Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
In Chicago, an outrageous attempt to censor what people read!‘Little Free Libraries’ On City Property May Soon Require Permits
Bookcases built on city-owned land, including parkways, will need a public way use permit under the new ordinance, which passed through committee Tuesday and is now headed for a full City Council vote.
Introduced this summer by Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), the ordinance would require a public way use permit to build a free library on city-owned property. Little Free Libraries are often placed on city parkways outside their owners’ homes.
Additionally, only “organizations, not-for-profit entities and licensed businesses” would be eligible to receive the necessary permit to build a bookcase on city land under the legislation.
Private individuals would not be allowed to construct the structures on public property at all, Lopez confirmed in an interview Tuesday.
Libraries located on private property, like a front yard, would not be impacted by the measure.
“These bookcases have been popping up all throughout the city completely unregulated. And we’ve seen now as they gain traction in popularity, they’re showing up in locations that they probably need some clarification, particularly in parkways that don’t belong to the individual erecting the bookcase,” Lopez said. “So what this ordinance does is just basically creates a permit that will serve as a way of registering these in the public way.”
Lopez did not directly answer a question about whether neighbors who have built Little Free Libraries on public property would be allowed to keep them. But he said they should “get ready to have that conversation” about the structure’s future.
Owners of the libraries who receive a public way permit will be required to “paint, plainly mark, or otherwise affix the permit number and the permit holder’s name, address and telephone number on the outside of each public bookcase,” according to the ordinance.
The permits will be free for qualifying organizations and businesses, Lopez said.
“There’s no price to this permit, because we’re not trying to make money or we’re not trying to hamper the public’s ability to erect these bookcases,” he said. “I think they’re great. I’ve had Boy Scouts donate them, I have one in my office. We just want to make sure that we have a system in place of knowing who’s responsible and where they can go.”
Nancy Wulkan is the founder of Neighbor to Neighbor Literacy Project, a nonprofit that works to expand literacy access by installing Little Free Libraries, or as the group calls them, Book Boxes, across Chicago.
She said there are some positives about the additional regulations, like clarifying who is responsible for the maintenance of each public bookcase. She’s also happy there would no fee required to access the permit.
But Wulkan also said Lopez’ ordinance could ultimately limit access to literacy, especially in communities where local block clubs and neighborhood groups may not be officially registered organizations but still want to build a free library.
Wulkan also said there are good reasons people place their Little Free Libraries in the public parkway near their homes, even if it’s technically city property. Namely, it’s easier for the surrounding community to access them there, she said.
“If you keep it on residential property, private property, sometimes people are intimidated. ‘Oh, can I use this? I don’t know. … I don’t want to trespass on property, or whatever,'” Wulkan said. “So that’s why I think a lot of neighborhoods, a lot of residents put it in the parkway right in front of their house, because then it’s right at the street and people can pop by easily and use it that way.”
If passed by the full Council, the proposed regulations will go into effect Jan. 1.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/10/...
Not good news. Some of these are paywalled but the headlines are enough.Parental Rights Win Out Over Schools' Gender Policy in Wisconsin
"A school district’s policy “to enable and affirm a minor student’s transition to a different gender identity at school without parental consent violates parents’ constitutional right to determine the appropriate medical and health care for their children,” a Wisconsin court ruled Tuesday.
Parents have fundamental liberty interest in the decisions regarding ‘care, custody, and control of their children,’” said Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Maxwell. “Simply because the decision of a parent is not agreeable to a child or because it involves risks does not automatically transfer the power to make that decision from the parents to some agency or officer of the state.”
https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/10/0...
What else will parents have the rights for?
Follow up to the inappropriate 8th grade story aboveHouston ISD superintendent says he will pay ‘teacher experts’ to review curriculum after inappropriate lesson appears online
The lesson plan was deemed for 8th-grade students attending NES-aligned schools
KPRC 2 immediately reached out to Houston ISD for a response. Newly-appointed superintendent Mike Miles sent us a written statement saying that the lessons given to students moving forward will be “age-appropriate” and meet his “high standards.”
Miles told KPRC 2 that this lesson was never presented to 8th-grade students and ensured the issue had been corrected on all campuses.
The spokesperson added that later this month, the district will launch “opportunities for teachers in each division to partner with district leaders and provide feedback to make our curriculum stronger.”
“The Academics team continues to review the development of these lesson plans but at this time we believe the inappropriate passages were due to isolated human error. The curriculum team will continue to meet throughout the week to align on expectations and quality control for lesson plans moving forward,” the spokesperson said.
https://www.click2houston.com/news/lo...
SERIOUSLY?!!!!!!!!!!!!Missouri- Lebanon youth group to host book-burning bonfire on Halloween
"A Lebanon church has been getting statewide attention for a book-burning bonfire to be held on Halloween night. Emmanuel Chapel, a non-denominational church in Lebanon, shared information about its "Autumn Fall/Fire Fall Youth Lead" to Facebook on Sept. 15
WHAT?!!! So God speaks directly to you?
Missouri pastor Dusty Hill on upcoming book-burning: "If God told me to burn the book Clifford the Big Red Dog, then I'd burn the book Clifford the Big Red Dog"
They don't plan on torching American history, English books or anything of the sort, Hill says.
Harry Potter books, tarot cards, Ouija boards, p___phy, or anything else considered "ungodly," on the other hand? They take no issue with cremating those.
The church won't provide anything to burn, and they may burn nothing at all if all participants come empty-handed, Hill says. Youth are just encouraged to bring whatever it is they're struggling with — and then throw into the fire.
"It's not to condemn anyone or bring conviction upon anyone," Hill adds. "I don't want anyone to feel like we're attacking them, because we're not. That's not our intent at all."
I can't even read this. Click at your own risk.
https://boingboing.net/2023/09/29/mis...
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/news/...
FYI morons Halloween comes from the Celtic New Year Samhain and the Catholic All Souls' Day. Not sure where they're getting "demonic" associations from but I have heard that before.
Smithsonian Magazine A Brief History of Banned Books in America
Attempts to restrict what kids in school can read are on the rise. But American book-banning started with the Puritans, 140 years before the United States
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/histor...
Good news ‘We can’t take sides’: Why this Michigan bookstore is displaying banned books
KALAMAZOO, MI -- For Kazoo Books, Banned Books Week is about open-mindedness and non-bias.
The bookstore, tucked away on 2413 Parkview Ave. in Kalamazoo, set up a banned books display from Oct. 1 through Oct. 7.
The titles were selected based on a list from their wholesaler, said Gloria Tiller, owner of Kazoo Books. The bookstore commemorates the week to celebrate reading, Tiller said.
“People are coming in and buying these books out of curiosity, out of trying to understand what’s going on,” Tiller said.
“People are coming in and buying these books out of curiosity, out of trying to understand what’s going on,” Tiller said.
The books are ones community members requested be removed from various libraries. Reasoning for removal requests ranged from racial to sexual material, Tiller said. Sometimes the books showcase an experience or belief others don’t agree with, Tiller said.
Tiller said requesting a book be removed limits an individual’s free speech.
“As a bookstore owner ... we can’t really take sides,” Tiller said. “We can’t tell somebody they can’t read something, we can’t say ‘Oh, we don’t carry that book because we don’t like the content in it.”
Many people who want to control what others are reading, Tiller said. While they do have the choice of what to offer in their store, Kazoo Books has always tried to be “fair and open-minded,” Tiller said.
“Many of these books like ‘Lord of the Flies’ and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ were written in an age where it was OK to write books like this,” Tiller said.
Tiller recalled a time growing up where “The Catcher in The Rye” by J.D. Salinger was the subject of controversy and removal requests. Though time and book titles have changed, Tiller said the desire to control is still the same.
“The reason for the banning might be specific to someone’s religious beliefs or someone’s ethnicity, but that’s not to say they can press what they believe onto somebody else,” Tiller said.
Displaying and celebrating banned books encourages more awareness of the titles, Tiller said. Some of the books people request be banned are some of the best in the country, Tiller said.
“These books have points, they have relevancy, they have a message that we all need to read. We all need to know about these messages,” Tiller said.
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/...
What's behind the national surge in book bans? A low-tech website tied to Moms for Libertymight be paywalled
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/i...
BookLooks is “not trying to tell you, ‘don't buy this book’ and ‘buy that book,’” said Cynthia Walsh, who promotes using the site and is running for a school board seat in Fairfax County, Virginia. It’s telling you: “Here's a list of books, go find them.”
And it’s not just individual book challenges citing BookLooks. In Virginia, one school district has adopted the site as an official reference tool for vetting its library books. In Texas, a legislator pushed to pass a new law requiring book dealers to rate and recall books by referencing an “unsuitable booklist” sourced mostly from BookLooks.
“What this says to me is that people don't trust the expertise of librarians — they say, this random website knows better than you do, even though you have schooling and this is your profession,” said Emily Knox, an associate professor who studies intellectual freedom and censorship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “The real problem is that people try to say, ‘I know what's best for the school system, and for the library, and the library should reflect my own values — no matter what the values are of other people in the community.’”
BookLooks founder Emily Maikisch told USA TODAY in an email that she used to be a member of Moms for Liberty, but left Moms for Liberty in March 2022 to launch BookLooks. The website says it has no affiliation with Moms for Liberty.
An examination of its history calls this into question.
On March 25, 2022, someone registered the domain name “BookLooks.org.” The next day, March 26, the Brevard County, Florida, chapter of Moms for Liberty posted a graphic showing a ratings system for books from zero to five.
“ROCKSTAR VOLUNTEERS:” the post reads. “We would like to give a shout out to our amazing Book Review Committee for developing such a detailed and professional system for reviewing and rating books found in our school libraries.”
Maikisch, on her Facebook account, even replied in support of the Moms for Liberty post at the time.
The same ratings graphic, with only slight alterations, is now used on BookLooks.org.
When asked by USA TODAY about the Moms for Liberty post, Maikisch said she used to be part of the group’s book review committee, but that she left to create her own website. She said Moms for Liberty had copied her graphic and assigned their own ratings without acknowledging that Maikisch and her husband created it, and said she had allowed the group to use BookLooks' reports, but later stopped interacting with the group.
The Brevard County Moms for Liberty group did not reply to a request for comment.
Tasslyn Magnusson, a consultant with PEN America who researches censorship attempts in schools and built the leading national database of book-ban attempts, began seeing references last year to BookLooks.
“It’s fast becoming the preeminent resource,” for people making the case to remove books from school libraries, Magnusson said.
