced a resurgence after being picked up by Netflix—and which doesn’t have any apparent cross-section with any of the parameters that the search seems to be based on. However, the sequel series Legend of Korra includes a lesbian relationship which is shown in the graphic novel, which also appears on the Huntsville list to be moved.
A quick search of the list shows the word “gay” appears in 86 of the records; the word “gender” in 76; the word “lesbian” in 68; while “racism” or “race relations” factor into a handful. A search for the word “sexual” returned 38 results—challengers have often said that they are interested only in moving sexually explicit content and are not going after specifically LGBTQ content, although they have explicitly spoken out against gender ideology and have clearly targeted books with LGBTQ storylines.
A closer review of the records containing the word “sexual” show that the result isn’t necessarily about “sexually explicit content.” Three of the 38 entries are copies of “It’s Perfectly Normal,” a controversial 30-year-old sex education book that includes cartoonish illustrations of nudity, including child nudity. Most, if not all, of the remaining 35 entries were included for words and phrases including “asexual,” “bisexual,” transsexual,” “sexual minorities,” and “sexual orientation.” Or they were otherwise included in records that also included LGBTQ content.
the North Huntsville Library had already begun the process of relocating the books, and APR obtained screenshots from the HMCPL catalog over the last two days that show the books had been reclassified as being in the adult section.
However, APR’s own review of the catalog late Wednesday night showed the books as classified in their previous juvenile locations, and the leader of a group of concerned citizens in Huntsville confirmed to APR that books that had previously been removed from the shelves are back in their rightful place.
That appears to be connected to a “pause” that has been placed on the order to relocate books until the library can receive “community feedback.”
Dr. Marisa Allison, a leader of the Huntsville chapter of Read Freely Alabama, has been working to figure out what’s been happening and has requested numerous public records from officials in relation to the order. Allison is a Hunstville native and citizen, a card-carrying member of the library—or the “lifebary” as her 5-year-old son calls it—and is in a same-sex marriage. “What we know is this list is not about sexual content, but about LGBTQ books,” Allison said.
“We’ve already had some of this decision-making happening at the state level,” Allison said. “Doing this preemptively carte blanche seems to me a like a very different move. I’m shocked that here in one of the more progressive cities in the state that we would be doing the worst possible scenario of this debacle.”
Sources within the library have also told APR of concerns that Hewitt has said she feels she is accountable to her church on how she handles the books. APR has not yet been able to ask Hewitt about that or further confirm those statements through library sources.
https://www.alreporter.com/2023/09/28...
Free speech has become a fireable offense in one school districthttps://www.nationalreview.com/2023/0...
(Their approach is more conservative that most millennial and Gen Zers would like but shows compassion and care for the students).
In Grants Pass, Ore., the powers that be are school administrators who retaliated against two dedicated educators for offering their views on how to best care for children and respect the rights of their parents and teachers.
Rachel Sager and Katie Medart have been in the education field for many years, including at North Middle School in Grants Pass. Sager, who served as assistant principal at the school, and Medart, who taught science, were placed on administrative leave in 2021 — and later fired — for courageously standing up to share some ideas with parents, the school community, and society at large.
Those ideas related to gender-identity education policy, including the kind of federal and state legislation that seems designed more to assuage the demands of social activists than to address the real problems of schoolchildren. As educators, Rachel and Katie saw daily children with gender-identity struggles, and they understood the questions and confusion many parents feel in trying to help their kids.
So the two women launched I Resolve, a grassroots movement to promote “reasonable, loving, and tolerant solutions” for gender-identity education.
Jennifer Petersen Virginia mom challenges one school book a week. She says she’ll never stop.https://www.washingtonpost.com/educat...
Jennifer Petersen highlighted and typed up excerpts from more than 1,300 pages — of the 24,000-plus pages she read — that she says depict (view spoiler). Then she filed challenges against 71 of the books with Spotsylvania County Public Schools, the Virginia district where one of her children is a student and the other is a recent graduate. (Two books were removed before she could challenge them.)
Across 434 pages of challenges — longer than many of the books she objected to — Petersen offered variations on a theme. The majority of school book objections center on titles by or about LGBTQ individuals or people of color, The Post found.
Petersen, though, has just one criterion by which she judges a book. Does it contain material that, under Virginia law, qualifies as explicit, p___graphic or obscene? Less than a third of the titles she challenged have LGBTQ characters or protagonists of color, according to a Post review of her objections, obtained through a records request from the Spotsylvania district.
In 2021, the Spotsylvania school board voted to remove explicit tomes from libraries, with two members suggesting burning them — remarks that drew national scorn. The board later rescinded that decision. Then, this spring, the superintendent pulled 14 books for “explicit material” — including Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” — and suggested shutting down school libraries to address budget shortfalls. That proposal went nowhere, but the school board voted to make it easier to yank books with s__ual content.
Much of the turmoil has been driven, directly or indirectly, by Petersen. In the decades before she began filing challenges, the district saw almost no objections, maybe one every five to 10 years, library staff said. Now, in addition to her flurry of filings, Petersen attends almost every school board meeting, sometimes reading aloud graphic passages from the books she is challenging.
She claims Spotsylvania had removed 36 of the books she objected to as of early September. A district spokesperson confirmed 35 such removals had taken place as of that date, including the superintendent’s 14. Eighteen titles were yanked by librarians before they could go through the review process, and another three were restricted to the high school level. Most of the other books Petersen challenged are now awaiting the superintendent’s review, the spokesperson said.
“This whole effort has been a waste of money, time and resources,” school board member Nicole Cole said. (The district said it has not tracked the money, time and work it spent responding to Petersen’s requests, although a top library staffer estimated that a team of 11 people spent 40 hours per week on her challenges last school year.)
But to others, including some of the district’s top leaders, she is a hero. The superintendent, Mark Taylor, wrote in a statement that Petersen has “raised awareness” of explicit content in his libraries. And at least a dozen Spotsylvania parents and area residents, spanning different ethnicities and religions, have coalesced around Petersen as their champion. They note that she is Buddhist, not the Christian fundamentalist some assume. They lament what they call the attacks Petersen has faced online and in person. They see her as a defender of children’s innocence.
"She sides with the side of the truth,” said Wanda Stroh, who has sent eight children through Spotsylvania schools. “Like a lion, she will protect everything that she believes in and holds dear.”
Petersen grew up hating books. She found texts assigned at school, like the works of Shakespeare or snatches of Paradise Lost, mostly boring. The only book she remembers enjoying was Edgar Allan Poe’s collected stories, which she appreciated for their special creepiness.
That changed about 15 years ago, around the time Petersen’s daughter was born. [When she was drawn to the cover of a discounted copy of [book:Shanghai Girls|5960325] ] She finished the book, “Shanghai Girls” by Lisa See, in a day.
As her two children grew up, Petersen, who is a stay-at-home mom, found herself raising a reading family.
Peterson didn’t think about what books were available in schools until two years ago. She had begun attending school board meetings in 2020, first to protest pandemic school closures and then mandatory masking. At one meeting, parents she didn’t know rose to denounce the content of two books: 33 Snowfish and Call Me By Your Name
Their speech spurred board member Rabih Abuismail to comment, “I think we should throw those books in a fire.” Another board member, Kirk Twigg, vowed that the board would begin “eradicating this bad stuff.”
