Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
Lafayette Parish, LouisianaNot great news for a PUBLIC library
Lafayette public library board president defends book display policy
https://www.klfy.com/local/lafayette-...
In a press release, Lafayette Public Library Board of Control President Daniel Kelly defended the board’s majority vote that recently revised and approved the Lafayette Public Library book display policy. Kelly says the new display policy will provide safeguard to protect children from graphic and s--ually explicit material that may threaten their well-being, and respect parental authority.
Kelly further defended the board’s actions by alleging that news reports, social media, and those whose values are not in sync with “what’s best for children” have peddled false narratives and misinformation regarding the boards decision to revise the libraries’ book display policy.
The display policy was revised in March, with board member Allen Moore telling News 10 the decision to revise the previous policy was due to political issues.
“I believe that the library should be a place devoid of political agenda. We talk about social and ideological topics and other topics considered to be controversial or potentially controversial. I feel like that’s a very vague and ambiguous,” said Moore.
In May 2021, library displays of books, films or anything considered controversial were banned by then board director Danny Gillane. Due to this policy, libraries were prohibited from having displays during Pride and Black History Month, as well as banning the displays of cultural communities being featured.
This policy was recently momentarily overturned when Interim Director Sarah Monroe approved book displays during Black History Month. Shortly after this decision, the board gathered and voted six to one to amend the current policy. The current policy states that heritage and identity months should not be the focus or title of a display.
Eau Claire, WisconsinSchool officials discuss concerns over book in library
https://www.weau.com/2024/04/24/schoo...
The district received a complaint about a book called Dragon Ball, Vol. 1: The Monkey King Dragon Ball Volumes 1, 2 and 3.
or possibly
Dragon Ball Z, Vol. 1: The World's Greatest Team
The complaint stated that there were images of nudity and s--ualized content in the book.
Because of the complaint, a committee of school officials and other experts, including parents, met to review the material.
The committee will give one of three recommendations: remove the material from the library entirely, move it into a different category of the library or keep the material as-is.
“We do want to be transparent with parents about what materials their children are checking out of the library. Part of that involves making sure parents have access to the information about what their children are checking out, and if parents do have concerns, they can meet with our Library Media Specialist and request their particular child does not have access to certain materials and we will honor that,” said Tim Mulrain, Director of Secondary Programming Reconsideration Committee for Challenged Library Materials.
Mulrain said the district always tries to address concerns about library content one-on-one with families, but if needed, a committee will meet to give their recommendation.
The Executive Director of Teaching and Learning will make a final decision about the materials within five days.
Kudos to the teens and adults in Texas who worked to get the READER Act repealed! Here's a closer lookhttps://www.teenvogue.com/story/texas...
“The book banners are using HB 900 as a cudgel to go after any book that they are uncomfortable or fearful of, and the law was written so vaguely and so broadly to encourage them to do it,” Maggie Stern, program and policy manager of youth engagement for the Children’s Defense Fund of Texas, tells Teen Vogue over Zoom.
After booksellers brought a lawsuit, Texas’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals declared that key parts of HB 900 are likely unconstitutional and halted aspects of its implementation.
Stern, who works closely with student-led organizations across Texas, says books that deal with race, sexuality, identity, and bullying are all being targeted. These bans, she asserts, are essentially suggesting that “students’ lives and experiences are inappropriate.”
Youth activists such as Cameron Samuels, executive director and cofounder of the youth-led organization Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), say they can’t sit back and watch as books that are specifically relevant to their identity be removed or challenged by the state. “Personally, I feel compelled to stand up for my freedoms as a student who is Jewish and queer in Texas when my rights are being taken away,” Samuels tells Teen Vogue. “When policy-makers are depriving students of our education and targeting the most vulnerable and marginalized students, we need to stand up."
Samuels continues, "And it should not be our obligation as Gen Z to stand up when we should be focused on learning in the classroom. But we’ve become compelled to do so because if we don’t, then who's going to stand up for our rights?”
As the legislature in Texas considered HB 900, youth activists within SEAT took action. On the Senate floor, the group presented amendments that would institute nondiscrimination and accountability standards. They also grabbed the attention of the media, and published several op-eds addressing HB 900's potential harms.
Read an interview with Samuels at Teen Vogue online
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/texas...
Oregon-Seaside city councilors weigh book restrictions on young people
Dillard cites two books that have appeared on most challenged lists
https://www.dailyastorian.com/news/lo...
Wading into the culture wars, city councilors are debating whether to pursue restrictions on sexually explicit materials for minors or give parents more tools to screen materials at the Seaside Public Library.
The discussion at a work session on Monday night is part of a national push by conservatives to challenge books at public and school libraries by raising objections about content.
City Councilor Steve Dillard has pressed the issue in Seaside. Last year, Dillard and others raised concerns about two children’s books: “And Tango Makes Three,” about two male penguins who raised an abandoned baby penguin at the Central Park Zoo in New York, and “When Aidan Became a Brother,” which details the coming out of a transgender child.
The Library Board voted in January to keep both books on the shelves.
At the work session on Monday, Dillard cited public concerns about library materials provided to minors and his concerns over the library’s promotion of a banned book reading challenge last fall.
The reading challenge, part of the library’s annual freedom to read week, promoted books that have appeared on the American Library Association’s most challenged books list.
Jennifer Reading, the director of the Seaside Public Library, said the library has promoted the freedom to read week for at least the past two decades. “So, it’s something we’ve always participated in, and it’s a great way to spark conversation with kids about why their freedom to read is important,” she said.
Dillard said he read two of the promoted books and found s---ally explicit content in both. “One of them is ‘Looking for Alaska,’ and this book has a s-x scene between teenage characters in the book,” he said. “Another book is called ‘A Court of Mist and Fury,’ this book has multiple s- scenes,” he said.
“I realized that not only are we providing s----ally explicit books to minors, but we’re promoting them as well,” Dillard said. “Out of all the things that our library does so well, I believe that this practice is wrong.”
City Councilor Tita Montero said the term “s----ally explicit” is based on cultural values and is too vague to define. She suggested using “obscene” or “profane” instead to describe library materials.
“Secondly, anytime you say you’re going to keep something from a certain population, that’s banning and that’s censorship. And I firmly believe that it is up to every parent to figure out a way that they want to monitor what their children read,” Montero said.
City Councilor David Posalski said it should be left to parents to decide what materials are appropriate for minors. “I think a lot of the people that are here would say that it’s the parent’s responsibility to determine what their kids can and cannot read from the available materials. It is not the city’s job to decide what it is that isn’t available to them,” he said.
Under Library Board policy, minors 17 and under must get their application for a library card signed by a parent or guardian. The policy also states that minors 10 and under cannot be unattended in the library.
City Councilor Seth Morrisey suggested that parents should be given a choice about whether their child has full access to all library materials.
Mayor Steve Wright recommended against the City Council pursuing a change to library policy. Posalski agreed.
Alabama what else is new?House passes bill to prevent Alabama middle schools from teaching LGBTQ+ ideology
https://yellowhammernews.com/house-pa...
On Tuesday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation to prevent public school teachers in the 6th through the 8th grades from teaching LGBTQ+ ideology in Alabama schools.
HB130 is sponsored by State Representative Mack Butler (R-Rainbow City).
In 2022 the Alabama Legislature and Governor Kay Ivey, signed legislation that prevents Alabama public schools from teaching gender ideology in grades K-5, grades where that is considered inappropriate. This bill originally would have originally “prohibit classroom instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in public K-12 schools.”
At the request of the Alabama State Department of Education, Butler agreed to an amendment that change the law to only extend to the 8th grade.
This legislation has been held up due to a disagreement with State Department of Education (SDE) officials who wanted to continue to teach sexual orientation in health classes in high school.
Rep. Barbara Drummond (D-Mobile) brought the SDE approved amendment to the bill.
“They were good with this as long as went to the eighth grade,” Butler said of the SDE and the legislation.
Democrats strongly opposed the bill.
“How do you feel that you here that your bill would cause children to commit suicide,” Rep. Philip Ensler (D-Montgomery). “What’s going to come out of this is that the legislature is anti-gay.” “I cannot believe that we are going to pass something that may lead a child to commit suicide.”
“If I am a school board and I hire a teacher, I want them to teach what I hire them to teach,” said Butler. “The Bible can be used as a literature book; the Bible can be used as a history book.” “The point is that the curriculum coming from the State Department of Education.”
Butler rejected the argument that this bill is targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
“Let children be children,” said Butler. “This bill is born of love: this bill is not born from hate.”
“So many of our constituents want us to address the real issues [like gun control[ that they face, yet we waste time on made up stuff like this,” Ensler said angrily.
“It is not the job of our schools to s----alize our kids,” said Rep. Ernie Yarborough (R-Trinity). “It is our job to be the adults in the room and stand for what’s right and the sooner that we do the better off our country will be.”
“I have a lot of friends who are gay – in fact my best male friend is gay,” said Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham). “My concern with this bill, and I hope the corporations come together because you can stop some of this foolery.”
Givan warned that there would be unintended consequences from passing this bill.
Rep. Neal Rafferty (D-Birmingham) asked, “What is the purpose of this bill?”
“To focus on academics,” answered Butler.
Rafferty asked Butler if a teacher with some personal issues could talk with their teacher.
“The student will be able to talk with the teacher, but the teacher will not be able to instruct on it,” said Butler.
“I don’t think anybody here in this body does not want to protect children,” Rafferty said.
“We want the schools preparing them for 21st Century jobs,” said Butler. “We don’t want to indoctrinate children.”