BookLooks rates each title based on what it calls the appropriateness of its content for children and young adults. The ratings are modeled on those used by the Motion Picture Association of America, Maikisch said, and are meant to provide “a quick guide for busy parents” to determine if a book has “objectionable” material – mainly profanity, nudity or s-xual content.
A zero rating means the book is appropriate for all ages in the view of BookLooks’ reviewers. A one rating means it could contain “mild violence” or “inexplicit” references to sexuality or “gender ideologies,” examples of which include sentences like “Jake and Bob are gay and married to each other,” or “John was born a boy but feels like a girl.”
If the hypothetical Jake and Bob are described as being sexually attracted to each other, or if the book contains a reference to gender-affirming care, then the book is moved up to the next rating level.
Books rated two contain content that “may not be appropriate for children under 13,” according to BookLooks. As of early September, a little more than half of the titles found on BookLooks were rated between zero and two. As of September, 24 had the most extreme possible rating, a five for their “aberrant content.”
Often, the books include a brief plot summary, but almost 250 books don’t include any plot summary at all. Every title on BookLooks includes a numerical rating and a list of “objectionable” material.
There’s scant information on BookLooks.org about how, exactly, each book was assessed. In an email exchange, Maikisch told USA TODAY a member of her “group” reads the book and creates a report with citations.
“The group has a discussion then about how the citations fit within our rating criteria with the original reader providing context where needed. A consensus is reached on what rating to assign,” Maikisch wrote.
The website provides no details about who is making these decisions and what their qualifications are. Maikisch’s name doesn’t appear on the website, nor do the names of anybody else involved in the process.
Maikisch wrote that she and her husband never intended for their website to be used to provide ammunition for banning books from libraries.
“We do not support banning anything from the public sphere,” Maikisch wrote. “That aside, we do support parents who want to have a say in what is made available to their children while under the custodial care of the school.”
Maikisch also acknowledged that the site has become a resource for campaigns to ban books in school and public libraries.
“We aren’t going to try to discourage that, nor do we feel we should have to,” Maikisch wrote. “We support parents using the information we’ve provided however they see fit to make the best decisions for their family.”
But when BookLooks becomes a source in a book ban, it’s not merely a family decision. It’s a decision to impose that judgment on other families. Parents armed with BookLooks reviews, along with activist school boards, are making decisions on books that affect every student and parent in a school or district.
Experts in child literature and censorship say that’s a misguided – and unhelpful – approach.
Rating books according to one person, or a group’s subjective moral guidelines, is not how professional librarians assess whether books are suitable for libraries, said Megan Schliesman of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education.
Rather, titles often are assessed by consulting with various review journals, and with an analysis based on librarians' knowledge of children's literature and library policies, Schliesman said.
“We’re not approaching it looking for alarms to go off,” said Schliesman, a librarian who’s worked with the center for three decades. “We’re approaching it asking, ‘what does this book have to offer?’”
Rating books, she said, “implies there’s something inherently dangerous or disturbing about certain kinds of content. … That idea that there is this rating system that can set a standard that applies to every family in a community is completely untrue, completely uninformed.”
The librarian reads the book and asks: Does the information or story succeed in meeting children in the designated age group or demographic where they’re at? Books aren’t evaluated based on their topic or a list of do’s and don’ts, Schliesman said.
That’s in stark contrast to the BookLooks approach.
BookLooks reviews usually contain a lengthy list of excerpts from the book, reproduced with no context for where they fit in the broader narrative of the story. Their aim is clear, Magnusson said: to paint a book as fixated with, or defined by, sex, profanity and violence.
“It's very much about just short excerpts – it's not about evaluating the content of the book as a whole,” Magnusson said. “They're talking about all the bad words in it, rather than thinking about the piece of literature.”
Some parents who use BookLooks acknowledge the site is useful as a way to shield their children – and even themselves – from certain ideas.
Walsh, the mom running for school board in Virginia, said she learned about BookLooks at a professional development summit this past spring, geared toward conservative candidates.
“When you talk to the parents, they have no idea,” said Walsh, who’s also spoken out against mask mandates and critical race theory. “They don't know about the book. They don't know what's in the book. And honestly, they're afraid to read it.”
BookLooks, she said, allows them “to get a general idea of why people keep talking about the same books.” She said BookLooks is a great resource to learn about and “look at a book without buying it,” and she now promotes the site while campaigning.
In an email to USA TODAY, Maikisch said BookLooks "does not focus on sexuality nor gender issues."
"They are not major factors at all,” Maikisch wrote.
But every one of BookLooks’ ratings mentions sexuality or sexual activities. The only way for a book to receive a rating of zero from the website is for it to contain “No References to Sexuality, Gender Ideologies or Sexual Activities,” according to a definition on the site. At the other end of the scale, the only way a book receives a rating of four or five from BookLooks is for references to sex or sexuality.
About 40% of the entries on BookLooks include concerns about "alternate gender ideologies" or "alternate sexualities," according to a USA TODAY analysis of all the ratings on the site as of September.
Only 131 of the more than 630 titles that appear on BookLooks do not include “sex” or “gender” in their summary of concerns, those titles including the 54 books BookLooks rated at zero.
Schliesman, the Wisconsin library expert, said BookLooks-style rating systems “are designed with the idea that we have to warn people about certain kinds of content — that there is something inherently dangerous or disturbing about it,” she said. “It stigmatizes readers who want to choose those books – and in some cases, the lives of those who are reflected by the content.”
Knox puts it a slightly different way. The very notion of some books being deemed “acceptable” for children because they reflect certain lifestyles, while others are deemed “unacceptable,” reflects the very biases in society these books aim to challenge, she said.
BookLooks doesn’t indicate whether a book is fictional or not. “When you say ‘Well, this is a radical agenda,’ it's a way of saying that this person's life is not one that deserves to be told; their experiences are not worthy of being shared with other people and we should only share certain types of stories.”
“I just don’t think that’s what a library is about,” Knox said. “And part of going to school is learning about people who are not like you who think differently from you.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/i...
Two stories on the M4LPeoria, Illinois
Moms for Liberty group forming chapter in Tazewell County
paywalled
https://www.pjstar.com/restricted/?re...
Chiefs Out in Half of Districts Where Moms for Liberty Flipped Boards Last Year
Moms for Liberty, the conservative parents organization, boasts that it flipped 17 school boards in last year’s general election.
Since then, superintendents in nine of those districts — stretching from Florida’s Atlantic coast to central California — have resigned or been fired, often after a period of conflict with board members.
“Six new board members clean house first night on the job,” the organization celebrated on Facebook Nov. 16, the day after its slate of candidates took office in Berkeley County, South Carolina. Before a confused crowd, they fired Deon Jackson, who had spent his entire career, over 20 years, in the district.
Moms for Liberty founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich told The 74 that their endorsed board members don’t always take office with plans to replace superintendents, but that sometimes it’s “necessary.”
Six of those nine districts hired permanent replacements; three still have interim chiefs.
Forcing out district leaders is one of the most obvious ways Moms for Liberty has made its mark over the past two years. As they clash with districts over library books with sexually explicit content and LGBTQ-inclusive policies, members tend to portray these removals as victories for parental rights. Others say the group has unfairly targeted effective leaders and failed to address pressing issues like teacher shortages.
“The one thing that districts can point to that will demonstrate change is a new superintendent,” said Andrea Messina, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, which conducts superintendent searches. “It’s an immediate message to the community.”
https://news.yahoo.com/chiefs-half-di...
The good news, the NAACP is fighting backAlabama- NAACP protests Moms for Liberty presence at Madison Street Festival
https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/naacp...
Union County, North Carolina NAACP holds sit-in over current library policy
— The NAACP Chapter in Union County is pushing to change a Union County policy that the county must host, co-host, or co-sponsor an event in order for groups to use library space.
The group held a "sit-in" during the first Board of Commissioners meeting in October to voice their concerns regarding the policy.
Chapter president Archie Hansley told WCNC Charlotte that his group has been denied twice from using library space.
“We need to put a policy in place that’s number one, consistent across the board. Number two, not subjective,” said Hansley.
Hansley's frustration grew after another group, Moms for Liberty, was approved for a story time after their first request.
"We will address the board and I will share my displeasure with the current policy as it is written and will actually petition the board to reconsider this policy that’s in place and is definitely not in favor of everyone," Hansley added.
When asked about an update on the policy, a spokesperson for the Board of Commissioners sent the following statement to WCNC Charlotte:
"The County Manager still anticipates discussing the County’s Facility Use Policy with the Board of Commissioners, but there is no update at this time. There is currently a vacancy on the Board of Commissioners, so it makes sense to discuss the policy and consider any updates to it after the Board is full with five members."
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/loc...
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/loc...
Banned books tour hits the road, from New York to Texas.As part of an initiative spearheaded by the New Republic, the books will be driven throughout the US to spread awareness about literary censorship and the freedom to read. Beginning in New York earlier this week, the bookmobile will visit several states and end in Texas later this month.
The New Republic partnered with organizations like House of SpeakEasy and the American Federation of Teachers for the bookmobile tour and hopes to use it as a way to fight back against censorship. Organizers plan to hand out 20,000 books as they pass through the likes of Florida, Virginia, Missouri and Kentucky – a route chosen to align with the recent PEN data.
“Literature shouldn’t be a privilege,” Erin Cox, the executive producer of House of SpeakEasy, and who is working with the tour, said. “It should be something everyone can have access to.”
By hitting areas designated by PEN as having the highest number of book bans, the banned books tour is putting accessibility at the forefront of its agenda. Staffers have created festival events in each city to give free books to children, including banned titles – but only if requested. Information will also be shared with parents, teachers and librarians, guiding them on how best to fight against censorship in their community.
Kym Blanchard, the New Republic’s marketing director and tour mastermind, is aware of this pressure. Before the bus even left Cadman Plaza park in Brooklyn, New York, she received word of anticipated threats.
Protests are expected in Daytona, Florida, with one group calling on the mayor to stop the bookmobile from entering the area.
“I’m not worried about violence because I’m hoping people have a sense of humanity,” Blanchard said. “I definitely foresee some protesting and picketing, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed it doesn’t turn into more than that.”
The New Republic’s bookmobile isn’t the first national initiative of its kind. Penguin Random House just launched Banned Wagon: A Vehicle for Change, which will be touring the US south for the duration of banned books week. Stopping in Nashville, New Orleans and elsewhere, they’ll showcase a selection of the most frequently challenged books they publish.