Petersen, too, was alarmed. If children under 18 read about sex, she worries, they will be more likely to engage in unsafe [practices] or fall victim to predators.
She understands children can find [content like this] online. And she knows some parents think it’s okay for their teens to read [these types] books. But decisions about when and how to read about sex should be made within the family, she believes, and books with "love" scenes certainly shouldn’t be available at school, making the lives of parents who want to preserve their kids’ innocence that much harder.
Most of all, she just doesn’t understand why schools need to stock books with graphic scenes, which she defines as anything beyond the “fade-to-black” moment in movies. She never found any such scenes in her school books growing up. She doesn’t think steamy or violent acts are educational. She has always kept her children from reading books with material like that.
So when she heard about “33 Snowfish,” she decided to investigate just what, exactly, was available in her children’s schools. She found a host of other concerning books — some of which she identified by checking Spotsylvania’s catalogue against lists of most-challenged titles maintained by groups like the American Library Association, known as ALA.
At first, her plan was just tread aloud scenes from books at school board meetings. She felt confident that, if other adults had to hear the graphic details included in books meant for schoolchildren, they would agree the titles had to go. Instead, dozens of parents, students and teachers spoke up to defend books like “33 Snowfish,” calling them vital to entertaining and informing kids in a diverse society.
Gina Terry, a parent and former Spotsylvania English teacher, said in an interview that explicit material is not always harmful — instead, it can be educational. She gave the example of Sold” a book told from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl sold into sexual slavery. Terry praised the writing as “haunting,” although she acknowledged the text deals with complex, difficult and dark subjects.
“There is absolutely discomfort. But the whole point of the book is to bring attention to the real plight of real girls,” Terry said. “By saying it needs to be banned, we’ve taken these real stories about real people and denied them existence on our shelves.”
Petersen thought it was better to let people learn about such things after they had come of age. But she was disappointed to find school officials nonresponsive to her concerns: They kept noting that no one had formally challenged any titles in Spotsylvania, she said.
So she started filing challenges. Her first seven arrived on May 1, 2022.
All Boys Aren't Blue
Beloved
Sold
For some titles, she tallied the number of curse words, including language describing human [body parts normally hidden by clothing]. For each, she wrote out a short plot summary; eventually, she would write 6,556 words of such synopses. She carefully listed every page she found objectionable. Over the next 14 months, she would identify 1,335 pages as problematic, about 5.5 percent of the 24,172 pages she read.
Petersen read five books a month. The vast majority, she said, she found disgusting.
In some challenges, she cited scientific research to back up her contention children could be harmed by reading about s-e-x acts.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Dead End
Cole said the district has lost staff members because of what Petersen is doing, although she could not provide an exact number. The district did not answer questions asking about Petersen’s effect on its personnel.
Kimberly Allen, library liaison and high school librarian for the district, estimates that, last school year, fielding Petersen’s challenges required 4o hours of labor per week from her and a team of 10 high school librarians, work they mostly did on their own time, late in the evening and on weekends, because they still had to keep up with their regular jobs. Neither she nor her colleagues received overtime pay, Allen said.
Per school district policy, each challenge at a campus required the principal, sometimes working with librarians, to form a school-level review committee comprising a half-dozen teachers and parents. Each committee recommended keeping the titles, Allen said.
But Petersen appealed every decision, leading to the formation of a second, district-level review committee, comprising another handful of teachers and parents — these selected by the Office of Teaching and Learning. Those panels, too, recommended keeping the books.
The superintendent has the final say: He intervened to pull 14 books this spring. Another 29 books await his verdict. (Five are still at the district committee stage.) So far, none of Petersen’s challenges has been rejected outright.
Then there are the 18 books Petersen challenged that librarians pulled before they could go through the review process, Allen said. She said those books were removed as part of routine winnowing, some because of lack of interest, others for being outdated or in poor condition, and a handful for — yes — s___ual or age-inappropriate content. Allen said she herself weeded out two books Petersen identified as problematic, Anatomy of a Boyfriend, Anatomy of a Single Girl both teen romance novels, because “they were too mature, too adult for high school.”
But that does not mean Allen agrees with Petersen. In “most of the books [she challenged], we do not agree with her assessment, because ... you cannot base the merit of a book on just its parts,” Allen said. “She is weighing the whole book on single passages.”
Allen said that, among school librarians, Petersen “is not popular.” She added: “Maybe she’s a good person, doing this for the right reasons. But she’s doing it the wrong way.”
Elsewhere, though, she has earned a strong core of supportive admirers.
She gained two best friends: Stroh, the mother of eight, and Jessica Rohrabacher, 42, a devout Christian with two children, one an attendee and one a graduate of Spotsylvania schools. They each found Petersen through her advocacy at board meetings. The three women have formed a book challenge support group. Stroh and Rohrabacher accompany Petersen to board meetings. She also regularly texts or calls the other two — sometimes past midnight — to ask their advice on whether something qualifies as explicit. Or just for company, as she wades through an especially dark book.
Petersen will keep filing challenges “as long as it takes ... to get the sexually explicit books out,” she said. “To make it so that they cannot come back.”
Hmm I wonder WHICH books were stolen?Local libraries investigating book thefts after titles go missing
In West and East Hartford, Connecticut
WEST HARTFORD
Local libraries investigating book thefts after titles go missing
By Kevin Gaiss • Published September 27, 2023 • Updated on September 27, 2023 at 5:49 pm
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Libraries in several Connecticut towns are working with police to investigate what appear to be the thef
Some local libraries are raising red flags about books missing from their collections.
The West Hartford Public Library has filed a police report for the possibility of stolen books from their library.
A number of their new books have also gone missing in recent months, and at least one has been spotted on amazon for resale.
In Middletown, the Russell Library says they have begun investigating whether there is a pattern to missing items.
Portland’s public library also confirmed they had the same problem, but they have made some security adjustments and the problem has since stopped.
“Its definitely impacting our service. It's very frustrating to tell a person we don’t have the thing that we are supposed to have to give to them, that they clearly need or want,” Irmscher said.
She hopes to replace the books as quickly as possible, but said it will still affect what they can provide.
"If we have to replace these books that affects the other books we can buy,” she said.
https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/l...
Bomb Threat Disrupts Drag Story Hour in NYCA staffer at the Cortelyou branch of Brooklyn Public Library at 1305 Cortelyou Road confirmed it received the bomb threat right before the nonprofit Drag Story Hour NYC was set to begin its 11 a.m. reading, adding that “for the time being we are OK” before hanging up on a reporter.
NYPD later confirmed that an email threat was sent to the branch from an unknown source in Buffalo alleging an explosive device was supposed to go off inside the site at 11:30 a.m.
A male caller also phoned 911 about the threat, authorities added.
The NYPD’s canine and emergency services units briefly evacuated the branch and did a search but found nothing suspicious.
The drag queens moved their event to a Connecticut Muffin coffee shop a block away after convincing staffers there to help. About seven children and parents attended.