“This bill simply extends from fifth to eighth grade the prohibitions that are already in place for grades K through fifth,” said Butler.
Rafferty offered an amendment to limit the bill to instruction on gender transition,
Butler asked the body to table the Rafferty Amendment which they did. HB130 passed largely along party lines 74 to 25. It now goes to the Senator for consideration.
Ruby Bridges weighs in History is sacred’: Ruby Bridges blasts attempts to 'cover up history' as her books are banned
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-pres...
Alabama librarians facing threat of arrest over books: ‘We don’t have smut’https://www.al.com/news/2024/04/alaba...
Librarians are worried about the “chilling effect” on speech and reading if Alabama lawmakers follow through and pass a bill that would police librarians if they don’t remove supposedly “obscene” books in schools and public libraries.
The Alabama House has passed HB385, which overrides local libraries’ book challenge policies and gives librarians seven days to remove material – or potentially face criminal charges and a fine. The bill now heads to the Senate.
“This bill is government overreach, robs parents of their rights, and would have a chilling effect on free speech by potentially incarcerating librarians because particular books are available, including even the Bible,” Gadsden Public Library director Craig Scott said in a statement from the Alabama Library Association.
Scott told AL.com that legislators don’t understand how libraries work. Librarians already have policies to allow people to challenge books, he said. Librarians evaluate books regularly, and if they are provocative or risque, they have procedures in place to catalog them properly.
Alyx Kim-Yohn, circulation manager at Huntsville-Madison Public Library, said circumventing library reconsideration policies is “nothing short of utter erasure” of people and content who don’t fit a narrow standard.
“The writing on the wall couldn’t be clearer regarding the chilling effect this law would have on statewide employment, public library and school funding, public education outcomes, quality of life, First Amendment rights, and countless other metrics,” Kim-Yohn said. “As far as I’m concerned, the only good version of HB385 is a dead one.”
Scott said the Republican lawmakers who supported the bill want more government interference.
“If this bill is successful on the Senate side and becomes law, you can bet the lawsuits will be coming,” Scott said. “So what do they want? They want to spend more money?”
The bill outlines a first failure to remove material after receiving “valid notice” as a Class C misdemeanor, a second violation as a Class B, and subsequent violations as Class A. According to Alabama Code Section 13, if convicted of giving obscene books to children, librarians could face three months to a year in prison and a fine of $500 to $6000.
Using an old law that targets adult video stores (view spoiler)
“They are clearly going after transgender citizens and drag performers, but they don’t want to say it out loud,” said Susan Stewart, an organizer with the Madison County Chapter of anti-censorship group Read Freely Alabama.
Emily Jones with the Madison County chapter of Moms For Liberty said she’s glad to see this legislation moving forward. The organization asked legislators this year to “withhold funds for libraries that allow children to check out ‘p___graphic’ materials.”
“After months of reviewing content throughout libraries across the state it is clear we needed strong parameters to prohibit children from viewing obscene materials without parental knowledge,” Jones said.
Foley resident Stephanie Williams, who supports taking inappropriate books out of the children’s section, said there’s no need for “hair on fire” reactions.
“I believe strongly in the equitable treatment of offenders under the law,” Williams said. “I do not believe certain classes of persons should be exempt from prosecution because they have a better lobby.” She said there’s a notice period and that speculation on the legislation’s impact is too soon.
Read Freely Alabama said the focus on gender orientation will criminalize non-explicit books, too.
“This attempted conflation of LGBTQ-affirming books with obscene material must be the focus of any honest conversation about this blatant government overreach and violation of Alabamians’ rights,” the group said.
Good news to end the dayMaryland Passes Freedom to Read Act
The law protects and ensures access to books statewide in school and public libraries.
https://literaryactivism.substack.com...
Late last week, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the Freedom to Read Act into law. The legislation is a massive step toward curtailing book bans which have roiled the country and the state.
House Bill 0785, filed concurrently as SB 0738, is a series of comprehensive protections for school and public library workers, as well as the materials acquired and housed in these institutions. In both public libraries and school libraries, the bill protects access to books and other library items by stating they cannot be removed or prohibited from collections because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. Collections seek to serve the research and recreational needs of all and materials cannot be be excluded based on the origin, background, or views of its creator (think your books by or about people of color and/or under the LGBTQ+ umbrella).
School libraries need to develop collection policies, as well as make available a challenge policy. The policies explicitly state that even when a materials challenge arises, those books will not be removed from the collection during the process–in other words, they will not be "temporarily" banned unless a decision to remove the material is the conclusion of the review process.
For public libraries, standards for collections will also be required. Libraries must be in alignment with state standards, such that protecting materials are not able to be removed via "local control" arguments. The State Library Board will make this easier for public libraries in the state with samples.
The bill puts protections in place for library workers, as well. They cannot be removed from their positions for acquiring, cataloging, nor protecting unfettered access to the collection.
House sponsor of the bill Dana Jones celebrated its passage.
Libraries need to comply with the Freedom to Read Act in order to receive state funding. This is similar to the legislation passed in Illinois last year. The law goes into effect immediately.
Wyoming- ACLU investigates whether library board violated First Amendment by moving books Janna Farley, the communications director for the ACLU of Wyoming, said the organization is in the information gathering stage right now on whether the library board violated the First Amendment by moving books from the children's or teen sections to the recently created “new adult” section.
The records request is extensive, asking for emails, voicemails, text messages and other forms of communication between library employees and library board members from July 1, 2021, to April 4, 2024, on a number of topics, particularly anything regarding the movement of books to the new adult section.
The deadline for the county to fulfill the request is June 4.
https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/loca...
“If you’re moving the books to where somebody can’t find it, you’re censoring that book, you’re violating the kid’s constitutional right to information,” said library board member Charlie Anderson.
No books were moved until this spring, when the new adult section of the library was created. Located on the first floor next to the magazine section, it has two bookcases with a total of 12 rows of shelving.
Library director John Jackson had moved a couple of dozen books to the new adult section while in the process of reviewing them to decide whether they should go back to their original locations.
At a library board meeting in March, Anderson asked Jackson why he decided to move the books without reviewing them. Jackson said it wasn’t his decision to move them.
“It was your decision; it was absolutely your decision,” Anderson said.
“No, not really, it was not my decision,” Jackson said.
“I don’t think we voted to have you do that, the new rules don’t say that,” Anderson said.
“They’re there, I moved them, and it wasn’t my decision,” Jackson replied.
At the April library board meeting, board chair Chuck Butler said he takes “full blame” for moving the books, and that he asked Jackson to move the books while they were in the process of being reviewed. He added that in speaking with attorneys afterward, he thought the best thing to do would be to return the books to their respective sections until they’ve been reviewed.
Lesley has filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the library board and the Campbell County Commission, alleging that her employers discriminated and retaliated against her because of her support of the LGBTQ community.
So far, Jackson has reviewed 13 books. Five of them have been moved to the new adult section:
“This Book is Gay,” by Juno Dawson
“Identical” by Ellen Hopkins
“Be Amazing: A History of Pride” by Desmond Napoles
“Sex Plus” by Laci Green
“Sex Is A Funny Word” by Cory Silverberg
Seven books will remain in their original locations:
“Trans Mission: My Quest for a Beard” by Alex Bertie
“Mary Wears What She Wants” by Keith Negley
“Music from Another World” by Robin Talley
“A Quick Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities” by Mandy G. and Jules Zuckerberg
“The Babysitters’ Coven” by Kate Williams
“Jack (Not Jackie)” by Erica Silverman
“Meena” by Sine van Mol
And one book, “The Handmaid’s Tale: A Graphic Novel,” was moved from the teen room to the adult graphic novel section. The seven other Wyoming libraries that carry this book do not have it housed in the young adult section.
The relocation of these books can be challenged by library users. The library board shot down a challenge by Doug Lesley, husband of former library director Terri Lesley, on “Identical.” At its next meeting, it will hear a challenge on “Desmond is Amazing.”
Butler said he thought the challenge process for these moved books has been fair and balanced.
Anderson said the ACLU will likely compare Campbell County’s situation to that in the case of Sund v. City of Wichita Falls, in which two children’s books on LGBT issues were moved to the adult section by a city in Texas.
The city then passed a resolution saying that residents could remove a book from the children’s section by gathering 300 signatures of library card holders. The court determined this was a violation of one’s constitutional right to receive information.
Proponents of moving the books have claimed that the case has no authority in Wyoming because it took place in Texas. Anderson said it has been approved and cited by judges in Wyoming’s judicial districts, and it’s the only law so far regarding this issue.
“If you’re moving non-obscene books from locations where the intended audience can’t get them, that’s a violation of the First Amendment,” Anderson said.
Obscenity has a much lower degree of protection, he said, but “when the board put together the new rules, they took out the word ‘obscenity.’
Book challenges, content controversies roil Fremont County libraries - Casper, WY Warning: The sign in the photo is deeply upsetting.
https://oilcity.news/government/2024/...
Young readers can ... access at least two controversial titles and log onto the unfettered world of the internet. Those realities helped touch off what has become a drawn-out controversy involving free speech, censorship, parental obligation, outsider activist groups and what materials belong in Fremont County’s three libraries in Lander, Riverton and Dubois.
The issue took on a new intensity when the county commission, which appoints library board members, threatened in an April 2 letter to interfere unless members could finalize decisions regarding the board’s materials review policy, install internet filters on its children’s section computers and cease “inappropriatebehaviors.” The commission set a May 1 deadline.
“If we don’t see the issues listed above addressed by the end of the May Library Board meeting, we will be forced to remove the Chair and place Commissioner Mike Jones on the Library Board for a few months to ensure these policies and concerns are addressed,” the letter read. “Please give these issues the highest priority.”