While Blanchard hopes this is the only year these initiatives will need to take place, she says the New Republic will tour again in 2024 if there is a need.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...
Tallahassee News: Florida leads the nation with banned books; controversial titles still available in TallahasseeMidtown Reader is an independent bookstore in town. This week, they are participating in National Banned Books week.
"Give people the opportunity to still read these books," said Kristin Kehl.
Kehl is the general manager of Midtown Reader, and an advocate for reading widely.
"I think there's so many different books out there for so many different reasons," said Kehl.
Kehl said she was surprised when books like "I am Billie Jean King" have been called into question earlier this year by a concerned parent because of references to her sexuality. She said me it's a childrens book that highlights different people in history.
"That one surprised me a little bit, but I'm glad to see the restrictions were lifted," said Kehl.
M4L Chair for Leon County, Priscilla West who said in a statement that no one is trying to ban books but she wants to protect young children.
"Parents have the right to introduce mature topics to their own children on their own timeline," said West.
Pamela Monroe, Library Director for LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library System, explained how the community tackles these restrictions.
"We've never banned any books, no," said Monroe.
Monroe said this is important in her role as the public library is community driven and meant to cater to different perspectives. One of the focuses at the Lake Jackson Branch.
She has a wonderful opposing viewpoints display right now that's showing cats vs dogs, something as simple as that," said Monroe. "But also, some of our displays are love across the ages."
She explained why variety is important.
"It's eye opening," said Monroe.
Whatever your preference, as October is National Book Month, these organizations are encouraging you to pick up a book and read.
https://www.wtxl.com/news/local-news/...
Florida- Alachua County school district bans book on LGBTQ issues after rare challenge from parentAfter a wave of new Florida laws changed the criteria for documenting, assigning and challenging school books, LGBTQ advocates and parents in the Alachua County Public School district said they were concerned books on queer issues could be targeted.
Now, the district has banned a book about the experiences of transgender teenagers after a parent challenged its material.
Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out
Understanding Sexual Identity: A Book for Gay and Lesbian Teens and Their Friends
Patty Duval, the media specialist for ACPS, said three books have been challenged by a Gainesville High School parent, including the now-banned “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out." It is the first book challenge at an Alachua County public school in many years, she added, and the only one she has seen in her five years at the district.
During Tuesday's School Board meeting, one board member even opposed a symbolic proclamation that declared October LGBTQ History Month, saying there were "more important things to do."
At a school faculty meeting in July on how to deal with new state laws, an attendee said the district had seen only one book challenge in recent memory − the Bible.
Crystal Marull, a GHS parent, wrote on her complaint form that all three books, including “Being Transgender (Living Proud! Growing up LGBTQ) and “Understanding Sexual Identity: A Book for Gay Teens and Their Friends,” were attempting to “normalize queer identities.”
While a review by the school’s library advisory committee found two books could remain, “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out” by Susan Kuklin has been banned because it contains phrases like (view spoiler) (rigghhht like teens have never heard the first one before)
Under the new Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed law that took effect July 1, HB-1069, books that contain any “sexual conduct” are allowed to be challenged by a parent and will then have to be removed.
“I think the thing I was sort of stunned about is reading the rule what comes to mind is very lewd sexual acts, but the way that the media specialists are being told to interpret it is, basically any words that have to do with sex regardless of the context,” said Autumn Doughton, a parent to two GHS students and the parent liaison on the school’s library advisory committee. “They're being told, ‘if you don't take the book out, if it's been challenged and you don't remove the book, then now you, the actual media specialist, and the school staff are liable,’ and so they're scared.”
Doughton said she was disappointed Marull tried to get the three books removed from the library. She said parents already have the option to monitor what books their child checks out as well as make certain books off-limits to their child, and she wishes Marull had taken that approach instead of taking the book off the shelves for all students.
Doughton also said books written by Shakespeare and other classroom staples could similarly be banned from libraries if a parent were to challenge them due to the law.
“I was sort of stunned at how broad things are being interpreted,” she said. “With that kind of guidance, it just could open the door for so much more. It's such a slippery slope.”
But unlike most other Florida districts, the Alachua County Public School district already had a catalog of its library books for years, and the district had also already established a complaint process for concerned parents or citizens who wish for books or instructional material to be reviewed.
“We didn't really have to make any adjustments because we were already following a strict selection criteria that mirrored what the state's requirements were,” Duval said.
The district’s book selection process includes looking at the suggested audience for a book, making sure it doesn’t contain [p]... and evaluating the book’s literary value, Duval said.
https://www.gainesville.com/story/new...
Mod
Missouri- Lebanon youth group to host book-burning bonfire on Halloween
"A Lebanon church has been getting statewide attention for a book-burning bonfire to be held on Hallo..."
I hope these morons end up with third degree burns.
And that "pastor" must be related to Adolf Hitler.
Mod
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on the Muslim Association of Canada for trying to enforce homophobia in PUBLIC schools. These schools are supposed to be be secular. Glad that homosexual Muslims are speaking out, but it is vile that they feel like they have to be anonymous due to community threats and bullying (and that the the putrid leader of the Unprogressive Conservative Party caters to the Muslim Association of Canada and agrees that schools should not be supportive of LGBTQ students etc. makes me want to puke on these collectively horrid homophobes).
Manybooks wrote: SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on the Muslim Association of Canada for trying to enforce homophobia in PUBLIC schools. These schools are suppo..."
I just saw a story of the same in the midwestern U.S. If something big like tolerance, respect, and kindness is against your religion, keep your kids out of publicly funded schools. There are Muslim schools and home school programs.
______________________________
Muslim parents keep kids home from Ham Lake charter school over LGBTQ picture books
https://sahanjournal.com/education/da...
Parents of as many as 200 Muslim students say they may withdraw them from DaVinci Academy over the school’s use of picture books with LGBTQ characters. The school says it will provide alternate books for any students who want to opt out. But parents say the school must remove the books altogether.
As many as one in five students at a Twin Cities charter school were kept home in protest last week as Muslim parents demanded the school drop its use of LGBTQ-friendly picture books.
Starting Tuesday, September 26, between 140 and 192 of the approximately 1,000 students at DaVinci Academy in Ham Lake were marked absent each day last week “assumed due to this issue,” said Holly Fischer, the school’s executive director, in an email to Sahan Journal. Smaller numbers of students were marked absent for other reasons.
DaVinci Academy uses the books in its kindergarten through 5th grade classes as part of an anti-bias curriculum. Fischer explained at a September 25 school board meeting that the books are intended to help children understand differences in an age-appropriate way, a need that became evident when children returned to school struggling with social skills after pandemic closures. The 120 books curated by the local nonprofit AmazeWorks include stories about immigrants and children with disabilities; 24 have LGBTQ characters. Several times each month, teachers read AmazeWorks books to their classes.
Sahan Journal interviewed two Muslim parents with children at DaVinci Academy, both of whom later asked not to be named in the story. They told Sahan Journal that teaching children about LGBTQ issues infringes on their rights as parents—and on their religion. One parent, an imam, told Sahan Journal that homosexuality was a “major sin” in Islam.
After a four-day attendance strike, the students returned to class on October 2. At its next meeting, scheduled for October 23, the school board plans to discuss setting up a parent committee to review the issue. Fischer is also arranging a meeting with the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is representing the parents. But parents say they may pull their kids from DaVinci Academy altogether if the school does not change the curriculum.
DaVinci Academy, a K–8 charter school 20 miles north of Minneapolis, provides instruction focused on arts and sciences. Students’ test scores register above the state average. ... Sixty percent of DaVinci Academy students are white. [T]he school’s enrollment has increased in recent years, fueled by its reputation among Muslim families who praised its academics and its diversity.
Between the 2018–2019 and 2022–2023 school years, enrollment increased by nearly 20 percent. The majority of the new students are Black, and half of them speak a language other than English at home, including Arabic, Oromo, Somali, and Amharic. With so many Muslim students at DaVinci Academy, parents say, the school should have consulted them before including this new material.
Under Minnesota state law, parents have the right to review the curriculum and “make reasonable arrangements” for alternative instruction if they find any material objectionable.
At the school board meeting, Fischer said that any parent can opt out of the material, and that she had accommodated every such request. Many students already opt out of certain lessons, and the school provides alternate opportunities, she said. At the same time, she stressed that the school has children who need the LGBTQ-affirming books.
“To value one child’s safety over another child’s safety is not something we can do,” she said at the school board meeting. “All the students at DaVinci deserve safety, and I think that’s the important part of the story.”
Fischer said the school was looking for ways to accommodate large numbers of children opting out of a lesson, and suggested the solution might include small groups reading different books at the same time.
But the Muslim parents who spoke at the school board meeting suggested they might leave if the school did not altogether remove the books from the curriculum.
Sana Soussi, a parent and school board member, questioned Fischer in the September 25 meeting about what would happen to the school if 150 Muslim students left overnight.
“Losing 150 students would be horrifically detrimental,” Fischer replied.
AmazeWorks, a St. Paul–based nonprofit, arose out of an incident in a Minneapolis Public Schools classroom 27 years ago. A second-grade girl with two moms received a birthday card from a classmate that read: “I hate you, girl lover.”
Rebecca Slaby, AmazeWorks’ executive director, said one of the moms formed a supportive group that decided to use storytelling and picture books to expose children to different family structures.
Its anti-bias curriculum, which DaVinci Academy has adopted, now includes 20 picture books in each grade level for kindergarten through 5th grade that focus on understanding many kinds of diversity.
Among the books are titles that aim to give kids a boost as they start school; one about a girl who learns to be proud of her Arabic culture; and others about a Sudanese refugee child who wants Americans to pronounce his name correctly, and a Native American girl collecting jingles for her powwow dress. They also include a book about a transgender child whose parents are expecting a baby, and a boy who wants to dress as a princess for his school parade.
“Kids need to see themselves reflected positively in the curriculum,” said Slaby, who grew up as a Korean adoptee and says she never saw herself reflected in the media. “And they also need a window into the lives of people who are different from them.”
Teachers using these books have reported that children “have more empathy for each other because they’re engaging in multiple perspectives, and they’re learning about each other as well,” Slaby said.
All schools have kids who are genderqueer or have gay parents, she said. “They deserve to be affirmed as well.”
Although 80 parents, primarily Muslim, had come to the September 25 school board meeting to share their thoughts about the AmazeWorks curriculum, only two were given a chance to speak during the 10 minutes that is usually set aside for public comment.