“It’s a shame, and it’s something that’s extremely dangerous,” fumed a parent of a 2-year-old girl who sat in on the reading.
“These are children, and children just want to hear stories … It’s a shame how somebody just ruined it and threatened violence.”
Another parent, Dayna Sedillo-Hamman, claimed this was the second time she attended a Drag Story Hour NYC reading in Brooklyn with her 1-year-old boy only to have it relocated because of a threat.
The previous time, she said, it was moved outdoors, which wasn’t an option with Saturday’s heavy rains.
“It’s just frustrating,” she said. “People are really small-minded.
https://nypost.com/2023/09/23/brookly...
Finally, the good news of the dayToday, Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) reintroduced a Resolution recognizing Banned Books Week and condemning the escalating attacks on books and freedom of expression in the United States. The Resolution, which comes amid a disturbing rise in book bans, focuses on the central role books play in democratic life and civil discourse and urges Congress to denounce the illegitimate censorship of books in K-12 classrooms, universities, prisons, and libraries.
https://raskin.house.gov/2023/9/raski...
News is a little bit grim again today but as we head into Banned Books Week next week, we will see activists fighting censorship.In Indiana The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. has received official complaints regarding library books, including two sent in by current school board members.
Board member Jason Major confirmed that he has gone through the school corporation’s official complaint process for the book “People Kill People” by Ellen Hopkins. Additionally, fellow board member Logan Schulz has submitted a complaint about “All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.
Schulz said he submitted his complaint based on profanity and recently met with all five principals at schools where the book is present, which he said is every middle and high school.
BCSC’s Policy 9130 on Public Complaints and Concerns details the steps that an individual can take if they have a request, suggestion, complaint or concern related to instructional materials, including library books.
The process starts by communicating with officials at the involved school and, if the individual remains unsatisfied, the matter eventually goes to the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for a formal review.
However, as this position no longer exists, school officials have said that assistant superintendent of human resources Gina Pleak would fulfill the same role in the complaint process. This includes appointing a review committee made up of one administrator, two teachers, two parents and one department representative. School personnel chosen for the committee must not be from schools involved in the complaint.
Upon reviewing the complaint, the committee will make a recommendation to the assistant superintendent, and a formal letter stating the findings of the committee and the official ruling on the challenged materials will be sent to the complainant. If the individual remains unsatisfied, they can bring an appeal to the school board by submitting a written request to the superintendent.
“No challenged material may be removed from the curriculum or from a collection of resource materials except by action of the Board, and no challenged material may be removed solely because it presents ideas that may be unpopular or offensive to some,” the policy states. “Any Board action to remove material will be accompanied by the Board’s statement of its reasons for the removal.”
Superintendent Jim Roberts said that BCSC is currently dealing with about five book complaints, with most of these still at the beginning of the process.
https://www.therepublic.com/2023/09/2...
Bible Challenge in Flagler Schools Unravels Inconsistencies, Arbitrariness and Confusion in Review ProcessThe challenge, filed by Palm Coast resident Bob Gordon, cites 67 passages, almost all from the Old Testament and “most of” the Book of Revelation in the New. The passages, the challenge claims, are sexually explicit, sadistic, graphically violent and bigoted, and violate Florida law’s prohibition of such materials in students’ reach.
Gordon does not expect to prevail. He filed the challenge in the same spirit as similar challenges filed elsewhere in the country. The challenge, he says, is “pointing out the hypocrisy, the book banning stupidity, the flaws in the review process.
https://flaglerlive.com/bible-challen...
Forest Park, Illinois , the Forest Park Public Library is taking a stand with a Freedom to Read rally.Oct. 1 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., will kick off with workshops and free food. The actual rally will take place at 3:30 p.m., with speeches by local elected officials and library advocates. Skye Lavin, the library’s adult services manager, said they hope to raise awareness about the threat of book bans while also encouraging patrons to enjoy reading.
Lavin told the Review that the Forest Park Library hasn’t received any removal requests in the last two years.
Similar to other libraries, Forest Park Library considers patron requests to remove materials on a case-by-case basis, and the requestor can appeal the decision to the library board of trustees. On Jan. 16, the library board tweaked the language to limit such requests to patrons who live, own property and/or work in Forest Park.
Lavin : “Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad,” the statement read, in part. “We trust Americans to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be “protected” against what others think may be bad for them.”
Given the diversity of Forest Park’s population, Lavin said, it was important that the library has materials that reflect multiple viewpoints and appeal to multiple demographics.
“Our community is composed of all kinds of people, with all kinds of different information needs. Our readers and information seekers and those who use our resources or attend our programs are not all the same,” she said.
In a statement to the media, Vicki Rakowski, the library’s executive director, echoed Lavin’s comments about the library’s mission.
“By holding this rally, we hope to raise awareness of the rising call to defend everybody’s freedom to read as well as to show our community that the library will always defend their intellectual freedom,” she said.
The rally will kick off with rally-related activities such as button-making and sign-making, as well as more general reading and writing activities. A churro truck will be on hand to provide the food. Scheduled speakers include Mayor Rory Hoskins, Illinois House Speaker Chris Welsh (D-7) and John Chrastka, executive director of EveryLibrary, a political advocacy organization.
Lavin said she hopes rally attendees will have fun – after all, reading is fun – but also think about issues.
“We hope people will consider the following points — reading is a foundational skill, critical to future learning and to exercising our democratic freedoms, we can trust individuals to make their own decisions about what they read and believe, readers deserve to see themselves — their family, friends, and community peers — reflected in a library’s books, [and] removing and banning books from public libraries is a slippery slope to government censorship and the erosion of our country’s commitment to freedom of expression,” she said.
https://www.forestparkreview.com/2023...
This is not the way it works. The books won't be put on the shelves but out for sale. You can't donate books to the library. You can leave money in a specific fund to be used for the purchase of xyz and the library can choose to accept it or not. Plus, what exactly does this accomplish? The books the censors object to are still there and the kids who want to read them will read them! They won't be reading books that teach them to hate themselves or spread misinformation!________________________
Tennessee : ‘Let’s just flood the libraries’: Mt. Juliet couple donates 500+ Christian books to schools amid book banning debate
— A Mt. Juliet couple hopes to flood out books they consider obscene and pornographic, by donating over 500 gospel-centered books to high school libraries. All of this comes after multiple books have been pulled from Wilson County high school libraries.
“I went out and I told Dave we need to flood the schools,’” Holly Ashley said.
For the past year, book banning has become a focal point during Wilson County School Board meetings. However, instead of taking part in the debate, Dave and Holly Ashley created a campaign called The Shine the Light.
“And it’s just not theologians’, former educations, people that have lived and experienced the homosexual community,” Holly said.
On the four-page list, titles include “What Does the Bible Teach about Homosexuality? A Short Book on Biblical Sexuality”, “The Excellent Wife”, and “It’s Good to be a Man.”
“I don’t like a lot of the books, I’ve looked at all the titles, I don’t like the messages,” Sarah Moore, a Wilson County resident, said.
Moore is a frequent flyer at school board meetings and speaks against the removal of books.