In a special April 17 library board meeting, members made progress on meeting the commission’s requests. Some, however, bristled at the idea of interference.
“We’re not looking to pick a fight with the commissioners,” board Treasurer John Angst said. “We have to respond to their letter” in a way that meets the library board rules, he added, “but I don’t think we should kowtow to the exhortations of a rather emotional group.”
The letter came after months of friction between board members, county commissioners, constituents and patrons amid book challenges; condemnation of inappropriate text messages and inflammatory T-shirts; outbursts at meetings and even protests.
The trouble started last summer, Library Director Anita Marple said, when a citizen filed a complaint about Wind River Pride reserving a Riverton Library meeting room to show two films. The films were inappropriate, the complaint asserted, and asked the library to cancel the event. It also said the library shelves need to be “cleaned up and curated to a higher standard.” The library clarified that it was not a library-sponsored event and that staff followed protocol for reserving rooms, she said. Complaints persisted.
When two spots opened on the library board, Marple sent a text to Cook asking her to run again in order to prevent an “ultra-conservative activist” getting the seat. Though Marple said it was a private text and she just wanted to avoid any agenda-driven people on the board, right or left, commissioners and others condemned her action after the text was shared in board emails and became public through a Freedom of Information Act request. Marple apologized to the board in an email.
After that, a report that a youth had witnessed an adult viewing p___raphy on a library computer led to discussion of internet filters.
In the meantime, an obscenity charge leveled against two young-adult-section books — “Tricks” and “Smoke” by Ellen Hopkins, which contain (view spoiler) — sparked intense debate over the library’s materials review policy.
A photograph of board member Kristen McClelland in Walmart wearing a shirt that said “Get your p___n at the Fremont County Library” circulated on Facebook, raised tensions further.
Months of packed meetings and tense debates over what constitutes obscenity and pornography and how the library should police patron access ensued. Marple decided to keep the challenged books on the shelf, and the board voted 3-2 to support her decision, with McClelland and Marta Mossburg casting the no votes. The minority members also asked that Marple at least move “Tricks,” the more controversial of the two, to the adult section. She ultimately declined.
Poor communication of library leaders has exacerbated concerns, said Jones, who is the county commission’s library liaison.
“There were like four issues [in the original letter] and they got back to us on like one or two, but they really never formally came back to address each one in detail,” he said. It was only when commissioners sent a follow-on letter that they found out the board had addressed some of the others, he said.
Constituents of the largely conservative county, meanwhile, have been demanding answers and lodging complaints about library materials to commissioners, Jones confirmed.
Finally, he said, the board feels the library has been dragging its feet on one issue that it considers a no-brainer: installing internet filters on computers in the children’s section. “That’s not up for debate,” he said.
Critics say outside political groups like Moms for Liberty and MassResistance are attempting to influence decisions Fremont County residents should make. Moms for Liberty is a far-right “parents’ rights” organization that has netted headlines by challenging books and curricula it sees as leftist. MassResistance, a “pro-family” activist organization that targets LGBTQ issues, was involved in a library controversy in Gillette, and Arthur Schaper, who directs the California chapter, made the public records request last summer that revealed Marple’s controversial text.
But others worry about making highly s---alized content available to children. They also defend McClelland’s First Amendment right to wear whatever T-shirt she pleases.
Janelle Hahn of Lander said... unsupervised kids go into the library to access age-inappropriate materials that “will not pass the Miller test” — a legal test for determining whether expression constitutes obscenity.
Cody Beers, president of the Fremont County Library Foundation, said giving young people access to information, knowledge and books is crucial in equipping them to participate in debates like this — which are at the core of democracy.
On the board, too, members have struggled to find compromise on the nuances of reviewing materials and how they are labeled.
Community feedback indicates the library collection should remain intact, McClelland said in early April, but the library should still improve labeling or parental controls.
A Challenged materials policy now says: When a book is challenged, the director will review and rule on it. If that ruling is appealed, the board will vote. If the majority of the board supports the director’s ruling, it stands. If a majority desires more inquiry, board members will then review the entirety of the challenged material and schedule an appeal hearing. The person making the challenge also has to read the book.
In terms of age appropriateness, the library has some existing guardrails. When a parent or guardian obtains a library card for a minor, they can add specific guidelines that are inputted as “notes” into the system. Parents can monitor the child’s account activity online. Marple agreed to look into the feasibility of allowingparents and guardians to place specific restrictions on which books their children can or can’t check out to add an extra layer of restriction.
Marple also brought up the T-shirt, telling McClelland that it made the staff and members of the public uncomfortable. “You need to know, there was a negative impact to your action.”
McClelland hasn’t worn the shirt since, she said. “I don’t know that that was an appropriate thing to do, but I can’t change it. And I will take responsibility for that.”
Cook urged the board to embrace civility, learn from mistakes and move on.
Some residents have criticized the county commissioners for “micro-managing” the library, which has also given rise to a discussion about how much autonomy the library director and board should have. The model of a library director as sole arbiter may have worked decades ago, Commissioner Jones said, but times have changed and community input should also be considered.
“And I think that’s the hill that the board is willing to die on and say ‘No, we think the community can set their own standards,’” he said.
...
Marple said, she believes “the movement here started because of a national movement,” and it has fueled a lot of fear and anger on both sides. “This is not something that started because regular library users were concerned about material in the library that had been here a long time.”
Despite that, she hopes people have felt heard through the process, but also, “that people have listened.”
In March, board treasurer Angst stressed the need for exactly that — to see people as neighbors, not enemies. “By doing so, we can find over time the answers to what we need to be, which is not somebody else’s decision.”
It’s a tough challenge, Jones said. “I think it’s something we have to wrestle out ourselves, and it’s messy as heck and we’re taking a lot of fire from both sides here.”
This week's news:Legislative proposals across the U.S. that aim to criminalize librarians for simply doing their job.
https://literaryactivism.substack.com...
"Of course, for anyone who has been paying attention, this has been the goal all along. Not only do these bills aim to destroy public entities like libraries, but simply by proposing such legislation, those behind the bills are contributing to rhetoric around these institutions that harms their public perception. You paint public libraries as drug-infested s-- dens (as they have on Fox News), and you get your followers to begin "doing their own research," bringing them to every Moms-No Left Turn-Local Bigotry Group right there on Facebook for them to join. As we know, simply by joining those groups or looking at them, the algorithm conveniently works to continue feeding people the same messages, damaging their capacity to think for themselves. The thinking is done right there for them."
"It does not matter whether these bills pass or whether they even make it to their respective legislative chamber floors. By drafting these bills, legislators play right into the greater scheme and do damage to underpaid, overworked, poorly funded institutions of democracy and civic engagement."
"Because many legislative sessions conclude by mid-May, expect to see more action on many of these bills. You are responsible for reaching out to your representatives to oppose these bills.
Soon, we'll dive into the states where legislation aims to deprofessionalize library work altogether, be it through banning the American Library Association or otherwise.
This doesn't happen to the police."
https://www.everylibrary.org/billtrac...
We have one proposed here and a state representative plans to run for U.S. Senate on a "save the children" platform.
Parental Control / Notification Library Policy Enables parents to review public school learning materials/object if the parent decides that the material is harmful. Also a parent may withdraw their student from the activity or class where the material is used and request an alternative assignment.
Committee recommended measure be held for further study
Earlier this year, they tried this one: Enables parents to review public school learning materials/object if the parent decides that the material is harmful. Also a parent may withdraw their student from the activity or class where the material is used and request an alternative assignment.
Introduced, referred to Senate Education
Not happening. The Sec. of State is a high school Civics and History teacher. He's passionate about education and learning history. He went to the same school I did and we had good teachers!
We have more pro-library bills pending but also held for further study.
Frequent offender South Carolina-Spartanburg Co. school district removes dozens of books under strict new content policy
The policy restricts books with s--ual content. Books banned under the new rules include The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Handmaid’s Tale and Kurt Vonnegut’s classic novel Slaughterhouse-Five.
https://www.postandcourier.com/sparta...
The county’s northernmost school district, which spans Landrum, Campobello and Inman, has pulled possibly dozens of titles from its two high school libraries after residents lined up before the school board last fall to complain about the dangers of reading books with s---al content.
Starr Drake Foster told the school board in October that she had two daughters in the school system and was “disgusted” by the library books with “s----al immorality” in them.
“The innocence of my children is what’s important to me,” Foster said. “I know they ultimately will make their own decisions, but why have books at their disposal that would only provoke curiosity?”
David Wilson, a District 1 resident without kids in the schools asked the board for accountability for the school librarians.
“Our kids are in school to get an education, not to learn about s-x, or how to become gay or how to cut their wrist,” he said. “This is in our library today.”
A month later, the board unanimously passed a new policy, IJL, that directs library and media specialists in the district to curate their collections with material that avoids vulgarity, profanity and s---al content, among other criteria.
District spokeswoman Jada Tessnier said following the passage of the policy, the district administration presented library staff with a list of books to remove.
“The administration did instruct for those titles to be weeded as per the policy guidelines in IJL,” Tessnier told The Post and Courier.
But the policy gives librarians and media specialists the responsibility to organize their collections under the new guidelines, and Tessnier said some books may have been removed that weren’t part of the administration’s list.
Among the titles that appear to have been removed from Chapman and Landrum high school libraries are “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Kurt Vonnegut’s classic novel “Slaughterhouse-Five.”
Remaining in the district’s libraries are literature guides and critical praise that discuss those titles.