Aboubakr Mekrami thanked teachers for their work with kids, but said the school needed to be sensitive to the beliefs of Muslim families. “We teach our children to basically respect others,” he said. “However, when the topic of LGBT comes up, we strongly believe that we need to be the ones who approach it and teach it to our children based on our beliefs. This is a fundamental belief for us, and one in which we have no wiggle room. We strongly object to this optional LGBT curriculum being used in the classroom.”
He requested that the board remove the AmazeWorks curriculum.
“This is not about book banning or excluding anybody,” he said. His children have LGBTQ friends, he added. “We are not against diversity, equity, and inclusion, but the way this should be presented should ensure that different beliefs are respected. We need to be authentic to our beliefs. And if we don’t feel like we are getting our needs met, families may leave.”
Parents applauded. Then Amna Soussi, another parent stood up to speak. She credited DaVinci Academy’s recent enrollment growth to an increase of Muslim families.
“These topics will create unnecessary stress, anxiety, and worries within our kids because it goes against our fundamental beliefs, our religion,” she said. “It is our right to introduce these sensitive, controversial and religious-based topics to our kids, when we feel is the appropriate time and age to do so.” The AmazeWorks curriculum would deny them that right, she said.
Soussi added that Muslim families were considering leaving the school, which she said could cost the school heavily. Public schools, including charter schools, receive funding from the state on a per-pupil basis.
“Why put your school at a risk of losing over 135 students because of this?” she said. “This will affect the school’s enrollment. It’s going to throw a curveball in your funding.”
Again, parents in the audience clapped.
For the next hour, the school board considered other topics like test-score results and field trips. Then, teachers presented on the AmazeWorks curriculum.
Fischer, the school’s executive director, said the school sought out the AmazeWorks resources because teachers noticed a need for it as kids returned to in-person learning. “Our professional educators were seeing students being unkind to one another, and were looking for ways to create conversations that would help foster mutual understanding,” she said.
Kindergarten teacher Lauren Metty said that in her classroom, students often bring up holidays like Christmas. Books in the AmazeWorks box help them learn about other students’ holidays.
....
As an independent charter school, DaVinci Academy is not affiliated with the Anoka–Hennepin School District, but it sits within the district’s borders. In 2011, the state designated Anoka–Hennepin School District as a “suicide contagion area” after nine student deaths in two years. At the time, the school district had a “neutrality policy,” forbidding school employees from condoning homosexuality. Some of the students who died were LGBTQ, or perceived to be, and bullied by their classmates.
Under school policy, the board retains final authority to make decisions on curriculum materials, but delegates those decisions to the school’s executive director, academic director, and curriculum committee. Melanie Persellin, the school board chair, clarified that the board “doesn’t necessarily have a role” in deciding whether the school uses the AmazeWorks books.
Board member Sana Soussi said that using these picture books for lessons about inclusivity would exclude 150 kids. If an alternate curriculum is available, she suggested, why not just use those books for all the kids?
“We have made a commitment at DaVinci to treat all students equally,” Fischer said. “And so standing on the need of one child over another feels like not an equitable decision.”
Ultimately, the board decided to discuss a future proposal for a parent committee to address the issue.
Many Muslim parents left the school board meeting frustrated that they had been allotted only 10 minutes, overall, to speak, and that the board had not made any decision. Some thought that the teachers presenting about the AmazeWorks books had behaved disrespectfully. For the next four days, many Muslim parents held their children home from school.
In an October 1 email to parents, Fischer apologized that communications between the school and families had left some parents feeling alienated.
She also provided parents with the school policy they can utilize to request the official reconsideration of any curriculum material. She told them that no DaVinci teacher was scheduled to teach “the curriculum in question” for the next several weeks.
In an email to Sahan Journal, Fischer explained that the school would be using that time “to order more replacement curriculum to support students who have opted out.”
Same same in Idaho with the "community" being against LGBTQ+ books. Comparing homophobia/transphobia to an ALLERGY is just disgusting. Try reading the description of the book, subject headings, chapter headings, or here's a though- actually READING the book. Books ARE clearly labeled through subject headings and Dewey Decimal numbers for non-fiction. Try again lady. ________________
Boise-area library patrons oppose ‘normalizing’ LGBTQ+ lifestyles, records show
Treasure Valley residents in roughly the past year have asked their public libraries to remove, or restrict access to, books for a variety of reasons, including nudity, bestiality and themes considered “anti-police.” A common reason, though, was to shield children from books that mention diverse forms of sexuality, gender and identity, according to the complaints, which the Statesman obtained through public records requests. Gina Nuzum, a mother of five from Meridian, last year asked the Meridian Library District to remove from the children’s section a book called “My Body is Growing: A Guide for Children, Ages 4 to 8” because it promotes what she called a gay and lesbian “agenda.” “They really want to normalize that, and I am not on board,” Nuzum told the Statesman by phone. ”This type of content really needs to be, absolutely, labeled and sectioned and not just available for all kids. We’re protecting their innocence. We’re protecting moral values.”
Cole LeFavour, Idaho’s first openly gay lawmaker who previously served in both the House and Senate, rebuked the notion that libraries should restrict material based on an individual’s beliefs about LGBTQ+ lifestyles. “Libraries struggle with all kinds of people objecting to material for all kinds of reasons,” LeFavour said by phone. “To maintain access for everybody, they’ve had very strong policies and practices around the material in the library and defend people’s right to read books that they want to read.”
Nuzum said she’s not opposed to parents who want to expose their children to LGBTQ+ content being able to access it. But she wants the library “to be a safe place” where material is “properly labeled” as containing that kind of content. “Not that we’re allergic, but if you’re allergic to something, you want that on the label, right?” Nuzum said. “You need to know that’s in there, and similar story with books, especially when books have such an influence on a child’s mind.” LeFavour, who is gender nonconforming and uses they/them pronouns, said negative perceptions of gay and transgender people are especially harmful for young people, who often are silent about their identity. LeFavour blames politicians for driving those negative perceptions.
“Some kinds of politicians feel they need to have someone to scare their voters about, someone to say they’re going to save their voters from, and I’ve seen that come around again and again,” LeFavour said. “At one point, most people didn’t realize they knew gay people, and it was easy to say that about gay people. Now the focus is probably more on transgender people because not everybody knows that they know a transgender person.” As for attempts to censor library material, LeFavour said, public policies should maintain access to books that reflect a range of values and beliefs. “The beauty of libraries is that a person doesn’t have to check out a book if they don’t want to, they don’t have to let their children check out books if they don’t want to,” they said.
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/l...
In Texas, another child died by gun violence and they're still fussing about BOOKS!Plano ISD reviewing book policy after concerns raised over s___ally explicit library books
The district superintendent Therese Williams said she and her staff don't condone having any sexually explicit content in their libraries or schools.
"We will address the concerns brought forward regarding sexually explicit materials in our libraries, and we will continue to operate within, comply with, and uphold all federal and state laws, and state library standards in accordance with local policies to provide high-quality school libraries," Williams said in the statement. "Books are an essential part of school and individual learning, and we want all of our parents to feel comfortable with their students utilizing our libraries."
Plano ISD adopted their new policy regarding library materials in August 2022, which they say ensures the district's libraries enhance educational experiences and foster a love of reading.
"Just recently, this new policy has been tested for the first time, and it has become clear that we have more work to do as several books were appealed," Williams said in the statement. "In response, my leadership team and I will be reviewing our internal procedures to ensure calibration and consistency so appropriate decisions are made for the betterment of our students."
To strengthen that process, Williams said the district will do the following:
Conduct a comprehensive review of current procedures to find gaps in effectiveness or implementation
Revise procedures and guidelines for clarity and adherence to legal requirements
Propose policy revision as determined necessary
Pause library book purchases and centralize future procurement process
Provide comprehensive training for staff once the process has been completed
Any proposed revisions will need to be approved by the district's board of trustees. Upon approval, any revised guidelines and policies would be applied to previously reconsidered titles as well as future library maintenance projects.
[Translation: more censorship yet to come]
Plano ISD has reviewed 70 books, and five books are currently going through the appeal process.
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/edu...
Not all news is bad news. As Banned Books Week continues, there is some positive news.Virginia (a parental rights in education state) Massanutten Regional Library displays banned books
https://www.whsv.com/2023/10/06/massa...
See also Iowa
Iowa libraries celebrate National Banned Books week in the wake of new Iowa law banning some materials from schools
Beaverdale Books is hosting an event this Saturday, at the Franklin Event Center, starting at 10 a.m.
https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/iowa-...
ACLU podcastInternet Censorship Won't Make Kids Safe - ACLU - At Liberty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tqi9...
Always the bad along with the goodAndover Kansas Public Library pauses social media presence after threats during ‘Banned Books Week’
https://www.kwch.com/2023/10/05/andov...
“Seeking to list banned books, some of the most common banned books across the country that are in our collection. Monday, it was Captain Underpants,” said Andover Public Library Director Tom Taylor.
The social media post on Tuesday featured a genderqueer book. According to the American Library Association, the nonfiction memoir was the most challenged book last year.
“It’s about a young person coming to grips with their own gender identity,” said Taylor.
The library’s director said the post quickly started getting people’s attention, including from those outside of the Andover community.
“You know, it was actually some good discourse but then it kind of turned into name calling and the library started receiving images of woodchippers, threats to destroy the books in our library. I thought it had gone too far. Staff were feeling uncomfortable,” said Taylor.
“It’s unfortunate when people dislike like, when they get upset, but it’s gone beyond that in the last few years,” said Taylor. “Library boards across the country are being threatened. Not here, I want to emphasize that. Not in Andover.”
Taylor said as a public library everyone is served - all people of all ages.
“We don’t have an agenda. We believe in access, though. We believe that people have the right to choose what they want to read and what they want their children to (read) or not read,” he said.
Taylor said genderqueer is part of the library’s general collection for young adults and up. The library has a policy to review titles in its collection.
Taylor said the Andover Public Library also receives messages of support from the community and libraries across Kansas.
DEWITT, Mich. (WLNS) – A former Dewitt teacher is remaining defiant after a video of her highlighting banned books went viral leading to threats. Online creator Elizabeth Hatline is back to posting on Instagram after a video she made last month was shared and reposted by the right-wing social media account “Libs of Tiktok” this week. The post claimed she was a Dewitt Public Schools teacher.
But Hatline has not been a part of the district since 2021.
In this video, she featured 19 picture books that were banned last year, in different places around the country. Many of them touched on LGBTQ+ topics and diversity.
After the video was reposted, Dewitt Public Schools made an announcement that it was shutting down its social media profiles because of inappropriate tagging, comments, and threats from people reacting to the video.