“We made this mature reader list for a reason, which gives us parental control. So why are we still having this argument?” Moore said.
The Ashleys said they are also against book banning and told News 2 this is their approach to the ongoing debate.
“And we attached a letter that says if you don’t put the books on the shelf please return them. If there is a religious reason or if there is a civil rights violation then we will pursue our options as Americans and take this to the judicial system,” Holly said.
The Ashleys told News 2 that it cost over $7,000 to donate the books.
Each book will need to be read and reviewed and then it’s up to the individual school to decide if they will place the books on their shelves.
https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/...
Cool news!Banned Books Wagon begins Southern tour in Atlanta
Driving the news: Penguin Random House's Banned Wagon Tour — in partnership with the Freedom to Read Foundation, PEN America and the Free Little Library — across the South makes its first stop on Sunday at Charis Books & More in Decatur.
Why it matters: The publishing company said in a press release it hopes the wagon will inspire local communities to "protect the freedom to read" and fight censorship.
Details: The wagon will be in Charis' parking lot from 1-4pm Sunday, and organizers plan to give away hundreds of books that have either been banned or challenged.
Author Nic Stone will talk about her book "Dear Martin," a novel that explores how a teenager copes with racism following his best friend's death.
Other stops on the tour, which coincides with Banned Books Week, include Houston, Nashville and New Orleans.
https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2...
Providence, Rhode IslandBrown community members share concerns amid increase in LGBTQ+ book bans
Students, educators, librarians say bans discourage self-expression among young people
“Banning books is an attempt to control what kids can imagine as possible for themselves and for their worlds,” said Leo Lovemore, Brown’s librarian for history, society and culture. Books are “an important point of access for folks to learn about the worlds that we never thought were possible,” they said.
Removing opportunities for people to see themselves in literature “sends a clear message that not all forms of expression are acceptable,” Lovemore added.
Kylie Brewer ’24, president of Queer Alliance, said she was struck by attempts to shield kids from discussions relating to LGBTQ+ identities in school.
As a sex education teacher, Brewer said she has seen families pull their students out of class to prevent them from being “exposed to queer education,” and has witnessed the bullying of LGBTQ+ students as well.
“Banning queer literature and sex education is only going to make incidents like that more frequent and really harm young queer individuals,” she said. “Education and books help people become more empathetic and understanding of other people.”
Lovemore, who is working to develop the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library’s collections on gender and sexuality, is trying to tackle this problem by making the collections accessible to institutions outside of Brown.
The Rock’s inventory, which contains books that are banned in many libraries, can eventually be made accessible to others through interlibrary loans, they explained.
Lovemore hopes to play “a role in leveraging Brown’s resources towards building and making accessible these collections that might actually be targeted elsewhere,” they said.
As the year goes on, they also hope to listen to students when choosing which texts should be included in the collection. “I see this collection building as a joint process,” Lovemore said. “A collaborative process that I hope produces a more interesting and diverse collection for our community and beyond.”
https://www.browndailyherald.com/arti...
As book bans soar, a more subtle form of censorship has begun ravaging U.S. librariesQuiet censorship is a different beast in which LGBTQ+ books are not outright banned but are becoming less and less accessible.
That an increasing number of US schools are challenging or banning LGBTQ+ books is widely reported, but there is a lesser-known emerging phenomenon in public libraries, what journalist Kelly Jensen has called “quiet censorship,” whereby books focusing on LGBTQ+ issues are not explicitly banned but are effectively no longer accessible.
In Book Riot, Jensen describes how materials covering LGBTQ+ themes have increasingly been deliberately omitted or restricted from public view, despite their intrinsic value as a resource for the community and despite the fact that no official bans are in place. Part of this is due to a desire to stop controversy before it starts. As Jensen wrote, “They’re asking ‘who’s going to complain,’ not ‘who needs this?'”
Kate Reynolds, a queer children’s librarian who runs The Lavender Librarian Facebook page and is the creator of Storytime Solidarity, tells LGBTQ Nation that when people challenge books, they often ask for mass bans – hundreds of titles in a single request. Thus, to consider removing or banning books, librarians need to deal with a lot of paperwork.
“Our hands are tied in ways that are hard to articulate,” says Reynolds. “Libraries are understaffed due to budget cuts, so a huge percentage of libraries use something called an ‘automatic release plan’ rather than having librarians order the books. Vendors send lists, and we say we need X books on Y topics. While it is a tremendous savings in terms of staff time and salaries, it makes us more vulnerable to soft bans, as something outside an individual library can impact more libraries.”
She continued, “Requests for books to be banned (removed from library shelves or curricula) require a lot of paperwork. Because of lack of time, often librarians don’t have the resources to manage this extra work and may prefer not to have commonly challenged books. While this can impact top-tier writers, the most significant effect is the exclusion of several lesser-known writers of color from libraries who do not have the same opportunities or platform.”
Soft censorship has also become a consequence of the efforts of well-organized book challenges by religious groups and conservative political organizations like anti-LGBTQ+ hate group Moms for Liberty.
Sara, a former shelving aide in an Ohio public library, explains why she consciously decided to avoid displaying LGBTQ+ books. She believes they violate her personal morals and taste, but does not advocate for banning materials from libraries.
She tells LGBTQ Nation, “My religion teaches, and therefore I accept, that sexual activity is acceptable only in one specific circumstance: between partners of opposite sexes, who are married. Sex in other circumstances is a sin, usually not my business anyway. I say usually not my business, because I can become complicit in a sin by promoting it. If I reasonably think a book is in favor of something – that it’s intended to make people approve of it or feel good about doing it – then I’m sullying myself by encouraging people to read that book in the way its author intends.”
“Most LGBTQ+ books, regardless of whether they’re explicit or not, are in favor of problematic sexual activity. Displaying a book as opposed to just having it on the shelf does imply an encouragement to read it in an uncritical way.”
When asked why, as a public employee, she imposed her religious beliefs on others, she does not fully answer: “We live in a free society. But freedom cuts both ways; my freedom to exercise my religion includes the freedom not to participate in practices that conflict with that religion”.
How can we take action against such insidious forms of book censorship? The American Library Association offers legal and financial support, as well as guidance for library workers facing censorship attempts. They also provide a list of the most frequently challenged books, and answers to frequently asked questions about book bans.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/09/a...
Piggybacking on that story, 3 anti-LGBTQ+ groups are behind 86% of all book bans across the U.S.
The groups all have right-wing Republican support and also advocate for other anti-LGBTQ+ school policies.
Approximately 86% of all book bans across the nation have occurred in school districts with a local chapter of one of three anti-LGBTQ+ groups: Moms for Liberty, Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF), and Parents’ Rights in Education, according to a new report from the free speech organization PEN America.
Moms for Liberty now boasts 284 chapters or local affiliates over 44 states; Citizens Defending Freedom claims 20 local affiliates, located primarily in Texas and Georgia; and Oregon-based Parents’ Rights in Education has local affiliations in 15 states.
Moms for Liberty has been fueled by right-wing funding and has ties to Republican politicians, according to Media Matters. It has also been associated with both the Proud Boys and Gays Against Groomers, two extremist groups that have targeted school board meetings and drag events across the nation.
Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF) has allied with anti-LGBTQ+ groups Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Turning Point USA, according to Media Matters. ADF gave CDF $50,000 in 2021.
Parents’ Rights in Education recently hosted an event for “parents fed up with transgender and DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] education,” The Nation noted. The Parents’ Rights in Education national organization claims schools are pushing “anti-American, anti-white, and anti-capitalist sentiments amongst students.” The group also advocates for transphobic bathroom bills and policies outing trans students to their potentially unsupportive parents.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/09/3...
Library staff are quitting their jobs, libraries are closing due to staff shortages.LAKE LUZERNE, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Rockwell Falls Public Library has closed to the public of Lake Luzerne, effective this week. The decision comes following the departure of many members of library staff .
The library announced on Wednesday that it would remain closed until further notice, after losing two-thirds of its staff. Those out of the library include its director, Courtney Kier, who in May spoke out against a discussion on banning books at the library. Kier was accused of selecting books for circulation that promoted a “specific agenda” by an unnamed member of the library board.
The censorship discussion in May wasn’t the first controversy to put Rockwell Falls in the spotlight this year. In April, a planned drag queen storytime hour for children was postponed and ultimately canceled, following a slew of local backlash from parents who believed that the event would endanger their children.
Last week, Rockwell Falls passed a resolution against banning books. The resolution states:
“Individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions about what they read and believe. Further, parents should not be making decisions for other parents’ children about what they read. We are united against book bans.”
https://www.news10.com/news/north-cou...
Escambia County Florida former Coordinator of Library Services Michelle White is quitting the state over book bans
https://www.pnj.com/story/news/educat...
After 12 years serving the school district, White handed in a letter of resignation on March 22, 2023. She expressed gratitude for the opportunity and made note of her last day on June 30, 2023. Standard parting words. But it was about more than just a career shift – it was an escape from Florida Legislature that was making young adult literature the enemy. That, and Escambia’s perpetual disagreement on the district’s stance on “banned books” that consumed her 12-to-15-hour workdays, six days a week.
“I have lost 14 pounds because I wasn't eating, I wasn't exercising. You know, stress is not good for any of that, any of your health. Everybody that sees me is like, ‘You look so much better’... I’m not under a mountain of stress,” White said. “It was taking over my entire personal life, my family life. Every conversation at home revolved (around) book challenges.”
Not only did she feel she could no longer serve in the district, but there was no longer a place for her in the state due to the restrictive legislation, prompting her to relocate her family to Colorado to pursue a role of a children’s librarian, leaving the school setting altogether.
“It was heartbreaking. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, I cried. I felt like I was abandoning my librarians, my belief system. We uprooted our whole family for this,” White said. “It was not easy. But I couldn't just go to another district in the state, I really didn't even want to be in the South. I love the South. Again — I'm from the South. But this was a pattern across the region. … I could no longer participate in implementing the policies to be in compliance. That’s really the only choice I had. That is what has been passed.
“What I say is I didn't just quit my job, I quit the state,” White said
At any given time, White had seven or eight review committees reading challenged books – cover to cover, a key distinction of the review process of her own design – then discussing it to make a final decision.
They had made it to 30 book reviews completed before the process was halted in the preparation of incoming HB 1069, which to her, would become the most damning. The bill requires the suspension of materials alleged to contain P___ or "obscene" graphic content. It meant a book could be banned based on the contents of a single contested passage, without reading the entire manuscript for context.
The bill created a shift within legislators, and citizens, where they stopped caring about the value of a book as whole, such as its ability to build empathy and broaden perspectives, she said. Slices and snippets were extracted and weaponized.
“With House Bill 1069, the point of that bill from my perspective was to bypass that (comprehensive review) process, if a book contains this content (it) is to be gone, and that I could not participate in,” White said.
“When those laws were passed — it just created a false narrative,” White said. “How do you walk that back now? And I don't know that it can easily. Now that these things are put into law, it's so hard to rewrite that. You know, how do you move beyond that?”
When the committees were meeting, White received an earful of complaints about the process. It took too much time, too much money, she would hear from the public.
Even when the committee came to a conclusive decision on a book — it was another story getting the school board and the review committee to agree. Where in one instance, the board voted unanimously to remove the books from school libraries that the review committee voted unanimously to keep. She regretted now not finding a better way to portray the fruitful conversations that took place in the review committees to the school board, but she would not lose faith in her system. She would not back down on her professional judgment.
“One of my committee members was reading a book and he’s like, ‘I’m just having a hard time relating to the story. I have no problem with the story, I’m just having a hard time relating to the story,’” she remembered him saying. “I just don’t know anyone that has lived these experiences."
“Yeah, you do,” one of the other committee members said to him.
The committee members began to openly share their life experiences.
She continued to struggle with the message that the district was sending by suppressing books that expressed diverse viewpoints of those in the district, specifically when it came to the removal of books like "And Tango Makes Three," a book written for children centered around two male penguins raising a chick together in a New York city zoo.
“When you pull a book that would possibly represent a child in the school or someone that the child knows or is related to – then what are you saying?” White said. “What are you saying to the student or parent with those same experiences? That it’s so bad that you can’t read it, then what does that mean for the person itself?”
Now, that she is in Colorado, she’s feeling herself start to regain her sense of passion for the field. Now four months into her new position, she is confident she made the right decision.
“The superintendent was fired on a Tuesday. On a Wednesday, we had the lawsuit filed against us. And Thursday morning, I had a job offer,” White said. “(When) I got the offer, I was like, 'I need this for my heart and my soul' … I believe in what libraries do with a purpose. It's who I am, it's why I've always done what I do. And to see it all be taken away was just heartbreaking.
“My best phrase that I always fall back to is — books provide windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors … the ultimate goal is that when you do get to meet someone who may have a lived experience that you read about in the book — now you've got common ground where you can open that sliding glass door and walk through it and have a real conversation with someone (and) have true understanding and empathy, simply by reading a book.”
How a Moms for Liberty-aligned attack on library content is upending politics in Philly burbsThe situation exemplifies how culture-war battles previously playing out across the country in school board meetings have found a new front line: the public library.
Red, Wine and Blue vs. Moms for Liberty
The Indian Valley Public Library Director, Maggie Stern attended a Telford Borough Council meeting in March and was shocked by what she heard. . …. Then [Borough Councilmember Robert] Jacobus handed me this document, which sort of explained everything.”
Jacobus joined the Telford Borough Council last fall; his other endeavors have included running a Christian media company and marketing an ebook called Foretold, about Biblical prophecies that he says have been proven accurate through the use of satellite imagery and ground photography.
The document he gave Stern was a report, titled the Library Loophole, which claimed to prove that the library harbored the P-word, obscene material, ‘How to’ materials, info facilitating trafficking. Within are photos of the library’s Pride Month displays; scenes clipped from books with queer themes.
Jacobus said he is pro-library. “It’s just about bad people weaponizing the library to push their agenda on children.” He claimed that the children’s section contained “books that were challenging the children to investigate transgender materials, and teaching them how to do _[certain acts].”