“So you can go into the library and read why it’s an important book but you can’t actually access the book itself,” said Tessie Holliday of Free to Read Spartanburg County, an advocacy group that’s been critical of the new policy.
Not everyone in District 1 supported the move.
Parent Bailey Israel asked board members to be “sensible,” and not adopt “hard-line” policies.
“Allowing individuals that are not experts in the field of education to drive curriculum changes is foolish and irresponsible,” Israel said. “Book censorship does not do anything but limit our children’s exposure to learning and development.”
The prologue of the District 1 push to ban books began two years ago in the summer of 2022. That’s when a grandparent in the district approached school board member Debbie Baker with a list of books and asked her if they were in the district’s school libraries, Baker wrote in a July 2023 Facebook post.
And they were. So, Baker wrote, a district committee reviewed the books and recommended that they stay on the shelves. Following the recommendation, the school board voted to allow parents to fill out an opt-out form if they didn’t want their children reading books containing certain content.
Baker declined to answer questions from the Post and Courier and referred a reporter to board chair Mark Rollins. Rollins did not respond to requests for comment.
Giving parents control over what books their children could access wasn’t enough for Baker, who voted against the policy that passed in May 2023.
“I voted ‘no’ on the recommendation, because I feel that these books are fundamentally harmful to children and should not be put back on the shelves,” Baker wrote in her Facebook post.
She also provided a link to a Google drive with BookLooks reviews of 49 titles and notes describing which libraries the books were in.
BookLooks reviews don’t offer summaries of what each story is about, but instead takes certain sentences and phrases with content it deems potentially objectionable and presents a list of such material without additional context.
More than 40 of the titles in Baker’s original list no longer appear when searched in the district’s online library catalog, although Tessnier said some of them could have been removed as part of normal content curation and not directly because of the policy.
“Reading things doesn’t make you do things,” Holliday said. “It can connect you with the experiences of others and make you understand the world and other people and yourself better. It’s not going to make you do something that you don’t want to do.”
On Nov. 13, former District 1 student Caleb Mickler walked up to the microphone during public comment in a last-ditch effort to convince the board not to finalize the new guidelines.
The policy, he said, would take away the power of choice from the district’s students and their parents.
“If you are truly about freedom, student rights and their parents, you wouldn’t implement a policy that takes that away,” he added.
Minutes later, with no discussion, the board did just that.
A rural SC library board is getting more members. Some say it's to increase censorship.https://www.postandcourier.com/politi...
The Anderson County library board is debating moving a children’s book with transgender themes in the wake of a recent vote to expand the body’s membership, a hotly contested decision decried by critics as a play for majority power and censorship in the rural Upstate.
The seven-member library board and library director attempted three times March 11 to decide whether to relocate the children’s novel “Melissa” out of the children’s section after a local parent challenged the book.
Before a small crowd of concerned residents, the board ultimately postponed the vote to the next meeting, May 13, after each of the motions failed.
But the debate over moving the book came on the heels of a contentious County Council meeting March 5, where the majority Republican council voted for the third and final time to add two new members to the board, boosting it from seven to nine members.
While Vice Chairman Brett Sanders said the expansion was not political — and that it would give new council members greater say over who serves on the board — dozens of residents attended the meetings to either condemn the expansion as backdoor censorship or support it as moral protection.
The rural Upstate — some of the most conservative, religious territory in South Carolina — is far from an unusual place for this debate to rage. Anderson County, home to just over 200,000 residents and private Baptist Anderson University, is composed mostly of rolling farmland that is rapidly developing into new subdivisions. The county has voted solidly Republican for the last several decades.
Those undertones were apparent March 5 when 31 county residents spoke for more than an hour on the potential board additions. Those in support said the new board members were needed to counter “a liberal agenda.” Multiple speakers quoted Scripture and one warned of the “judgment of God” for those who harm children by providing inappropriate materials.
“When we allow p_____graphic, explicit s---al materials into young children, it awakens in them thoughts that they don’t have,” Anderson resident Sherry Hodges told County Council. “We need to protect that innocence.”
“For a library board to even wonder how much sexualization is appropriate for a child simply means there’s something seriously amiss,” Anderson resident Bill Cord said.
But 21 of those speakers said the new positions are a thinly veiled attempt to appoint more people who would censor books, and it’s up to parents, not the library board, to monitor what their children read.
“People are wanting to expand the board but for not the right reason,” said Ernest Mackins, an Anderson resident and former assistant principal at Belton-Honea Path High School. “Everybody in this room knows knowledge is power. … If you censor books, you censor our children’s right to learn and grow.”
Library board members are each appointed by their County Council representative and serve four-year terms. Under the new county ordinance passed March 5, two new at-large members will serve the whole county for a two-year term.
Library Director Annie Sutton said she wants the board to reflect the growing, diverse community that Anderson County is becoming.
“If it’s being done for political reasons, that’s of great concern to me,” she said.
Sutton said 10 books in Anderson’s library system have been challenged in the past year and a half. Only four have escalated up to the board for action.
“Melissa” is a children’s novel about a young transgender girl. The library has three copies, and books like this account for 1 percent of the library’s collection, Sutton said.
The novel, located in the juvenile fiction section, was challenged in 2023 by a parent in who wanted it moved to the older teenage section, Sutton said. When a committee of librarians ruled the book was in an appropriate location, he appealed the decision to the board and asked it be moved to the adult section.
Six speakers addressed the board March 11 before they voted. Most urged the board not to move or remove the book.
“We need to prepare children for the world in which they live,” said Barbara DuCharme, a retired teacher. “You can talk with your children about diversity, but it doesn’t mean that you embrace those ideas. But you can discuss them without condemnation and judgment.”
Trustees voted first to move the book to the family resource section, then to move it to the teenage section and then to keep it in the children’s section. All three votes failed.
“When the library reviews materials for reconsideration, it is not done lightly. We take the responsibility seriously and consider many factors,” Sutton said.
“We understand that not every book is right for every child, but we rely on parents as the ultimate decision-makers for their children.”
“I think there is a political movement to challenge books,” Sutton told The Post and Courier after the meeting.
Now book fairs are becoming favorite targets of the censors.PTA members tried to hide two books from purchase for students at a Santa Clarita, Calif. elementary school.
https://santaclaritastar.com/Undermin...
A controversy erupted at Mountainview Elementary's Literati book fair. Three PTA members, believed to be associated with Moms for Liberty, removed two books: "The Insiders" by Mark Oshiro, a story about a gay middle schooler navigating a new school, and "Fighting Words" by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, which explores the resilience of two sisters in foster care coping with abuse. Both removals were done without consulting school administrators or the book fair organizers.
A Chapter of Moms for Liberty started in Los Angeles last year, with the leadership primarily based in Santa Clarita. Moms for Liberty has been designated as an “extremist group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Fighting Words has received widespread critical acclaim. I was a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Middle Grade and Children’s book in 2020 and declared Best Book of the Year for 2020 by the Boston Globe.
A few parents who are leaders in the Mountainview Elementary PTA allegedly decided otherwise. These parents hid these two books and then allegedly lied to multiple parents about the availability of the books.
Rachel Villanueva, the president of the Santa Clarita Valley PTA Council, said in an emailed response to a request for comment about the book fair, “A statement is coming and it is not the policy of the PTA to censor book fairs.”
The SCV PTA says once it was made aware of what was happening at the Mountainview Elementary book fair, “actions were taken to fix the situation.”
“The narrative is always ‘book banning’ and ‘book censorship,” Karen Frost, the president of Los Angeles Moms for Liberty told Fox News in January 2024. “Moms for Liberty does not believe in book censorship or book banning in any way, but there’s a huge difference between curating libraries with age-appropriate material and banning books. We believe that all books have a right to exist, but we also need to acknowledge that there is age-appropriate material, and we need to, um, recognize, you know, that K through 12 libraries need to have stuff that is age-appropriate.”
Contrary to Karen Frost’s comments to Fox News, librarians actually take meticulous care in curating their children's sections. They consider age groups and developmental stages. For toddlers, there are sturdy board books with vibrant pictures. Pre-readers get introduced to picture books with simple stories and beautiful illustrations. As children progress, chapter books with relatable characters and themes are added to spark their imagination and reading skills. Librarians consider not just content but also reading level, ensuring there's something for every child on their reading journey.
Just this past weekend, on April 27-28, 2024, Moms for Liberty had a table at the KHTS “Home and Garden Show” in Central Park in Santa Clarita. There they advocated book bans and discriminatory policies to “out” LGBTQ children in school.
Back to WyomingLaramie County School District 1 (WY) has already seen 60% of parents give full access to the libraries for their students
https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/in_o...
Before approving the policy in early December, the district automatically opted all students into the library by default and allowed guardians with concerns to opt out and select books they did not want their student reading.
Critics of the original policy, including several LCSD1 Board of Trustees members supportive of the changes, said this meant guardians needed to devote a large amount of time and effort to cull through a vast collection of books to determine what is and isn’t appropriate. The current system, where any parent or guardian can nominate a book for review by a team of volunteers and educators, was devised to fix this problem.
Parents can easily access a crowd-sourced list of books, reviewed by parents and staff and then approved by the LCSD1 superintendent, that the district deems inappropriate.
Members of the local political action group Wyoming Family Alliance for Freedom have frequently criticized the policy, saying that the reasons for implementing it portrayed a mistrust of the district’s teachers and librarians. When the policy went into a roughly six-and-a-half-week comment period before it was approved last year, a review by the WTE found that around 77% of the comments submitted appeared to oppose these changes and 21% appeared supportive.