Hatline says following the 2020 George Floyd protest, she wanted to create a community to share children’s book recommendations that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
“I originally started the Facebook group so that parents and educators and caregivers could have a safe and welcoming environment to get support and help others with books and DEI efforts in books,” she said in a phone interview.
That effort soon turned into her Instagram account called “raisingreaderstobecomeleaders” which now has more than 16 thousand followers.
Hatline says it has been a difficult week of facing online backlash for her posts but adds that there has also been an outpouring of support.
...
She says her message is that it is important to share the stories kids are missing out on in places where these books are barred.
“I fully believe that every single parent should decide what books are best for their children, but you don’t get to decide what’s best for other people’s children everyone should have that choice.”
Hatline says she will continue to do her advocacy work with other online creators in hopes of continuing an “inclusive, safe environment”.
https://www.wlns.com/news/firestorm-e...
This doesn't accomplish anythingMan gives "Moms for Liberty" a taste of their own medicine by reading from Bible at a school board meeting
https://twitter.com/waltermasterson
Actor and comedian Walter Masterson read from the Bible at a Central Bucks School District meeting.
Kate Nazemi and Jane Cramer, parents who live in the Central Bucks and Pennridge school districts, joined other concerned citizens and activists at a banned book giveaway outside the Moms for Liberty Conference.
"In our school district, we're really seeing several different outside influencers impacting education policy for our kids, and we're seeing teachers, many parents and students' needs and wants being pushed aside in favor of partisan policies that don't reflect the local needs of the community." said Nazemi.
"We see that with Moms for Liberty," she added. "We know they are leading the movement in book bans. Many of the books that are challenged right now in our district – there are 60 plus – the excerpts for those challenges come from the Book Looks website, which is originally a Moms for Liberty site that encourages folks to challenge books."
https://boingboing.net/2023/10/05/man...
Good news from Florida but sad it has to come to thisLittle Free Libraries aim to have a big impact in school book ban-barraged Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" sat one book away from Ibram X. Kendi's "Antiracist Baby."
But it wouldn't for long. Titles in Heather Encinosa's Little Free Library clear out fast.
Those two books sharing a spot in the little display box isn't their only similarity. "The Bluest Eye," which delves into topics like racial identity and beauty standards, and "Antiracist Baby," a children's book that discusses racism and how to fight it, have both been targeted and even removed from some school shelves in Florida and across the country.
The box, painted black, stands in front of Encinosa's Tallahassee home. It's covered in stickers. "READ BANNED BOOKS," several of the multitude say. "BAN BIGOTRY NOT BOOKS," another shouts. They surround a pun, etched in bold white letters on a red sign, "WELCOME TO THE FREADOM LIBRARY."
But all that hasn't decreased the appetite for the targeted books. If anything, it's elevated it. That's the case with Encinosa's library, which features books currently and historically targeted in the United States.
A couple of people have taken issue with the library. One woman once packed it with Bibles. But Encinosa, an attorney and mother of two teens, said most people think "it's a valuable part of our neighborhood."
"I just think maybe people don't want to be told what to read," said Encinosa, noting its popularity.
She isn't the only Floridian with the idea. Little Free Libraries featuring banned books can be found throughout the state, and in increasing numbers.
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/new...
The Hamilton East Public Library board violated Indiana's Open Door Law when two board members, who made up a majority of a committee, met with their attorneys at a local coffee shop in August, the state's public records expert said in an opinion issued Thursday.In an Oct. 5 advisory opinion, Luke Britt, the state's public access counselor, found that HEPL board member Ray Maddalone and former board president Laura Alerding, who was unseated this summer, violated the law because they made up two-thirds of the board's nominating committee and discussed public business tied to that committee.
In an emailed statement, Hamilton East Board President Tiffanie Ditlevson said the board appreciates the counselor's ruling and plans corrective measures.
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/l...
These are the people who tried to ban John Green
Moms for Liberty Is Taking Over Banned Books WeekNot quite in the way you’d think.
[Moms for Liberty] charges that schools have overstepped their bounds by teaching students progressive values—acceptance of all sexual and gender identities, for instance, or how to fight against racism—instead of focusing solely on academics. Now, these groups have taken up the failure of balanced-literacy instruction as further evidence of the utter failure of progressive education in perhaps the most important skill a child learns in school. In the process, they’ve launched the latest version of an age-old political fight over reading. Basically, the argument from parents’ rights groups can be boiled down to this: Don’t believe us that public schools have sacrificed education at the altar of progressive educational schemes? Just look at how miserably they’ve failed in teaching our kids to read.
“There is a lot of time being spent on ‘social-emotional learning’ and not so much time being spent on effective reading instruction in the classroom,” the Moms for Liberty account tweeted on May 21. “Why is literacy not being prioritized like sexual education is currently? Why does a 5yo need to learn about gender identity?”
What is the exact scenario in which an inclusive curriculum somehow replaces phonics-based reading instruction? Moms for Liberty has yet to explain exactly how this happens.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/...
Children and parents begin uphill fightback against book bans in Florida“Adults who are doing this clearly don’t understand teenagers,” Trixie Meckley, a senior in high school in DeLand, central Florida, told CNN. When she’d heard about one of the books most frequently banned from school libraries, “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” she’d searched the graphic novel on Google to see what the fuss was about. “It honestly looks pretty interesting,” she said.
Meckley’s friend, junior Riley Kellogg, has been an obsessive reader since middle school. “I actually have a sticker on my phone right now that says, ‘If you ban a book, I add it to my summer reads list,’” Kellogg said.
Kellogg, [a] high school junior, also spoke at [a school board] meeting. “I have learned a lot more about the world around me through books than I have through my own eyes,” she said. “Although there might be something in a book that some people don’t want there to be, the books ultimately have a message. … They should stay in the libraries.”
Jacob Smith, who said he graduated from a county school in 2017, also addressed the board.
“I’m actually Gen Z … and we have certain feelings about how we want to be educated,” Smith said.
His father had read banned books decades ago, he added. “I don’t want to continue fighting the same things we were fighting from the previous generations … I want Gen Z to be a generation of people that find new peace, find new justice that America has never achieved before.”
“I think it’s ridiculous that we’re going back in time,” Smith said.
“There was what I call a loophole in the statute that said the material needed to be taken as a whole, and if it had any literary value then it could stay,” Jenifer Kelly, chair of Moms for Liberty in Volusia County, told CNN. “However, I think of the analogy – if you have something poisonous inside a brownie, and you know it’s there, are you going to take a bite of that brownie? No.”
She said she was not interested in the views of students. “If they’re 17 or younger? No. It’s their parents’ decision.”
In Indian River County, at the first school board meeting after a session of many s-e-x scene readings, Michael Marsh was angry. A parent with a book complaint could have gone to the school principal, he said. Instead, “they chose to bring the theater here and for the circus to happen here,” he said.
It’s not that he liked every single book that Moms for Liberty had targeted, he added. But the tactics were not OK, he said, wearing a T-shirt in the style of Moms for Liberty that read “Mike for Liberty” with the tagline, “Your parental rights do not stop mine.” On the back of the shirt was a photo of his daughters. “I’m the proud parent of two beautiful interracial queens,” he said.
“They are not the majority. They are bullies,” Marsh said of Moms for Liberty. “This is what happens when no one runs and everyone’s asleep. Well, you know what, I’m wide awake – or ‘woke,’ which is the bad word of the day.”
Of school board members who were aligned with Moms for Liberty, he said, “We’ve got to vote them out. We have to continue to educate, not just parents, educate staff. And we can’t have people in fear anymore.”
Any change via the polls will take time, and those who’ve been fighting against book removals are already tired, explained Julie Miller, a former Clay County media specialist – the modern term for a librarian. She has been an outspoken critic of book bans, watching the phenomenon grow since November 2021.
At first, she thought there could be compromise and understanding. There were some books marketed like young adult novels but really meant for readers in their early 20s and contained (view spoiler) The school didn’t need to offer those. But eventually, targeted books included prize-winning classics like “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “The Bluest Eye,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and so on. She says she was given a lateral job move in June and decided to leave Clay County Schools.
“There is no fight right now – not in this state – there is no fight that we can win. Because it’s not just us vs. Moms for Liberty” and allied groups, she said. “It’s us versus them, and the school board members that they have successfully gotten elected, and the legislators who have written these draconian but also vague laws that that are so one-sided, and unbeatable.”
“There’s a lot of hopelessness,” Miller said.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/06/us/flo...
LeVar Burton Wants YOU to Read Banned Books“When I read Fahrenheit 451 for the first time,” LeVar Burton says, “I couldn’t imagine that situation in my reality. It was a shame, right? Wow. Those poor people in that misguided society. I live in that society now. That dystopian story has become my truth.”
https://www.gq.com/story/levar-burton...
The ACLU report on School Surveillance https://tinyurl.com/digitaldystopia
And what happens when the government censors ideas in China. Not really much different from what's happening in Florida and Texas right now. One step away from this in Florida and no steps away in Texas.
A Hong Kong man gets 4 months in prison for importing children’s books deemed to be seditious
Kurt Leung, a 38-year-old clerk, was sentenced after he admitted to importing 18 children’s books featuring wolves and sheep. He was arrested in March after he signed for a delivery from the U.K. containing the books.
The books feature sheep that lived in a village and had to defend themselves against wolves. In the series of books, the sheep take action such as going on strike or escaping by boat, which are said to allude to incidents such as the 2019 anti-government protests and the detention of the 12 Hong Kongers who attempted to escape by sea.
Authorities say that the books are an attempt at inciting hatred in young children and stirring up contempt against the government in Hong Kong and mainland China.
The sedition offence, which is a colonial-era law that carries a maximum penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment for first-time offenders, has in recent years been used by Hong Kong authorities to quash dissent in Hong Kong. The semi-autonomous Chinese city was a British colony until it was returned to China in 1997.
Leung was accused of working with a former colleague to have the books delivered from the United Kingdom to Leung’s office in Hong Kong. He was arrested days after he signed for the package.
The creators of the sheep and wolves books were five members of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists. They were sentenced to 19 months in prison in September 2022.
Since then, a group of self-described overseas educators have taken over the project and published three more titles that are available to purchase in the U.K. Digital copies are also available for download.
Hong Kong has seen its freedoms decline in recent years as Beijing has tightened control over the city, following the imposition of a sweeping national security law aimed at stamping out dissent.
The national security law, together with the sedition law, has been used to arrest activists and outspoken pro-democracy figures.
https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-...