Stern said his claims are ludicrous: She pointed out that the books Jacobus excerpted, though they depict same-sex relationships, are not p____y. None of the books is actually housed in the children’s section, she said, and no library staffers are handing those books to children. On the contrary, she said, library policies already do jibe with the primary argument of parental rights’ groups, that it’s up to them to decide what materials their children can access. The library requires parents of kids under 13 to remain in the building, and mandates that parents directly supervise any children under 10.
“I didn’t even know about Moms for Liberty,” she said, “and now my life is taken up with all of this.”
Since then, she said, men have shown up at the library “quoting Scripture,” including one who pushed librarians to read and distribute a stack of copies of his self-published book. (Stern contacted the police, who she said obligingly returned the books to the author.)
A visitor conducted a “First Amendment audit” that became confrontational when staff prevented the woman from videotaping a children’s program. In April, an 8 a.m. board meeting, according to minutes, attracted more than two dozen members of the public, either to raise concerns about “LGBTQ and BLM children’s books” and a “liberal agenda” or to speak in opposition. And, in August, a local church hosted a story hour there for Brave Books, a Christian publisher whose “See you at the library” events have, by design, sparked controversy elsewhere.
Now, though, Stern is grappling with an existential threat: The leaders of other supporting municipalities have seen Jacobus’ report, and some — including the leaders of Franconia Township, a larger community that provides about 20% of the library’s funding — said they have concerns. Whether they, too, might slash library funding in response is not yet clear.
“It’s more than just funding,” said Grey Godshall, chairman of the Franconia Board of Supervisors, who said he has heard from constituents on both sides of the issue. “It’s, specifically, access that young children would have to age-inappropriate material. From the township perspective, that’s what we’re looking at.”
For Telford, November’s borough council elections may be a turning point.
They are normally sleepy affairs, the winners raking in just a few hundred votes. But this year, Red Wine and Blue founder, Natalie Cimonetti is helping to campaign for two Democratic candidates, whose victory would represent a major upset in a borough that has traditionally been Republican-run. (Currently, there’s just one Democrat on the volunteer-run, seven-member council.)
Their Republican opponents are also anti-establishment — dominated by Jacobus’ slate of a far-right, Christian, Moms for Liberty-aligned candidates who call themselves Telford Tough. If they should win, along with incumbent Eric Kratz who has backed Jacobus in the library debate, they could have the clout to cut funding altogether.
One of the Democratic candidates is Meredith Torres, a mother of two and a program manager for an international travel assistance company. She said her first ever political campaign was motivated by what she viewed as extreme rhetoric.
“I would definitely characterize this as a decisive moment for the town,” she said — and arguably for the region. She believes that if Telford Tough can be defeated here, it could dissuade like-minded candidates in other towns from running similar campaigns. “It’s starting with [defunding] the library, with this whole idea that this is the required step to protect children in our community,” she said. “If that sort of falls then one wonders what are the next things they’re going to focus on."
Other censors:
Kaitlin Derstine, Moms for Liberty member, and other claim Cimonetti was harassing them online and filed a police report. ACLU and Cimonetti seem to feel the police are on the side of the M4L.
ACLU of Pennsylvania’s legal director, Vic Walczak, said the warning letter from the Telford police chief to Cimonetti is particularly alarming. He said his outreach to the chief had not been acknowledged. (Floyd said he did return Cimonetti’s phone call, but never heard back.)
“The fact that they will not respond and identify precisely what speech [of hers] they think is criminal, I think just clarifies that this really was an illegal effort to intimidate,” he said. “It’s alarming to see a police department put its thumb on the scale in a debate between two different views of America.”
At the library’s monthly board meeting in September, the trustees turned their discussion to marketing — a Change.org petition in favor of library funding, a series of letters to the editor, and 250 yard signs with QR codes linking to the library’s website. Much of it was driven by a new strategist the library brought on last year who, as trustee Steve Boell put it, immediately “became a wartime consigliere.”
Boell — a zoning lawyer and library enthusiast from Franconia — said the goal was counterprogramming, “to show that there’s a silent majority out there that supports the library.”
https://www.inquirer.com/news/telford...
How a Moms for Liberty-aligned attack on library content is upending politics in Philly burbsThe situation exemplifies how culture-war battles previously playing out across the country in school board meetings have found a new front line: the public library.
Red, Wine and Blue vs. Moms for Liberty
The Indian Valley Public Library Director, Maggie Stern attended a Telford Borough Council meeting in March and was shocked by what she heard. . …. Then [Borough Councilmember Robert] Jacobus handed me this document, which sort of explained everything.”
Jacobus joined the Telford Borough Council last fall; his other endeavors have included running a Christian media company and marketing an ebook called Foretold, about Biblical prophecies that he says have been proven accurate through the use of satellite imagery and ground photography.
The document he gave Stern was a report, titled the Library Loophole, which claimed to prove that the library harbored the P-word, obscene material, ‘How to’ materials, info facilitating trafficking. Within are photos of the library’s Pride Month displays; scenes clipped from books with queer themes.
Jacobus said he is pro-library. “It’s just about bad people weaponizing the library to push their agenda on children.” He claimed that the children’s section contained “books that were challenging the children to investigate transgender materials, and teaching them how to do _[certain acts].”
Stern said his claims are ludicrous: She pointed out that the books Jacobus excerpted, though they depict same-sex relationships, are not p____y. None of the books is actually housed in the children’s section, she said, and no library staffers are handing those books to children. On the contrary, she said, library policies already do jibe with the primary argument of parental rights’ groups, that it’s up to them to decide what materials their children can access. The library requires parents of kids under 13 to remain in the building, and mandates that parents directly supervise any children under 10.
“I didn’t even know about Moms for Liberty,” she said, “and now my life is taken up with all of this.”
Since then, she said, men have shown up at the library “quoting Scripture,” including one who pushed librarians to read and distribute a stack of copies of his self-published book. (Stern contacted the police, who she said obligingly returned the books to the author.)
A visitor conducted a “First Amendment audit” that became confrontational when staff prevented the woman from videotaping a children’s program. In April, an 8 a.m. board meeting, according to minutes, attracted more than two dozen members of the public, either to raise concerns about “LGBTQ and BLM children’s books” and a “liberal agenda” or to speak in opposition. And, in August, a local church hosted a story hour there for Brave Books, a Christian publisher whose “See you at the library” events have, by design, sparked controversy elsewhere.
Now, though, Stern is grappling with an existential threat: The leaders of other supporting municipalities have seen Jacobus’ report, and some — including the leaders of Franconia Township, a larger community that provides about 20% of the library’s funding — said they have concerns. Whether they, too, might slash library funding in response is not yet clear.
“It’s more than just funding,” said Grey Godshall, chairman of the Franconia Board of Supervisors, who said he has heard from constituents on both sides of the issue. “It’s, specifically, access that young children would have to age-inappropriate material. From the township perspective, that’s what we’re looking at.”
For Telford, November’s borough council elections may be a turning point.
They are normally sleepy affairs, the winners raking in just a few hundred votes. But this year, Red Wine and Blue founder, Natalie Cimonetti is helping to campaign for two Democratic candidates, whose victory would represent a major upset in a borough that has traditionally been Republican-run. (Currently, there’s just one Democrat on the volunteer-run, seven-member council.)