Now that parents and guardians must make a definitive choice on their student’s behalf, the majority of students appear to be opted into their respective library’s complete collection.
Out of a total of 10,882 students, 6,691 are opted into open access, amounting to around 61% of all students. There are 3,743 students who have been selected for the “no access to material containing s----ally explicit content” option, around 34% of total students. The parent-limited option was selected for 432 students, and only 16 students in the district had the no-access option selected for them.
From kindergarten through sixth grade, the number of students on the “no access to explicit material” list was closer to proportional with the number of students on the open-access list.
The LCSD1 Board of Trustees is currently considering revisions to its library material procurement policy that proponents say are designed to keep additional s---ually explicit materials from being added to school library collections. Those policy changes are out for a 45-day public comment period that ends May 23. A legal notice from the district said final action will be taken on the issue at a board meeting on June 3.
goodish news from Floridaa U.S. District Judge has determined that the authors of And Tango Make Three, as well as a student plaintiff, may proceed in their First Amendment lawsuit against Escambia County schools.
https://flaglerlive.com/tango-suit/#g...
But U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, in a 27-page decision Thursday, dismissed allegations against state education officials and leaders of the Lake County school district.
The Escambia County School Board also had sought dismissal of allegations by the book’s co-authors, Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, and a student identified by the initials B.G. But Winsor refused to toss out claims that the board violated the authors’ right to freedom of expression and the student’s right to receive information.
The lawsuit, initially filed in June against Lake County school officials and the State Board of Education and later expanded to include Escambia County school officials, contends that the book was targeted for “illegitimate, narrowly partisan, political reasons,” as it depicts same-sex parents raising a child.
Winsor’s ruling Thursday does not resolve the First Amendment allegations against the Escambia school board but allows the case to move forward. He acknowledged questions about how the First Amendment applies to such school book issues.
“By all accounts, school officials enjoy substantial discretion in determining which books should be available in school libraries,” Winsor, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump, wrote. “But the issue of how and to what extent the First Amendment limits that discretion is surprisingly unsettled.”
Nevertheless, Winsor wrote that the plaintiffs “have plausibly alleged First Amendment claims” under two legal standards.
“Under either standard, plaintiffs have alleged enough to show the removal turned on a disagreement with Tango’s viewpoint. That is enough for now,” he wrote. “Escambia County argues I should conclude the true motivation was otherwise, based on reasons asserted at public meetings. At this stage, though, I must view all allegations in a light most favorable to plaintiffs. Of course, Escambia will have the opportunity to dispute those allegations and to show that Tango’s removal was reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns. But plaintiffs’ allegations are sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss.”
Winsor, however, ruled that the plaintiffs did not have legal standing to pursue claims against state Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. and members of the State Board of Education.
“Plaintiffs’ asserted harm — Tango’s removal — is not traceable to those defendants, and an injunction against those defendants would not likely produce the book’s return,” he wrote.
Also, he dismissed allegations against Lake County school officials because the district reversed a decision on restricting access to “And Tango Makes Three.”
“Lake County returned Tango to its libraries, and there is no reason to assume it would remove the book again,” Winsor wrote. “That makes plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief moot.”
Scary news in South CarolinaSC senators agree to restrict children’s access to ‘prurient’ books
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/art...
County libraries would have to restrict children’s access to s---al books under a budget directive approved by the South Carolina Senate and opposed by librarians as overstepping local control.
The proposal aims to prevent children and teens from picking up s---ally explicit books in their local library without their parents’ consent.
The directive is tied to state funding. In order to get their share, county libraries would need to certify that books appealing to children’s “prurient interest” don’t appear on the shelves in children and teen sections in any of their branches.
Sen. Josh Kimbrell argued parents should know what their children are checking out. His proposal would allow minors under 17 to access such books if their parents approve.
“It doesn’t ban a book, doesn’t say books can’t be present, doesn’t say you can’t have a book there. It just says you can’t allow these materials to be readily available to a minor whenever there’s not parental consent,” Kimbrell, R-Boiling Springs, told his fellow senators last Tuesday before they adopted his amendment.
He used the term “prurient interest” to match up with what’s already in state law. (view spoiler)
The directive is almost identical to Kimbrell’s proposal two years ago, with one major difference: Teenagers are included too. His unsuccessful attempt in 2022 required parental consent for children under 13.
That proposal was also adopted by the Senate but didn’t make the final version of the budget.
The House removed it after an email blast from the Richland County library director — who was also then-president of the national Public Library Association — urged readers statewide to contact their local House member and ask them to “protect the freedom to read for all South Carolinians.”
Whether Kimbrell’s proposal becomes law through the state budget is again up to the House.
Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine, D-Columbia, tried unsuccessfully to keep it out of the Senate version, first by lowering the age of consent to youth under 16, then by rejecting it altogether.
“I don’t disagree with parental consent,” she said. “I have young children myself, but I’m trying to think logistically, and I don’t want our county libraries to be penalized.”
Her motion failed 32-9. Four Democrats joined Republicans in voting to keep Kimbrell’s directive.
Part of librarians’ opposition then was that children and teen sections in libraries, particularly in small branches, can be the same area, making a ban for children’s shelves impractical.
Devin argued children and teens could still get a book from the adult sections.
Kimbrell countered his proposal does not penalize libraries if a child manages to get a restricted book. But libraries need to try to keep sexually explicit books from children, he said.
“However they want to do it, they want to put it behind the counter, if they want to put it in the parent section, whatever they choose to do to make sure there’s parental consent involved,” Kimbrell said. “The idea would be it should not be sitting out in the open.”
Devine, the state’s newest senator, also repeated arguments from two years ago that the directive is too broad. It doesn’t specify what counts as “explicit parental consent” or whether a guardian who’s not a parent can give it.
“There’s just too much ambiguity in this,” she said.
Angela Craig, director of the Charleston County Public Library, called the proposal an unnecessary attempt to take local control away from county library boards that set policies for their branches.
“Many librarians are parents and caregivers. I mean, I’m a parent and caregiver,” said Craig, who’s also president of the South Carolina Library Association. “We completely understand that parents want to have the right to control what their kids have access to.”
But “our collection is calibrated and very thoughtful to the community and guided by these local policies, by local representation from the community,” she said.
Craig also repeated that the language is too vague and open to interpretation, which could cause trouble for employees if someone finds a book objectionable for whatever reason. Local policies already address what are appropriate books, she said.
Craig said many librarians are reaching out to their representatives to again explain their concerns.
Kimbrell thinks his proposal stands a better chance this year of making it to Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk as part of the final budget.
Two years ago, his colleagues dismissed his proposal as addressing a nonexistent issue in South Carolina. But he said more legislators are getting complaints from constituents about books in their local libraries.
The House has also changed, as the chamber’s ultraconservative Freedom Caucus has pushed the chamber further to the right on social issues since the 2022 elections.
Good news in New York stateClyde-Savannah Junior-Senior High School Library (NY) can keep a slate of challenged books on shelves, per a decision by the New York State Education Commissioner.
https://www.fltimes.com/news/state-ed...
Saying there was no merit to a claim, New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa determined April 25 the books that were challenged will stay in the Clyde-Savannah Junior-Senior High School Library.
“The appeal must be dismissed,” Rosa wrote in a nine-page decision provided to the Finger Lakes Times by the SED.
The Rev. Jacob Marchitell, who was supported by Wayne County Moms for Liberty and represented by the American Center for Law and Justice, had filed an appeal with the State Education Department last fall. He challenged the local school board’s decision to retain five books within its library collection.
Saying the appeal’s objection to passages in one of the books, “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” “can only by understood as an objection to author George M. Johnson’s personal and political views,” Rosa pointed out that “local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained therein.” She also said the district’s action regarding the books hardly could be judged to be arbitrary and capricious, as Marchitell and those who joined in the appeal on his behalf had asserted.
The books in question: “People Kill People” by Ellen Hopkins, “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover, “Jesus Land: A Memoir” by Julian Scheeres, “Red Hood” by Diana K. Arnold, and the aforementioned Johnson book.
“Petitioner Marchitell generally alleged that the books contained s----ally explicit material inappropriate for school-aged children,” the decision said. “Petitioners assert the books are per se inappropriate as they are ‘p----graphic, serve no educational purpose’ and are ‘potentially illegal obscenity.’”
Rosa wrote that the petitioners did not show that the school board’s determination to retain the books was unlawful. She wrote that “petitioners have otherwise failed to demonstrate that the challenged books here lack literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Indeed petitioners do not even allege that they have read the books in question.”
Marchitell, Rosa wrote, “merely asserted that he had read enough of each book to lodge a complaint.” And, Moms for Liberty “makes no allegations concerning its familiarity with the works in question.”
She said the board followed its policy and convened a committee to review the books when Marchitell first brought his complaint in the spring of 2023. After a review, the committee unanimously recommended the books be retained and designated as young adult or adult for “Jesus Land” and “It Ends with Us.”
After Marchitell again asked for the books to be removed, the board, on Aug. 9, 2023, pulled them from the shelves. The school’s librarian and another teacher, backed by their union, New York State United Teachers, filed an appeal with Rosa, asking that the books be returned. Before Rosa could respond, the board again reversed itself, voting Sept. 14 to return them to the library.
That’s when Marchitell, joined by Moms For Liberty and represented by the ACLJ, filed the most recent appeal.
...
Hopkins, who appeared at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in November after being invited by Call to Action, a group of women from the Clyde-Savannah school district who were uncomfortable with Marchitell’s actions, weighed in on Rosa’s decision.