Mod
It is nice to read about Muslims in Canada speaking out against homophobia but it is sad that they face so much backlash and dip many threats.
You've GOT to be kidding me! The kitty wants to be a unicorn. That's it. Idiots are targeting Shannon Hale because she's outspoken against book banning and Donald Trump. Hoping to see her speak next week.Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn
Utah author’s children’s book about a kitten is being pulled from school libraries over claims it is ‘sexually suggestive’
After a challenge to Utah author Shannon Hale’s book ‘Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn,’ a Texas school district halted students’ access to all new library books
“I’m not sure where the ‘suggestive’ part came in. I’ve never been able to get anybody to tell me what that was in reference to,” said Hale.
“Another thing they objected to was using ‘they’ as a singular pronoun, which is also not in the book. ‘They’ was only ever used for multiple characters, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it wasn’t there. So this was a misreading, somebody who has misread this book,” she said.
The school district responded to the school board member’s concerns by halting students’ access to all new library books for the 2023-24 school year until the district could develop a policy to implement the legislation.
Hale, who writes children’s books, graphic novels and some books for adults, said none of her books are on banned books lists but she has learned that some of her books have been quietly removed from circulation in school libraries.
“If that’s happening to me, I know that’s happening to a lot of other writers as well. What’s actually happening is much larger than the list that we’re actually seeing,” she said.
Hale said she believes the energy behind efforts to remove books from circulation in school libraries is fear based.
“I’ve been told the problem with it (‘Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn’) is it encourages children to be who they are,” said Hale, mother of four children.
“If you tell your child to be who they are, and you can’t control what they’re going to become, and that’s really scary,” she said.
The response to fear is control, Hale said, “and that’s what we’re seeing.”
Hale challenged the audience to consider how to “inject compassion into that fear because fear cannot exist when there’s compassion involved. As soon as we inject compassion into fear, the shell dissolves and what’s left is curiosity. When we’re curious about things, then we really make solutions, then we can really see what the problems are and we can problem solve.”
Hale said she wants to be “so compassionate with the parents who flagged this book, and the school board that stopped all of the buying because they are afraid, and that doesn’t feel good, and they need compassion, too.”
https://www.deseret.com/utah/2023/10/...
Hamilton East Indiana Public Library board member Ray Maddalone resigns hours after Open Door Law opinionHamilton East Public Library board member Ray Maddalone, who championed the board's push to move books not deemed "age appropriate" from teen shelves, resigned from his appointed position Thursday.
Maddalone, who joined the board in July 2022, gave notice to the Hamilton County Commissioners, his appointing body. Library board positions are chosen by selected public bodies, not elected.
His resignation came hours after Luke Britt, the state's public access counselor, shared his advisory opinion that Maddalone and former Board President Laura Alerding violated Open Door Law when they met with attorneys Chris Greisl and Mark Crandley to discuss business related to the board.
https://news.yahoo.com/hepl-board-mem...
How is Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey defining "sexually explicit"?Matthew Layne, president of the Alabama Library Association, responded via email to Gov. Ivey’s letter to APLS director Nancy Pack. In response to Gov. Ivey’s first proposal to “make state aid for local libraries contingent on the adoption of sensible policies to facilitate greater parental supervision of their children,” Layne said, “I feel like most libraries have institutional policies to encourage parental and/or guardian supervision of children who are in the library.” Several of the policies sent to Gov. Ivey’s office highlighted the mandate to supervise children.
“To my knowledge, no sexually explicit material has ever been on display in any Alabama library’s children’s department which begs the question, how is the governor’s office defining ‘sexually explicit?’ Common sense and common decency dictate that any material containing sexually explicit images or passages would not be located in a children’s department of a library,” Layne said. “If there were indeed such items, then I would expect the library and the community it serves to act accordingly to have them removed.”
When asked what Gov. Ivey defines as sexually explicit, communications director Gina Maiola referred back to the letter that states, “taking this action will leave the precise details up to the local library boards. But it will ensure that every public library in the state newly considers these important ways to create a welcoming library environment.”
Finally, Layne said he encourages libraries to have an updated collection development policy to define the criteria used when selecting materials and to have a “materials reconsideration policy should an item be challenged.”
“Book challenges are to be expected in libraries as libraries and literature challenge us to think outside of our normal comfort zones,” he said.
Read Freely Alabama (RFA), a non-profit committed to stopping book bans, said in a statement they have “deep concerns about the potential consequences of (Gov. Ivey’s) suggested amendments to the APLS Rules.” The group believes the “outrage” about inappropriate materials is based on misinformation.
“While discussions about literature and its impact are vital, it is equally crucial that the facts informing these debates are accurate,” the organization said. “Persons in leadership positions are capable of making good policy decisions only if they have good information at hand.”
The group offered to meet Gov. Ivey at a local library to review the frequently challenged books and believes library professionals could answer questions about collection policies and the review process.
“Open discussion on these topics alone is something we believe will go a long way in bridging the gulf of misunderstanding,” the group said.
RFA is also hoping for more specifics regarding what is considered “materials deemed harmful.” They’re concerned this will restrict access to materials “based upon their personal biases against marginalized peoples. Striking a balance between respecting parental concerns and preserving the principles of a democratic society is a complex challenge.” The group is hopeful the governor will consider “protecting the constitutional rights of all (her) constituents” and not legislate “according to religious doctrine.”
The group is also concerned that two groups that challenged books, Clean Up Alabama and Moms For Liberty, are targeting books that aren’t sexually explicit but have LGBTQ-affirming themes or images” or themes “of racial injustice or taking a critical view of American history.”
Clean Up Alabama said in a statement that the letter “made some really good points, but the proposed policy changes do not go far enough to ensure safe libraries for all children.”
The group confirmed in the statement that APLS should have policies not to allow minors “access to any sexual content,” including sexually explicit content or “content regarding sex, sexuality and gender, but isn’t necessarily explicit. These are subjects that should only be discussed with children at the discretion of parents.”
https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/alaba...
How is Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey defining "sexually explicit"?Matthew Layne, president of the Alabama Library Association, responded via email to Gov. Ivey’s letter to APLS director Nancy Pack. In response to Gov. Ivey’s first proposal to “make state aid for local libraries contingent on the adoption of sensible policies to facilitate greater parental supervision of their children,” Layne said, “I feel like most libraries have institutional policies to encourage parental and/or guardian supervision of children who are in the library.” Several of the policies sent to Gov. Ivey’s office highlighted the mandate to supervise children.
“To my knowledge, no sexually explicit material has ever been on display in any Alabama library’s children’s department which begs the question, how is the governor’s office defining ‘sexually explicit?’ Common sense and common decency dictate that any material containing sexually explicit images or passages would not be located in a children’s department of a library,” Layne said. “If there were indeed such items, then I would expect the library and the community it serves to act accordingly to have them removed.”
When asked what Gov. Ivey defines as sexually explicit, communications director Gina Maiola referred back to the letter that states, “taking this action will leave the precise details up to the local library boards. But it will ensure that every public library in the state newly considers these important ways to create a welcoming library environment.”
Finally, Layne said he encourages libraries to have an updated collection development policy to define the criteria used when selecting materials and to have a “materials reconsideration policy should an item be challenged.”
“Book challenges are to be expected in libraries as libraries and literature challenge us to think outside of our normal comfort zones,” he said.
Read Freely Alabama (RFA), a non-profit committed to stopping book bans, said in a statement they have “deep concerns about the potential consequences of (Gov. Ivey’s) suggested amendments to the APLS Rules.” The group believes the “outrage” about inappropriate materials is based on misinformation.
“While discussions about literature and its impact are vital, it is equally crucial that the facts informing these debates are accurate,” the organization said. “Persons in leadership positions are capable of making good policy decisions only if they have good information at hand.”
The group offered to meet Gov. Ivey at a local library to review the frequently challenged books and believes library professionals could answer questions about collection policies and the review process.
“Open discussion on these topics alone is something we believe will go a long way in bridging the gulf of misunderstanding,” the group said.
RFA is also hoping for more specifics regarding what is considered “materials deemed harmful.” They’re concerned this will restrict access to materials “based upon their personal biases against marginalized peoples. Striking a balance between respecting parental concerns and preserving the principles of a democratic society is a complex challenge.” The group is hopeful the governor will consider “protecting the constitutional rights of all (her) constituents” and not legislate “according to religious doctrine.”
The group is also concerned that two groups that challenged books, Clean Up Alabama and Moms For Liberty, are targeting books that aren’t sexually explicit but have LGBTQ-affirming themes or images” or themes “of racial injustice or taking a critical view of American history.”
Clean Up Alabama said in a statement that the letter “made some really good points, but the proposed policy changes do not go far enough to ensure safe libraries for all children.”
The group confirmed in the statement that APLS should have policies not to allow minors “access to any sexual content,” including sexually explicit content or “content regarding sex, sexuality and gender, but isn’t necessarily explicit. These are subjects that should only be discussed with children at the discretion of parents.”
https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/alaba...
A story about when a mom tried to ban Where the Sidewalk Ends in the 1980s! MY mom tried to get me to READ the book but I was largely uninterested. I owned A Light in the Attic.Megachurches were big back then too.
https://www.salon.com/2023/10/07/my-m...
Where the Supreme Court stands on banning booksan opinion piece
https://kansasreflector.com/2023/10/0...
Is Pennridge (Penn.) secretly banning books? This dad went to court to find out.Seven records requests, countless card catalog searches, and one court case later, Darren Laustsen has identified more than a dozen books he believes were banned.
In just the last two weeks, the Philadelphia-based Education Law Center received complaints about six Pennsylvania school districts that appear to have practiced “soft censorship,” circumventing policies to remove books, said Deborah Gordon-Klehr, the center’s executive director. She spoke at a hearing on book bans Thursday in Harrisburg, where Democrats have introduced legislation seeking to bar public schools from censoring books based on certain factors, including school board members’ “discomfort, personal morality, and political or religious views.”
Gordon-Klehr noted the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1982 Pico ruling that districts must follow established, unbiased procedures to remove books, and cannot impose a “narrow view” of community values on libraries. Removals that don’t follow such procedures are more likely to violate students’ First Amendment rights, she said.
Frustrated, Laustsen appealed to the Court of Common Pleas in February; he’s now awaiting a ruling on whether Pennridge acted in “bad faith,” given records showing that numerous books that had been taken out by faculty were checked back in and then checked out by student accounts the same day the district responded to Laustsen’s request for faculty checkouts.