Their Republican opponents are also anti-establishment — dominated by Jacobus’ slate of a far-right, Christian, Moms for Liberty-aligned candidates who call themselves Telford Tough. If they should win, along with incumbent Eric Kratz who has backed Jacobus in the library debate, they could have the clout to cut funding altogether.
One of the Democratic candidates is Meredith Torres, a mother of two and a program manager for an international travel assistance company. She said her first ever political campaign was motivated by what she viewed as extreme rhetoric.
“I would definitely characterize this as a decisive moment for the town,” she said — and arguably for the region. She believes that if Telford Tough can be defeated here, it could dissuade like-minded candidates in other towns from running similar campaigns. “It’s starting with [defunding] the library, with this whole idea that this is the required step to protect children in our community,” she said. “If that sort of falls then one wonders what are the next things they’re going to focus on."
Other censors:
Kaitlin Derstine, Moms for Liberty member, and other claim Cimonetti was harassing them online and filed a police report. ACLU and Cimonetti seem to feel the police are on the side of the M4L.
ACLU of Pennsylvania’s legal director, Vic Walczak, said the warning letter from the Telford police chief to Cimonetti is particularly alarming. He said his outreach to the chief had not been acknowledged. (Floyd said he did return Cimonetti’s phone call, but never heard back.)
“The fact that they will not respond and identify precisely what speech [of hers] they think is criminal, I think just clarifies that this really was an illegal effort to intimidate,” he said. “It’s alarming to see a police department put its thumb on the scale in a debate between two different views of America.”
At the library’s monthly board meeting in September, the trustees turned their discussion to marketing — a Change.org petition in favor of library funding, a series of letters to the editor, and 250 yard signs with QR codes linking to the library’s website. Much of it was driven by a new strategist the library brought on last year who, as trustee Steve Boell put it, immediately “became a wartime consigliere.”
Boell — a zoning lawyer and library enthusiast from Franconia — said the goal was counterprogramming, “to show that there’s a silent majority out there that supports the library.”
https://www.inquirer.com/news/telford...
Earlier this month, a group calling itself Friends 4 Levine Querido raised almost $110,000 during a 10-day online auction held September 3–13, with the proceeds benefiting indie children’s publisher Levine Querido. LQ reports that it has been hit hard by the dramatic spike in book bans, as, according to the American Library Association, most of the books being targeted are written by BIPOC and LGBTQ authors and LQ specializes in publishing books by authors from these and other traditionally marginalized communities.Not only have Levine Querido books been challenged and removed from school and library shelves, but, in an attempt to stave off further attacks, some schools and libraries are choosing not to order LQ releases, a practice known as “shadow banning.” In a statement on its website promoting the auction, LQ disclosed that sales were down more than 30% this year from last, much of it due to the impact of book bans, as well as rising costs and the aftermath of last year’s supply chain disruptions.
Authors Liza Wiemer and Debbi Weinberg Lakritz organized the auction for the publisher. The two wrote that organizing the online auction was “a complete labor of love for us. We thought about all the children who deserve to see themselves and others in our diverse world. Levine Querido’s books are vitally important, providing mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors for our youth. The loss of Levine Querido, we realized, would adversely affect what books future generations would have access to. Combine this with the fight against book banning and our torch was lit.”
Approximately 400 authors, agents, illustrators, and other supporters of the press donated almost 500 items and experiences to be auctioned off, including consultations, manuscript and portfolio critiques, virtual school visits, personalized signed books, and sketches of original artwork from the likes of Sophie Blackall, Gail Carson Levine,Gregory Maguire, Ruth Ozeki, David Shannon, Shaun Tan, Paul Zelinsky, and Henry Winkler, who donated two signed books and a lunch date with him that sold for $2,352!
LQ authors also donated goods and services. Printz Medalist and self-professed foodie Daniel Nayeri's offer to “cook a three-course meal for you and up to five friends,” received the highest bid: $4,250. Locus Award winner Darcie Little Badger offered to dedicate her forthcoming novel to the high bidder’s pet, which sold for $500, and Newbery Medalist Donna Barba Higuera offered to write an original fairy tale, which sold for $750.
LQ’s publisher and editors also donated to the auction: various opportunities to spend time with Arthur Levine and to benefit from his publishing and editing expertise raised almost $6,000. Executive editor Nick Thomas raised almost $5,000 by donating a full manuscript critique that went for $2,150 and manuscript line edits that sold for $2,800.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...
More good news from Gen. ZLiterary Activism reports:
More than a hundred students in Great Oak High School in Temecula, CA, walked out to protest the school's anti-LGBTQ policies, which include banning pride flags, mandatory gender disclosure to parents, and attempting to ban teaching from LGBTQ-inclusive textbooks. One student protested by handing out hundreds of pride flags to other students.
https://www.losangelesblade.com/2023/...
Former Weld County Colorado librarian wins settlement after district fired her for promoting LGBTQ, anti-racism programs
• Brooky Parks will receive $250,000 as part of a settlement in a civil rights dispute over her being fired in 2021 for encouraging antiracism and LGBTQ+ history workshops at the Erie Community Library.
looking for work at another library. She went on unemployment and got a temporary job as a housing coordinator for a nonprofit.
Her settlement doesn’t influence policy at any library district outside of High Plains. But she hopes other librarians take notice and defend access to a wide range of programming and books, especially for teens.
“At that age, they may not have those resources or support networks at home or even in their schools,” said Parks, who now works as a librarian in Denver. “Sometimes the only place that they can come where it's safe and they can feel included and important and seen is the public library.”
https://www.cpr.org/2023/09/22/weld-c...
Darien, Connecticut• The Council of Darien School Parents has been trying to control which books are taught in schools — but they declined an invitation to be part of the curriculum review process.
– A children’s book about gender and acceptance that was read to Darien second-graders sparked controversy among parents last year regarding its appropriateness in the school district. But on Tuesday, a local parent group turned down a plan to be more involved in the curriculum review process.
DARIEN – A children’s book about gender and acceptance that was read to Darien second-graders sparked controversy among parents last year regarding its appropriateness in the school district. But on Tuesday, a local parent group turned down a plan to be more involved in the curriculum review process.
The Board of Education’s proposal came about after a viral video showed a Darien parent telling the school board that Julián Is a Mermaid is not age-appropriate. The Superintendent’s Review Committee then reviewed the book and approved it again in December. The reinforced support led to additional online criticism from the Connecticut Republican Party, who claimed state Democrats wanted to take control of education away from parents.
A new district plan to extend membership of the review committee to parents, however, was squashed after the Council of Darien School Parents – the umbrella group representing local parent-teacher organizations – declined to participate in the committee appointment process during a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.
“Identifying parents for this particular function does not help us support students and has the potential to turn neighbor versus neighbor,” Crystal Hill, co-chair of the group, said at the Tuesday school board meeting.
Under the proposed revision to the procedure for challenging instructional materials, the council would have been required to appoint three parents of current Darien students to join the review committee. But Hill said the appointment would pull the parent council away from its primary focus – the health and well-being of students.