“It is heartening for those who’ve dedicated their lives to children and education to stand with teachers, librarians, and authors in support of the first amendment and the right to read freely,” Hopkins said in an email. “I hope more people in positions of power find the courage to join their voices with ours. We truly represent all young people and parents in personal choice.”
Rosa advised caution about requests to remove books from school libraries.
Such objections are emblematic of a “dangerous nationwide trend of accusations used to intimidate and threaten schools and librarians into denying access to book on the basis of their content and the identities of their authors,” Rosa said, quoting from a memorandum submitted to her from the New York Library Association in relation to Marchitell’s challenge.
"Some parents were offended that their Jordan High School (Utah) students were asked to read an essay from The New York Times about how being trans isn't a choice and break down the parts of argumentation. So the assignment was killed, despite violating no laws or policies."Kelly Jensen for BookRiot
https://www.sltrib.com/news/education...
Utah high school removes class assignment on student essay titled ‘It Is So Hard to Be Trans’
The essay, published in The New York Times, contained no explicit or “p---graphic” content that would have required its removal under Utah law.
Jordan School District officials ordered that an assignment involving a Texas student’s essay published in The New York Times titled “It Is So Hard to Be Trans” be removed from a Herriman High School class’s curriculum after it was brought to the attention of administrators.
“We apologize to any student offended by a Herriman High School classroom assignment involving a New York Times student essay and the disruption to learning it may have caused,” district spokesperson Sandra Riesgraf said in a statement Monday.
The district investigated the assignment, “which asked students to break down parts of speech in the essay,” after school administrators were notified, Riesgraf said. The assignment was ultimately removed and is “no longer part of the class.”
“Appropriate administrative action will be taken,” the statement continued, though the statement did not specify what that action would entail.
The district also did not specify why the assignment was removed. The content does not seem to violate Utah’s sensitive materials law.
But it did seem to prompt outrage after photos of the printed-out, stapled essay made rounds in conservative social media circles as early as last Thursday, with some posts claiming students were required to write a response to the essay explaining why being transgender “isn’t a choice.”
Riesgraf said that claim was false. “Students were not required to take a stance or form an opinion on why being trans isn’t a choice,” Riesgraf said. “The assignment was to review the writing, not the subject.”
Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, weighed in on X, formerly Twitter, arguing that he didn’t see how the essay would “fit into any curriculum that is state approved.”
“I’ve asked the district to investigate,” he wrote.
The assigned essay had been selected as one of the Top 11 winners in a 2023 student editorial contest through the The Learning Network, a free resource for teachers curated by The New York Times.
It was written by then 16-year-old Callisto Lim, a student at the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas. The essay details why Callisto felt scared for their “right to exist,” citing several states that had passed anti-transgender legislation.
“I am scared that if I stay in Texas I will be denied the health care that I need because of people like Governor Greg Abbott,” Callisto wrote.
Callisto’s essay contains no explicit “p----graphic or indecent material” that would make it illegal under Utah’s current sensitive materials law.
Utah law also does not explicitly prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, though lawmakers have made attempts to pass legislation banning such topics in the past.
Earlier this year, Rep. Jeff Stenquist, R-Draper, proposed a bill that would have prevented school officials from “endorsing, promoting, or disparaging certain beliefs or viewpoints,” building upon existing restrictions meant to uphold “constitutional freedom” in Utah public schools.
The bill would have specifically added “gender identity,” “sexual orientation,” and “political and social viewpoints” as restricted topics, but it ultimately failed to pass.
A year prior, Stenquist also ran a bill that would have prohibited any discussion of sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. HB550 took language directly from a controversial Florida bill that became more widely known as the “Don’t Say Gay” measure.
But after pushback from the LGBTQ community, Stenquist revised his draft, lifting the proposed ban on sexual orientation and gender identity but keeping the prohibition on sexuality. The bill failed to pass.
The Massachusetts teacher whose classroom was searched by police for a copy of Gender Queer will sue Great Barrington and schools if they refuse mediation.https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/s...
GREAT BARRINGTON — The English teacher who was questioned by police searching her eighth grade classroom for a controversial book says she will file a civil rights lawsuit if the town and school district do not agree to participate in mediation.
The potential for litigation has prompted the town and the Berkshire Hills Regional School District to each schedule closed-door sessions with their attorneys Monday night, according to their agendas — one of which names the teacher, who continues to ask that her name not be published out of fear for "harassment and worse."
The teacher’s attorney, Howard Cooper, said that the same, “comprehensive” demand letter was sent to both the town or the district, but that they were waiting to “hear back from one of the parties about their willingness to participate in a mediation process.”
He declined to furnish a copy of the letter, or to specify which party had not yet responded. Mediation would involve the town and the school district coming to some sort of agreement with the teacher.
“In the absence of an acceptable resolution,” Cooper said, “we will be filing a lawsuit.”
Colorado lawmakers make second attempt at curbing book bans in public librariesBill aims to protect libraries from ‘ban bombing’ tactics
https://coloradonewsline.com/2024/05/...
Colorado legislators are advancing a last-minute bill that would require public libraries to implement guardrails on how they review and remove materials in their catalogs.
Senate Bill 24-216 would require boards for public libraries across the state to establish written policies on how they acquire, display and use library resources, as well as a process for reconsidering materials. State Sen. Lisa Cutter, a Littleton Democrat sponsoring the bill, said many libraries already have these processes in place and will be able to keep them.
The bill’s introduction comes shortly before the end of the 2024 legislative session, and months after lawmakers killed a similar bill, Senate Bill 24-49, in February. The new version has broader support given its focus solely on public libraries — the previous bill included school libraries as well, but many school districts opposed the policy. Cutter said that otherwise, the provisions in the new bill are almost exactly the same.
The bill would require libraries to adhere to certain procedural standards when a member of the public seeks to remove material from their collections. During the review, the material would have to remain in circulation, and the results of the review must be made available to the public. Library materials covered by the bill include digital and physical book collections, as well as displays and community programs.
The bill would also require that someone challenging a book or other library material lives within the service area of that library. Materials would also be eligible for reevaluation once every five years. Cutter said both of these requirements are intended to protect library staff from “ban bombing” to ensure they aren’t overwhelmed with hundreds of requests.
....
While she said she was disappointed after the first bill failed, Cutter still wanted to establish standards for public libraries, many of which strongly supported the legislation. She said Senate leadership knew the bill was a priority for her and she’s grateful to have introduced it before the end of session.
“It’s really interesting to learn about other experiences and other cultures and broaden your worldview,” Cutter said. “I’m really excited that we’re going to help support the idea that a wide range of literature should be available for people to enjoy and learn from and explore without unnecessary restriction.”
...
State Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, a Commerce City Democrat and co-sponsor of SB-216, said at least 136 book titles were challenged across Colorado in the first eight months of 2023 — a 143% increase from 2022, according to the American Library Association. Fink added that materials representing LGBTQ and BIPOC voices made up 47% of the titles targeted in Colorado last year.
“Regardless of background, zip code or socioeconomic status, we have a right to read a wide range of materials that provide us with the knowledge base and the critical thinking skills that we need to be informed citizens who will contribute positively to our democracy,” Michaelson Jenet said at the committee hearing. “Our communities deserve to be represented in public spaces like public libraries, and codifying those legal standards demonstrates our commitment to protecting all Coloradans.”
The Senate Education Committee approved the bill in a 4-3 vote along party lines. Republicans on the committee thought the five year limitation on material review was too long.
The committee approved two amendments to the bill, making changes to some definitions and wording to better align with library terminology and to win support from the Colorado Municipal League.
The bill will now go to the full Senate for consideration. The 2024 legislative session will conclude on May 8.
Duval County, Florida, not just content to ban Essential Voices in the school but also books in the public library online app.https://jaxtoday.org/2024/04/30/duval...
Duval school district rebuffs pressure to end relationship with Jacksonville Public Library
Throughout this academic year, a handful of parents have pushed the school district to remove students’ online access to resources provided by the Jacksonville Public Library, which they argued was a way to clandestinely provide access to books they considered inappropriate. Their complaints focused on Libby, a service that includes digitized books, magazines and other resources.
The parents’ push, in private and at public meetings, was repeatedly rebuffed by the school district, emails shared with Jacksonville Today show.
The partnership between the district and the library is nearly a decade old. It provides each student identification a matching library card that allows digital access to library books through Libby. Elementary school parents are required to sign permission forms to attend school-sponsored field trips to the Jacksonville Public Library.
A self-identified parent, whose name was redacted from the emails in accordance with state privacy laws, pushed restrictions on what’s accessible from students’ district-issued laptops, with a particular eye against LGBTQ+ works and texts that center African Americans.
In an email to the Duval middle and high school regional superintendents on Sep. 25, 2023, the parent wrote that they’d conducted their own test of the Libby app on their child’s school-supplied laptop.
“All Boys Aren’t Blue is an example of an obscene queer book with p______phic text that was easy to check out on the laptop via Libbyapp.com. It stayed there even when my child went to school. It’s still there as a book checked out with no way to remove it. That’s a problem,” the parent wrote.
“It’s the district’s responsibility to make sure kids are given safe content. Libbyapp constantly markets a variety of literature on its homepage. Kids (and parents) don’t know if they will stumble onto something obscene in the middle of a book,” they continued.
The parent took particular issues with the gender studies, LGBTQ+ and Black categories, which, they asserted, “have books filled with profanity, vulgarity, CRT/white hate, police hate, and LGBT indoctrination. Most likely ALL categories have problems.”
They alleged that because Duval County promotes student access to the Jacksonville Library with the Libby app, the district is “essentially promoting thousands of books/media without parental consent.”