In the meantime, lists of books slated to be weeded from library shelves have appeared on school board agendas — described as “obsolete items for removal.”
Mixed in with almanacs, detective novels and titles by Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner were some of the books Laustsen had been tracking..
Some of the books were marked with numbers indicating reasons for their removal — many listed as “infrequent use.”
While Laustsen sees book removals as “bizarre and dystopian,” his broader worry is about the direction of his school district, where the board has required teachers to consult Hillsdale College’s “1776 Curriculum” and hired a former employee of the conservative college to help craft courses, over opposition from Pennridge staff.
“When people start banning books, a lot of other bad things go along with it,” Laustsen said in an interview.
In Central Bucks, where book debates have attracted intense attention, social studies teacher Keith Willard told lawmakers that the library of LGBTQ-themed books he maintained in his role as adviser to his school’s Gay Straight Alliance was audited after “political extremists trespassed in my classroom after hours,” posting a video of his library on social media with superimposed images of books “that I didn’t even have in my collection.”
Willard still maintains the library, though some books have been boxed away “for fear of future controversy.” He said some colleagues have performed similar self-censorship — noting how easily people can generate book challenges with the help of Booklooks, a website created by a former Moms for Liberty member that catalogs any sexual descriptions, profanity and “inflammatory racial commentary” found in various books.
The one formal book challenge Laustsen knows of that was filed with Pennridge appeared to cite Booklooks. Identical
Given the push by board members to purge content they consider inappropriate, Laustsen isn’t sure why they haven’t said what books they’ve banned.
“It’s just like an open secret,” he said.
Allegedly
Looking for Alaska
Sold
Out of Darkness
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
https://www.inquirer.com/education/pe...
Also in Penn. Trans student rights, attempts to ban books drive school board race in Manheim Township
If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want a glass of milk, at least according to the 1985 classic children’s book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.”
And that’s how JoAnn Hentz, a Democratic incumbent Manheim Township school board candidate, would describe the efforts of far-right Republicans trying to challenge and ban books at local school districts, including hers.
“Maybe there’s a middle, but I’m not gonna give them that cookie because that’s not what their aim is,” Hentz said at a recent event hosted by the Democratic slate running for school board. She and other Democrats see book challenges as a gateway for far-right activists to spread their ideology.
Hentz, a retired educator, is one of five Democrats running against five Republicans for five four-year seats on the school board. Driven by a growing awareness of the politics of education, 14 of Lancaster County’s 17 school districts will be contested on Election Day.
Under the banner “Support Manheim Township Schools,” Hentz, Sara Woodbury, Patrick Grenter, Mark Boldizar and Terrance Henderson face off against the “Excellence in Education” GOP slate: Michaela Adcock, Michael Zimmerman, David Burnett, Tess Vo Wallace and incumbent Keith Krueger.
Republicans currently hold a 6-3 advantage on the nine-member school board. For Democrats to shift control of the board, they would need to win two more seats.
The Democratic slate this year wants to prevent far-right influencers from localizing national movements to challenge books and ban transgender athletes from playing on sports teams aligning with their gender identity.
....
Key to the political conversations surrounding school board races this year are books: Which ones are appropriate for schoolchildren, and who gets to decide?
When she’s not working her day job as a senior consultant for Penn State Health, Woodbury has devoted much of her time to canvassing in Manheim Township and says books come up more often than not.
“People ask me in the sweetest way at the door, ‘What about the books?’ ” Woodbury said. “I never know from what vantage point they’re coming from, and I say, ‘What about the books?’ I usually say, ‘I’m for them.’
Graphic passages and inappropriate content have come up in many of Woodbury’s discussions with residents.
“We have people who have gone to school for a long time for library science,” said Woodbury, whose grandmother was trained as a librarian. “We have all these people that are meant to be responsible for those things. The school district themselves has every intention of involving and partnering with parents to meet the educational needs of their kid, every kid.”
Woodbury said the library does have books or content she might not agree with in it.
“I would hate to have a library filled with only the things I agree with for my son to read,” Woodbury said. “I don’t think it would challenge him. I don’t think his mind would grow. I think the whole point is to teach critical thinking skills.
Democratic candidate Boldizar said he believes those who want to remove books from the school library and who want discriminatory policies are a small but vocal group.
“It’s not even a majority in the Republican Party,” Boldizar said. “Public education has to work for all, and vocal minorities can’t be driving the policies … to serve only a small fraction of the population.”
He worries what might happen if more far-right members of the Republican Party make their way onto the board.... He said bringing on school board members whose views align with the values of national far-right political groups such as Moms for Liberty would be a detriment to the community.
Republican candidates Adcock and Vo Wallace are listed as members of the Lancaster County Moms for Liberty chapter Facebook group, and both have shown support for the organization’s policy positions in social media posts.
https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca...
Most ridiculous news of the day- the headline says it allChildren’s picture book flagged at Alabama library because author’s last name is ‘Gay’
Read Me a Story, Stella
Hewitt insisted this was a miscommunication problem and there was confusion about the process. “We understand and appreciate our community, and the needs of our collection to reflect our community,” Hewitt said. “We were never eliminating any book. We were just looking at it as a whole.”
Alyx Kim-Yohn is a circulation manager at the Madison branch of the library and said it’s “cosmically ironic” that the situation escalated during Banned Books Week. Kim-Yohn was frustrated because the directive wasn’t simply a review of the books. They said this was a mandate to review and move the books based on a list from the Alabama Public Library Service, which Hewitt confirmed doesn’t exist yet.
“The decision had been made,” Kim-Yohn said. “There was no debate. There’s no conversation. This is what was happening.”
Kim-Yohn refused to participate because they said it violated their professional ethics. They said even if they weren’t queer, they wouldn’t participate.
“Why are we just unilaterally moving all of this before anyone’s even complained about these books yet?” Kim-Yohn wondered.
Hewitt said she didn’t know how many books librarians moved and returned because she took a “hands-off approach” to the process.
Kim-Yohn hopes Hewitt apologizes and hopes this never happens again. They also want to encourage the public to visit libraries and utilize staff despite this incident.
“If you’re mad, what we need you to do is to come check these books out, come to story times, put in purchase requests for books that you want to see,” Kim-Yohn said. “We need you to keep supporting the library.”
The books in question were checked out or renewed more than 8,000 times. The full list of books slated for review and potential relocation is below.
https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/child...
Another library director resigns due to alleged political pressure over LGBTQ+ inclusionSuffield, Conn.
A library director’s resignation has reignited public scrutiny of town leaders’ involvement in library operations in Suffield and the legality of their practices.
After less than a year on the job, Julie Styles resigned from her role as the director of the Kent Memorial library, leaving the town with a farewell letter published in the Suffield Observer that described a political culture cultivated by town leaders that inhibited Styles’ role as director. Styles said leaders proposed that Styles tag LGBTQ+ books with warning labels and told her to “avoid putting up displays addressing current affairs or ones that represent marginalized communities,” among other suggestions.
Suffield First Selectman Colin Moll denied Styles’ claims, saying her farewell letter sowed division in the community and expressing disappointment that “the (Suffield) Observer would post this article from a disgruntled employee who decided to leave based off of her perceptions.”
But Wednesday’s Board of Selectman meeting saw nearly 100 Suffield residents attend, with more than a dozen speaking out against a lack of LGBTQ+ inclusion and perception of political control exerted on the library.
Styles said the reason she left was not a challenge to an LGBTQ+ book that made headlines last spring but “the way the first selectman and other members in the government of the town were treating the library.”
Styles said one of the main reasons for her departure, was a directive from Moll to begin publishing previously private information regarding library meeting room reservations, including the name and reason for the meeting.
Connecticut Library Association President Sarah McCusker said the publication of such information is illegal.
“That’s actually a state statute,”
McCusker it was “appalling” to hear that an elected leader would order the publication of private information.
“There are ethics and laws surrounding what we do, and it is not right for elected officials to ignore those,” McCusker said.
Moll said that the town’s IT director said the library’s software could be tweaked to publish information that would not violate privacy.
“We never asked for somebody’s name, address, or phone number,” Moll said.
But Library Commission Chair Austin Roberts said “Those are not all that is considered private under state legislature because it’s any transaction.”
When Styles said she would not make private information public, Moll told her that was “insubordination,” according to Roberts, who was present at the time.
Roberts said that prior to Moll issuing the directive, discussion of the library calendar policy first arose when Selectman Jerry Mahoney inquired about a recent meeting by the group Anti-Bias, Anti-Racism Suffield.
“The Board of Selectmen representative was trying to open up the library calendar so that he could see when our ABAR group was meeting, so that he and other representatives who were against them could go and attend,” Roberts told the Courant.
Mahoney confirmed that he initiated the conversation.
“We were at the (Library Commission) meeting, someone mentioned that a group was going to be meeting or has been meeting at the library, and I approached the staff and asked when that group would next be meeting, and they said, ‘we can’t tell you,’” Mahoney told the Courant.
Mahoney said that meeting room reservations were a matter of public information and that “It’s not any of her (the library director’s) business what I do with that information.”
“What if I want to attend the meeting and hear what the people have to say?” Mahoney said. “It’s a public building. You can’t have secret meetings of secret organizations where you don’t tell people when they’re meeting or who’s meeting.”
Moll said Mahoney’s inquiry had nothing to do with his decision to order the publication of meeting room reservations. He said the timing was purely coincidental and that he was not aware of Mahoney’s comments.
“We just noticed that as we were looking at the calendars that they would say private event,” Moll said. “We own the building, the town of Suffield. So for transparency, we need to be posting how the meeting room is used. We do that at town hall. We do that at our community services building and (with) the library, there’s no exception. They’re town funded and if they’re going to host meetings, all they have to do is put who’s using the meeting room.”
When asked about community members who felt the directive was connected to their recent use of the room for a reading of an LGBTQ+ inclusive book, Moll said “If people feel that way that’s their perspective. … I can’t control those feelings.”
“If by coincidence it happened to be at the same time, then so be it,” Moll told the Courant. “But these are the same type of people that say they’re the victim of everything.”
Kristina Hallett, a founder of ABAR Suffield, said that she and fellow ABAR board members were “horrified” by Moll’s response.
Hallett said. “If Moll’s response to his constituents genuinely held concerns for the library, First Amendment rights, and support of marginalized groups in our town is ‘But these are the same type of people that say they’re the victim of everything,’ he is clearly showing that he lacks not only compassion but any kind of understanding of how to address and dismantle institutionalized racism, homophobia, and transphobia, just to name a few.”