“CDSP is not, nor has ever been, a political organization,” Hill said. “While we appreciate the board and administration recognizing that we are impartial, the proposed appointment of CDSP to place parents on the Superintendent’s Review Committee must be respectfully declined.”
Hill’s comments then fueled further debate along party lines about whether the district should include parents in the review process at all.
(Naming names of the would-be censors:
Republican Vice Chair Jill McCammon (in favor of parents helping review books)
Republican David Brown “At some point, we do have a political role. We do have a different role than the administration, and that is also to reflect the views of our constituency,” Brown said of the board. “And this is a process to facilitate those views and get the involvement.”
While no official vote was taken, the Republican-majority board said they would consider the criteria for parent members and move forward with revising the policy.
https://ctexaminer.com/2023/09/27/dar...
Darien, Connecticut• The Council of Darien School Parents has been trying to control which books are taught in schools — but they declined an invitation to be part of the curriculum review process.
– A children’s book about gender and acceptance that was read to Darien second-graders sparked controversy among parents last year regarding its appropriateness in the school district. But on Tuesday, a local parent group turned down a plan to be more involved in the curriculum review process.
DARIEN – A children’s book about gender and acceptance that was read to Darien second-graders sparked controversy among parents last year regarding its appropriateness in the school district. But on Tuesday, a local parent group turned down a plan to be more involved in the curriculum review process.
The Board of Education’s proposal came about after a viral video showed a Darien parent telling the school board that Julián Is a Mermaid is not age-appropriate. The Superintendent’s Review Committee then reviewed the book and approved it again in December. The reinforced support led to additional online criticism from the Connecticut Republican Party, who claimed state Democrats wanted to take control of education away from parents.
A new district plan to extend membership of the review committee to parents, however, was squashed after the Council of Darien School Parents – the umbrella group representing local parent-teacher organizations – declined to participate in the committee appointment process during a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.
“Identifying parents for this particular function does not help us support students and has the potential to turn neighbor versus neighbor,” Crystal Hill, co-chair of the group, said at the Tuesday school board meeting.
Under the proposed revision to the procedure for challenging instructional materials, the council would have been required to appoint three parents of current Darien students to join the review committee. But Hill said the appointment would pull the parent council away from its primary focus – the health and well-being of students.
“CDSP is not, nor has ever been, a political organization,” Hill said. “While we appreciate the board and administration recognizing that we are impartial, the proposed appointment of CDSP to place parents on the Superintendent’s Review Committee must be respectfully declined.”
Hill’s comments then fueled further debate along party lines about whether the district should include parents in the review process at all.
(Naming names of the would-be censors:
Republican Vice Chair Jill McCammon (in favor of parents helping review books)
Republican David Brown “At some point, we do have a political role. We do have a different role than the administration, and that is also to reflect the views of our constituency,” Brown said of the board. “And this is a process to facilitate those views and get the involvement.”
While no official vote was taken, the Republican-majority board said they would consider the criteria for parent members and move forward with revising the policy.
https://ctexaminer.com/2023/09/27/dar...
Iowa• West Des Moines Community School District and the Urbandale Community School District are now labelling Little Free Libraries on school grounds with a disclaimer that the books have not been endorsed by the school district.
Margret Aldrich, a spokesperson for the Minnesota-based Little Free Library nonprofit, said the group was disappointed by the news that schools felt it necessary to use disclaimers. However, Aldrich said, the disclaimers and signs are a good solution that allows books to be shared while protecting schools and teachers.
Aldrich said the group has not heard of similar situations in other states.
The Little Free Library organization officially condemns book banning as contrary to its values, and offers Little Free Libraries as a way to expand access to banned and challenged books.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/sto...
Maine• In Cumberland, a parent got into an argument with board members after they told him to put down his sign with images from Gender Queer on it. He's been trying to have the book banned since July.
The parent, Scott Jordan of Cumberland, previously brought the blown-up images [from the book] to a Maine School Administrative District #51 (MSAD #51) Board meeting last week.
Several other parents attended and spoke at the Sept. 18 School Board meeting, most of whom spoke out against the book — while two other parents supported the book being in the libraries and one advocated for the use of police force to remove certain people from the public meeting.
As Jordan lifted up the images from “Gender Queer” for the Town Council to see, one Councilor, Robert Vail, yelled at Jordan to put them down because they were too “inappropriate” for the public Town Council meeting.
“Mr. Jordan — and you are now sharing it publicly with everyone that has an internet connection,” Chair Mark Segrist told Jordan.
“This is a forum that is open to all people of all age groups — that is inappropriate material to bring to this forum,” Vail said. “And if you have a problem with that, I’ll ask you to leave.”
Vail then attempted to refuse to give Jordan his public time back after interrupting him.
The Council Chair Mark Segrist then paused the time during Vail’s interruption and proceeded to let Jordan speak — despite Vail’s attempt to prevent him from doing so.
Tuesday evening’s Town Council meeting is not the first time Vail has rebuked Jordan for speaking on the issue.
Jordan brought the images to the Town Council meeting because his attempts to have the School Board remove the book from the libraries, or to have the Town Manager or Police Chief get involved have been unsuccessful.
https://www.themainewire.com/2023/09/...
https://www.themainewire.com/2023/09/...
Maine• In Cumberland, a parent got into an argument with board members after they told him to put down his sign with images from Gender Queer on it. He's been trying to have the book banned since July.
The parent, Scott Jordan of Cumberland, previously brought the blown-up images [from the book] to a Maine School Administrative District #51 (MSAD #51) Board meeting last week.
Several other parents attended and spoke at the Sept. 18 School Board meeting, most of whom spoke out against the book — while two other parents supported the book being in the libraries and one advocated for the use of police force to remove certain people from the public meeting.
As Jordan lifted up the images from “Gender Queer” for the Town Council to see, one Councilor, Robert Vail, yelled at Jordan to put them down because they were too “inappropriate” for the public Town Council meeting.
“Mr. Jordan — and you are now sharing it publicly with everyone that has an internet connection,” Chair Mark Segrist told Jordan.
“This is a forum that is open to all people of all age groups — that is inappropriate material to bring to this forum,” Vail said. “And if you have a problem with that, I’ll ask you to leave.”
Vail then attempted to refuse to give Jordan his public time back after interrupting him.
The Council Chair Mark Segrist then paused the time during Vail’s interruption and proceeded to let Jordan speak — despite Vail’s attempt to prevent him from doing so.
Tuesday evening’s Town Council meeting is not the first time Vail has rebuked Jordan for speaking on the issue.
Jordan brought the images to the Town Council meeting because his attempts to have the School Board remove the book from the libraries, or to have the Town Manager or Police Chief get involved have been unsuccessful.
https://www.themainewire.com/2023/09/...
https://www.themainewire.com/2023/09/...
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)
More...
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)
More...
In Jacksonville, protestors read from banned books, defying the state's education policies as part of the Th..."
Good news, but sadly, I am also afraid that soon Ron DeSantis will start having the police invade people's homes and churches to arrest individuals teaching these topics and students attending.