Kriznar responded on Oct. 26, 2023, that students benefit from the partnership with the Jacksonville Public Library, which she described as compliant with state law and “good educational practice.”
“Access to books for independent reading is important for students to strengthen their reading skill,” Kriznar wrote. “The availability of online libraries and e-books has increased access to literature, which has been a great benefit to our students, teachers, and classrooms. Digital libraries have especially benefited our students who do not necessarily have access to print materials at home.”
Since that time, Kriznar and School Board member Lori Hershey have met with parents concerned about access to books.
That hasn’t quieted the furor.
Over the last four months, the public comment portion of Duval County School Board meetings has consistently included complaints about the district’s relationship with the Jacksonville Public Library and student use of the Libby app.
In January, Jacksonville Beach resident Margaret Yarbrough said the district refuses to protect students.
“There’s a bigger problem with (English Language Arts) teachers instructing kids to use unrestricted virtual libraries like Libby App and Hoopla at school, with taxpayer-funded laptops and networks,” Yarbrough said at a Jan. 8 meeting. “Libraries…bypass challenged materials and lack parental controls.”
Jacksonville Public Library spokesman Chris Boivin tells Jacksonville Today he is not aware of complaints against the partnership before this school year.
“It is important for everybody to have access to information. So that’s what the library is all about,” Boivin says. “We’re trying to connect people with the resources and information they need. We feel that students, adults, everybody everywhere should have access to information. That’s the most important thing.”
Jennifer Cowart is the mother of two students at public schools in Duval County and the co-founder of the Public School Defenders, an advocacy group that pushes for an diversity of perspectives in the classroom.
Cowart equates conversations about “book selection” and “discretion” with a “book ban.”
“I trust teachers and media specialists to go through those books and decide what books would appeal to their students and would be appropriate,” Cowart said. “And I trust individual parents to decide if they feel a certain book is not appropriate for their child.
“But I think we’re getting to a point where one parent or community member has the ability to challenge a book, and that removes my student’s right to have access to that book. Instead of it being: ‘I have control over what’s happening in my house,’ it’s one person making decisions that impact everyone.”
Tia Bess also believes that parents should take responsibility for the content their children consume.
Bess is a Clay County mother to three school-aged children and national director of engagement for the conservative parents’ rights organization Moms For Liberty.
Bess says her fight is inside school libraries, not public libraries.
“Of course, if your parents give you the ability to have a public library card, that falls back on the parent and the things that they are able to do,” Bess tells Jacksonville Today.
....
state Education Commissioner Manny Diaz says districts should have an understanding of the websites students are accessing from district-owned devices or district-controlled networks.
“(We want) to have parents guiding it at home, making sure that (when) they are in school they have restricted access and that it’s not being a free-for-all for students to have this information coming in to them at school,” Diaz said.
As for whether school districts should allow students to access library websites on district devices or networks, Diaz told Jacksonville Today his first concern is ensuring identifying data is protected.
“It’s not the DOE that’s doing this,” he said. “It’s every school board that crafts a policy and has a process in place to make sure students are not accessing inappropriate materials when it comes to a (local) district’s policy.”
One from Canada- https://www.niagarathisweek.com/news/...
A petition launched by a group of Niagara-on-the-Lake residents is calling on the town to enforce what they say are the library’s own policies to be “neutral” when selecting books for its shelves.
The group, composed of four individuals who created the petition on change.org March 29, said it wants to send a message to the library board for firing chief executive officer Cathy Simpson in late March after an article she wrote, supporting a controversial right-wing organization, was published in the Lake Report community newspaper.
“The fundamental concept of the library is not supposed to be a mouthpiece for anybody,” said Tony Powell, a retired lawyer.
Andrew Porteus, who served on the library board in 2011 that hired Simpson to become CEO, said while the group is critical of the board for terminating her, its campaign isn’t about re-hiring her.
“We object to the way the board fired her and a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said.
He said it would be “difficult” to have council reinstate Simpson, causing problems within the community and issues with library staff.
And the group isn’t asking for council to remove the board members, a decision that would be “very unlikely,” said Porteus.
“We want the board to follow their policies,” he said. “Those policies are embedded in the documents. The board provides the policy. Staff enforces it.”
The petition, which as of May 1 had collected 714 signatures, encourages people to “object to the firing of Simpson” and the “waste of taxpayer money to censor a competent and long-standing employee who stands in defence of intellectual freedom” and object to the library for ignoring its policies “for protecting library neutrality and viewpoint diversity, and its attempts to ban books or change polices to restrict access to information.”
Both Powell and Porteus said the library should be allowed to have books that provide a range of ideas, from Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” to “I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches” by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Powell said the same principle should be applied to books about LGBTQ issues and those texts advocates believe are anti-trans.
“It’s all about history,” said Powell. “They should be there. You can’t censor them.”
Porteus said the library also held the texts of major religions, including Islam and Christianity, as well as documents of “alternative” religions, such as the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and Pastafarianism, which promotes a lighthearted view of religion.
The phrase “library neutrality” does not explicitly appear within the Niagara-on-the-Lake library’s policies, said Porteus, but it is referenced throughout its documents.
Canadian Federation of Library Associations says librarians and other information workers “are strictly committed to neutrality and an unbiased stance regarding collection, access and service. Neutrality results in the most balanced collection and the most balanced access to information achievable.”
The association says librarians have the right to free speech in the workplace “provided it does not infringe the principle of neutrality towards users.”
Powell said the group wants councillors to establish the idea the library is a “neutral” area to remove the risk of censorship “because of political ideology.”
Powell said he would also like to see council take some action against the board after it fired Simpson, who had been CEO for 12 years.
One from Canada- https://www.niagarathisweek.com/news/...
A petition launched by a group of Niagara-on-the-Lake residents is calling on the town to enforce what they say are the library’s own policies to be “neutral” when selecting books for its shelves.
The group, composed of four individuals who created the petition on change.org March 29, said it wants to send a message to the library board for firing chief executive officer Cathy Simpson in late March after an article she wrote, supporting a controversial right-wing organization, was published in the Lake Report community newspaper.
“The fundamental concept of the library is not supposed to be a mouthpiece for anybody,” said Tony Powell, a retired lawyer.
Andrew Porteus, who served on the library board in 2011 that hired Simpson to become CEO, said while the group is critical of the board for terminating her, its campaign isn’t about re-hiring her.
“We object to the way the board fired her and a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said.
He said it would be “difficult” to have council reinstate Simpson, causing problems within the community and issues with library staff.
And the group isn’t asking for council to remove the board members, a decision that would be “very unlikely,” said Porteus.
“We want the board to follow their policies,” he said. “Those policies are embedded in the documents. The board provides the policy. Staff enforces it.”
The petition, which as of May 1 had collected 714 signatures, encourages people to “object to the firing of Simpson” and the “waste of taxpayer money to censor a competent and long-standing employee who stands in defence of intellectual freedom” and object to the library for ignoring its policies “for protecting library neutrality and viewpoint diversity, and its attempts to ban books or change polices to restrict access to information.”
Both Powell and Porteus said the library should be allowed to have books that provide a range of ideas, from Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” to “I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches” by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Powell said the same principle should be applied to books about LGBTQ issues and those texts advocates believe are anti-trans.
“It’s all about history,” said Powell. “They should be there. You can’t censor them.”
Porteus said the library also held the texts of major religions, including Islam and Christianity, as well as documents of “alternative” religions, such as the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and Pastafarianism, which promotes a lighthearted view of religion.
The phrase “library neutrality” does not explicitly appear within the Niagara-on-the-Lake library’s policies, said Porteus, but it is referenced throughout its documents.
Canadian Federation of Library Associations says librarians and other information workers “are strictly committed to neutrality and an unbiased stance regarding collection, access and service. Neutrality results in the most balanced collection and the most balanced access to information achievable.”
The association says librarians have the right to free speech in the workplace “provided it does not infringe the principle of neutrality towards users.”
Powell said the group wants councillors to establish the idea the library is a “neutral” area to remove the risk of censorship “because of political ideology.”
Powell said he would also like to see council take some action against the board after it fired Simpson, who had been CEO for 12 years.
Alabama-Gov. Kay Ivey has signed HB89, which places the North Shelby Library’s board appointments under the control of five Republican legislators.
https://www.al.com/news/2024/05/shelb...
Current board members, even those with open terms, will be removed. HB89 co-sponsor Rep. Susan DuBose said an application process for five new board members will be available, and “anybody that would like can apply, including current board members.”
Most local libraries have boards appointed by local governments; North Shelby’s system, which allowed candidates to run for office, stood out.
The legislation is the first 2024 bill to pass pertaining to libraries. Two bills criminalizing librarians for providing supposed “obscene” content to children still are being considered.
Reps. DuBose, Jim Carns, Arnold Mooney and Sens. J.T. Waggoner and Dan Roberts, who represent voters within the library district, will select new members. Under the new legislation, at least one board member must be a business owner.
“That was one of the problems we had before,” DuBose said. “The businesses felt underrepresented.”
Residents in unincorporated parts of Shelby County voted to create North Shelby under a 1988 legislative act. With the area’s rapid growth, an affiliated library in Mt. Laurel was built. Other libraries in the county operate under the jurisdiction of a city or county government.
Residents pay $15 annually, and business owners pay $34 annually to fund the library fully. The board of trustees, along with the library director and business manager, handle business and financial matters.
Not many people applied to be part of the board, according to library director Kate Etheredge. Board members ran unopposed for years.
Board treasurer Kay Kelley, a board member for more than 20 years, said perhaps the lack of board challenges was because “patrons were satisfied with my performance as a trustee and did not feel it necessary to oppose me.”