Hallett said that the policy was not confirmed as a procedure and made public until after the library director’s resignation. The publication policy does not appear in the “Kent Memorial Library Policies” manual.
Hallett described the board’s pattern of perceived opposition to the LGBTQ+ community.
Last March, Suffield found itself in the spotlight when Moll ordered the library director to remove an LGBTQ+ inclusive children’s book from a “kindness display” at the library.
What Are Your Words?: A Book About Pronouns
Controversy erupted in the town over the book’s removal from the display with some critics calling the action censorship while others arguing the book was not appropriate for children and should be removed altogether.
Moll took issue and denied Styles’ comments that the town’s removal of the book sent a message “That some people’s lives don’t deserve to be treated equally. That only some people’s stories are worth drawing attention to.”
But Suffield resident Amy Healy told Moll during public comment at the Board of Selectman meeting Wednesday night, that his order to remove the book of “Was all we need to know.”
“You told people in this town that they were not wanted and not welcome and no matter what you do in the future, you did that,” Healy said.
Suffield resident Tracy Hespelt was one of two residents who spoke in favor of the board. She said she agreed with directives by the board of selectmen ordering that in the case of the pronoun book, library displays should present both sides of an issue.
“A statement was made that there’s not an opposing view book available — that’s a problem,” Hespelt said. “The library’s not doing its job ensuring that it has a broad representation of all views.”
Mahoney, who also confirmed that issuing warning labels on LGBTQ+ books was a discussion that was later shot down by the library commission, said that his directive to present library displays in a “viewpoint neutral” way is a matter of law.
“It sounds like folks think that I have dreamt this up on my own and I’m trying to impose my will on the library,” Mahoney said. “I’m just reporting what the courts have held and what the United States Supreme Court has held. And the town of Suffield does not have the luxury of disregarding, binding, legal precedent.”
Mahoney said he wrote Styles an 11-page memorandum detailing legal support for the viewpoint neutral directive. In his remarks, Mahoney cited the 2003 Supreme Court Case United States v. American Library Association, Inc. providing it as an example of how judges analyze cases “by different ways,” and “that library decision makers ought to be modest about their ability to pre predict how a reviewing court is going to analyze how a library has or has not complied with their First Amendment obligations.”
United States v. American Library Association, Inc. does not concern books or library displays. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that Congress had the authority impose a censorship mandate of the Children’s Internet Protection Act which required federally funded libraries to install internet filtering software on computers.
...
On Wednesday, efforts to seek an interim library director appeared stalled when Moll and Selectwoman Kathleen Harrington expressed their lack of trust in a candidate put up by Roberts, the Library Commission chair and staff.
The person, who was not named, had previously served as interim director and said they would be happy to take on the role once again.
Harrington said she did not trust their management skills. Moll said budgeting issues arose during the person’s tenure. He also said he couldn’t trust that this person wouldn’t end up publishing a letter like Haslett’s.
“How am I to work with somebody who I do not trust to be able to at least talk to and have (…) next thing you know some sort of editorial that’s like the one I see where there’s false narrative, misinformation?” Moll said.
Moll said he had offered the interim director position to a current library employee who considered the offer before turning it down.
With Suffield seeking its third director in four years, Roberts said that he fears hiring a new library director will be difficult.
“It is going to be very hard to find someone who wants to work in an environment that has been created in this town, whether by fact or by optic,” Robert’s said. “I think we’re gonna be challenged in the search. I think losing Julie was a major hit to this town.”
He said that residents are concerned about the pattern of LGBTQ+ exclusion. ... " I’ve spoken to many teens and groups that I’ve run and programs that I’ve run. All of them say the only reason they’re at the library is there’s nowhere else in this town (where) the LGBTQ+ community feels welcome or safe.”
“That reputation and that optic is in the world. Now, whether or not you say is true or accurate, it is what is seen in this town,” Roberts added. “It’s so important to get a library director in place. But until this town deals with the issues that cause them to leave in person place, we’re just gonna be here again and again and again.”
https://www.courant.com/2023/10/08/ct...
Mod
Children’s picture book flagged at Alabama library because author’s last name is ‘Gay’
Read Me a Story, Stella
Hewitt in..."
This is AS STUPID AND AS IGNORANT as that Texas school board who banned Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? because some dimwits believed that Bill Martin Junior was the same author who had penned Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation (two entirely different Bill Martins and Bill Martin Junior had even died years before Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation was even published, DUHHH).
So are authors, teachers etc. who have the last name of Gay or Gaye (or whose first name is Gaye) now in constant danger of their books being banned, getting fired, threatened and the like?
It's Banned Books Week, But Librarians are Over itFor some librarians, celebrating Banned Books Week has lost its appeal. State Librarian Stephanie Bailey-White chalks it up to “banned book fatigue” — the result of contending with an unprecedented number of book challenges, facing intense scrutiny for what they stock on their shelves, and sometimes, seeing titles pulled. “That fatigue could lead to more self-censorship and not wanting to fight the fight every day,” Bailey-White said. “It can be exhausting for a library director and staff to face angry parents and deal with complaints on an ongoing basis.
“It’s just so prominent right now that even if we wanted to avoid it, we can’t,” Bailey-White said. Many librarians spent half of this week at the annual ILA conference, where conversation inevitably drifted to book censorship and sessions included topics like “Where’s the porn section? Recent efforts to censor materials in Idaho libraries” and “Tiered cards: A new approach to fighting against book bans.” The focus on banned books — and efforts to protect them — takes away energy and time that could be spent on goals like bridging the digital divide, encouraging early literacy, and providing community for seniors and others who might otherwise be isolated, Bailey-White said. Even so, librarians can’t afford to divert their attention for too long.
https://www.bigcountrynewsconnection....
Manybooks wrote: "So are authors, teachers etc. who have the last name of Gay or Gaye (or whose first name is Gaye) now in constant danger of their books being banned, getting fired, threatened and the like?."Authors because the censors and librarians, in this case, are doing keyword searches and the names of the authors come up in that search. The library won't be moving that book to the adult section but there are books that HAVE been moved. Using AI to determined which books to ban or move is just plain stupid because then you run into unnecessary problems like this! Not that moving or banning or censoring books is right but there's a correct way to go about evaluating the books and a just plain old stupid way!
In the second most ridiculous news of the day... Our favorite governor in Florida still thinks book banning is a hoax. How on earth did this guy get a degree from Yale? Fox News Host Confronts Ron DeSantis on Florida 'Banning Books'
https://www.newsweek.com/shannon-brea...
Banned in Rapid City North Dakota, Pulitzer-winning author Dave Eggers coming to Fargo to discuss the freedom to readEggers will host a screening of a documentary about the Rapid City schools' ban at the Fargo Theatre on Sunday.
https://www.inforum.com/lifestyle/art...
Mod
Yup, exactly, and with the Brown Bear Brown Bear book fiasco, the school board "official" who made the call to ban the book (yes, the ban was later lifted, but still) also simply did an author search and nothing more, even though it would have been easy to find out that these were two different authors.
The censors are too filled with self-righteousness and too stupid to actually read the books in question let alone cross-reference authors and genres. They need to just let librarians do their jobs. They're trained to know which books go in the library and choose from professional review sources. Picture books featuring LGBTQ+ characters are not obscene nor do they belong in the adult section. If you don't want your kid to know LGBTQ+ people exist then don't take them out in public - ever - or let them watch TV and movies.
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Out of the Blue (other topics)The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink (other topics)
My Rainbow (other topics)
Butt or Face? Volume 3: Super Gross Butts (other topics)
The Day the Books Disappeared (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jodi Picoult (other topics)Sarah J. Maas (other topics)
Ellen Hopkins (other topics)
Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Scott Stuart (other topics)
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‘Little Free Libraries’ On City Property May Soon Require Permits
Bookcases built on city-owned land, including parkways, will need a public way use permit under the new ordinance, which passed through committee Tuesday and is now headed for a full City Council vote.
Introduced this summer by Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), the ordinance would require a public way use permit to build a free library on city-owned property. Little Free Libraries are often placed on city parkways outside their owners’ homes.
Additionally, only “organizations, not-for-profit entities and licensed businesses” would be eligible to receive the necessary permit to build a bookcase on city land under the legislation.
Private individuals would not be allowed to construct the structures on public property at all, Lopez confirmed in an interview Tuesday.
Libraries located on private property, like a front yard, would not be impacted by the measure.
“These bookcases have been popping up all throughout the city completely unregulated. And we’ve seen now as they gain traction in popularity, they’re showing up in locations that they probably need some clarification, particularly in parkways that don’t belong to the individual erecting the bookcase,” Lopez said. “So what this ordinance does is just basically creates a permit that will serve as a way of registering these in the public way.”
Lopez did not directly answer a question about whether neighbors who have built Little Free Libraries on public property would be allowed to keep them. But he said they should “get ready to have that conversation” about the structure’s future.
Owners of the libraries who receive a public way permit will be required to “paint, plainly mark, or otherwise affix the permit number and the permit holder’s name, address and telephone number on the outside of each public bookcase,” according to the ordinance.
The permits will be free for qualifying organizations and businesses, Lopez said.
“There’s no price to this permit, because we’re not trying to make money or we’re not trying to hamper the public’s ability to erect these bookcases,” he said. “I think they’re great. I’ve had Boy Scouts donate them, I have one in my office. We just want to make sure that we have a system in place of knowing who’s responsible and where they can go.”
Nancy Wulkan is the founder of Neighbor to Neighbor Literacy Project, a nonprofit that works to expand literacy access by installing Little Free Libraries, or as the group calls them, Book Boxes, across Chicago.
She said there are some positives about the additional regulations, like clarifying who is responsible for the maintenance of each public bookcase. She’s also happy there would no fee required to access the permit.
But Wulkan also said Lopez’ ordinance could ultimately limit access to literacy, especially in communities where local block clubs and neighborhood groups may not be officially registered organizations but still want to build a free library.
Wulkan also said there are good reasons people place their Little Free Libraries in the public parkway near their homes, even if it’s technically city property. Namely, it’s easier for the surrounding community to access them there, she said.
“If you keep it on residential property, private property, sometimes people are intimidated. ‘Oh, can I use this? I don’t know. … I don’t want to trespass on property, or whatever,'” Wulkan said. “So that’s why I think a lot of neighborhoods, a lot of residents put it in the parkway right in front of their house, because then it’s right at the street and people can pop by easily and use it that way.”
If passed by the full Council, the proposed regulations will go into effect Jan. 1.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/10/...