Last year, libraries statewide, including North Shelby, were scrutinized for potentially “inappropriate content” for children. Several residents complained in June about an LGBTQ Pride book display, which drew the attention of legislators like DuBose.
Resident and retired pediatrician Marsha Sturdevant attended meetings where people made complaints. She said legislation is based on people’s fear of what they don’t understand.
DuBose said the bill “has nothing to do with the selection of the books.”
“I think it got everyone paying attention to the library and the library board,” DuBose said. “How is it selected? What are the guidelines that our library board has enforced or has selected to follow?”
DuBose also cited the high costs to the library of holding and running an election and the costs to candidates as reasons for this legislative change.
Kelley and Etheredge said no one from the delegation contacted them to give them more details. Kelley said no one notified her she is no longer on the board.
YET -Alabama
Public hearing on state aid for libraries reveals few support Ivey’s proposed code changes
About 80 speakers showed up Tuesday to voice their opinion on Gov. Kay Ivey’s proposed changes.
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/05/01...
bout 80 speakers showed up Tuesday to voice their opinion on Gov. Kay Ivey’s proposed changes to the Alabama Public Library Service administrative code that would require new policies for libraries to receive state aid.
There were two clear sides between the speakers—one side that opposed the changes and believes libraries are already handling materials appropriately and the other side which believes libraries are allowing inappropriate content to be placed in sections for children and young adults.
What was less clear, however, is how many speakers actually supported Ivey’s proposed changes, and particularly just how many supported adopting Ivey’s changes without amendment.
Speakers who argued that the libraries are handling materials appropriately uniformly rejected the code changes, although they indicated they would accept a counterproposal by the Alabama Library Association if the board does not want to leave the code as is.
Some of the speakers on the other side indicated support for Ivey’s code changes—but many of them said the changes do not go far enough and voiced support for further code changes, in particular an amendment by APLS board member Amy Minton that would almost mirror a policy implemented in Prattville.
Many speakers did not reference the code changes at all.
The board did not give any details on the 4,000 letters received and how many were in favor of the code changes vs against.
Speakers who opposed the policies and supported the current code called attention to an APR article published Monday which quoted Autauga-Prattville Public Library board chair Ray Boles stating that the board rushed a “really far right policy” so that the state could come in and “move to the center.”
“Does a democratic state secretly search for a library board that will adopt a ‘really far right policy so the state can come in and move policy toward the middle’ as Ray Boles said,” asked Jennifer Corpus, organizer of the Trussville chapter of Read Freely Alabama. “This negotiation tactic is known as anchoring and concession and means the Prattville library adopted extreme policies to provide a starting point. The state then leveraged this to appear moderate while implementing extreme measures … These clandestine operations are not democratic.”
Jessica Hays, advocacy coordinator for the Alabama Library Association, appeared to insinuate ALGOP chair and APLS board member John Wahl as a player in this operation.
“Who made these backroom deals,” asked Hays, looking directly at Wahl. “Who would have the political apparatus? Who would have the ear of extremist groups?”
Hays went so far as to say the public hearing is “not a good faith public hearing.”
Alex Kim-Yohn, a librarian in the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library system said they had heard rumors that the board had already decided to accept Ivey’s changes regardless of the public comment out of fear of retribution from Ivey and state lawmakers.
As of Tuesday, it does not matter whether the board agrees to the code changes. As speakers pointed out, the proposed Education Trust Fund budget now only a Senate vote away from passage requires libraries to adhere to Ivey’s proposed changes regardless of whether they are approved in the administrative code.
Speakers who either supported Ivey’s code changes or called on Minton’s amendment spent a lot of time talking about books with s---al content, reading excerpts or showing illustrations from oft-challenged books like “Genderqueer” (a graphic memoir intended for adults but sometimes shelved in the young adult section), “It’s Perfectly Normal” (a controversial 50-year-old sex education book for younger children with childlike illustrations of nudity and sexual situations), “Tricks” (a book that deals with child forced into prostitution) and others.
But while the speakers railed against allowing such ----ual content in books targeted at minors, most speakers also noted they believe the state agency should require libraries to restrict gender ideologies in books for minors in order to receive state aid.
“These books are not just inappropriate, they are vulgar and p----graphic,” said Sheila Wright. (view spoiler)
While most of the speakers challenging books noted their resistance to being labeled “book banners” and indicated they only want the books moved to the adult section, Wright said moving the books does not go far enough to protect minors because “minors still have access to these areas.”
Wright also tapped into a running theme among speakers on her side: that the content being challenged in libraries is the result of a Marxist conspiracy operated by the American Library Association to destroy the nuclear family.
Terry Richmond said the problem began in the mid-1900s when schools stopped using the McGuffey’s Readers and said students and teachers are now being trained “in Marxist agendas rather than American principles.”
Julia Cleland of Eagle Forum of Alabama said there is a “battle for the minds and hearts of our children” happening in libraries.
“Marxists use social chaos as a deliberate strategy for disruption,” Cleland said. “The ‘Queer Theory’ in which (current ALA president Emily) Drabinski specializes openly aims to destroy the West by destroying the natural family, natural sex …
Prattville AlabamaPrattville Library Board chair: New policy is “far right” so state could “move to center”
Boles said he wants the board to “reel back” its policy because it goes too far in discriminating against LGBTQ content.
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/04/29...
Ray Boles, chair of the Autauga-Prattville Public Library board, met with board member Gloria Kuykendall on April 22 at a public meeting of the board’s quartering committee and talked about what has been going on “behind the scenes.”
During the 20-minute meeting, Boles told Kuykendall that state actors were looking for a library board to drop a “really far right” policy so that the state could then come in and “move more to the center.”
“This is not about this library, it’s about the entire state,” Boles said. “… And that’s why we’ve been getting attacked so hard by that group (Presumably Read Freely Alabama) because they know that what we did will affect the state, what the state will do, and allow the state to go even further than what they would want.”
On Feb. 8, the APPL board approved a new policy that prohibits the library from purchasing or accepting any books marketed to minors 17 and under if they contain “obscenity, s--ual content, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender discordance.”
Amy Minton, a board member for the Alabama Public Library Service, has suggested making very similar policy enforced statewide, as an amendment to the code changes proposed by Gov. Kay Ivey. Ivey’s code changes will be discussed in a public hearing tomorrow, and the APLS board will meet on May 16 to discuss what action to take on the code changes.
Boles references the May 16 date numerous times, stating that he wants the board to announce new policies to align with the state, and the board has since announced it will meet on the afternoon of May 16.
“Once the state drops theirs, they won’t have a choice, they have to move … move theirs and we can move ours back, and then we’ll just simply tell everybody — if they say, if they fuss about it — ‘we followed the state,’ is the game plan. And then I can go back to selling carpet … I already told Rachel and Doug, I’m not coming- I’m gonna fix this before November and then I’m gone. I needed to roll a lot of heads to get it done, but it had to be done.”
Boles said he wants the board to “reel back” its policy because it goes too far in discriminating against LGBTQ+ content.
“Cause the way it’s written now, see, technically everything LGB needs to be out of the library,” Boles said. “See we don’t need to do that either. I don’t agree with that kind of policy. I don’t agree with (the content), but I don’t agree- it’s a public library. It is what it is.”
“We were working with the state, quietly, behind the scenes, trying to get it out, and get it dropped, … if it didn’t happen with that one it was gonna be a whole ‘nother year,” Boles said. “So yeah, we were moving real fast on getting it … And that’s what that other board didn’t realize they screwed up. When they left and they got the new board on here, it freed us up to move fast, to get that out super fast, so the state could take it and clean it up and start working on it and getting it, getting it where it needs to be. “
Boles explained there are two groups “in the background fighting,” and that “what the state’s trying to do is get in the middle.”
“They needed somebody to do it; no library board would do it,” Boles said.
Boles said he hasn’t “done anything with the books” because it’s “way too far right” but indicated that Vice Chair Rachel Daniels has pushed for action.
The pair of board members also spend time complaining about former mayor Jim Byard posting a Facebook status during the midst of the new policies stating that “In all of history, it’s never the good guys banning books.” The post has over 500 likes and has been shared 467 times.
John Oliver The May 5th episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver highlighted the effects of book bans and strict rulings on public libraries, especially Huntington Beach Library. https://twitter.com/EveryLibrary/stat...
EveryLibrary has been working with local parents and library supporters in Huntington Beach to help them fight back on our fightforthefirst.org platform!
from Kelly Jensen at BookRiot"Anti-Book Ban Legislation (Re)Introduced in Colorado
Senate Bill 216, protecting both library workers and library collections, is quickly moving through Colorado legislature.
Known as the Standards for Decisions Regarding Library Resources, [it] was introduced May 24. The prime sponsors were Lisa Cutter, Dafna Michaelson Jenet, Eliza Hamrick, and Junie Joseph. The bill requires every public library in the state to have policies related to acquiring, retaining, displaying, and using library materials, as well as use of the library itself. For libraries that allow book and other materials challenges, policies related to challenges must be written and available.
Public libraries without established policies may not put materials through a challenge process nor remove the items following complaints. Moreover, all policies and decisions related to materials being challenged in the collection are to be made readily available to the public.
All of the above seems fairly standard public library practice, but many libraries–particularly those which are small, rural, or not staffed by certified librarian–do not have these policies in order. This would make having policies standard and more, ensure that there is a clear policy relating to book and materials challenges. Just as libraries work to protect the First Amendment Rights of all by making materials available, they must also protect the right to petition and allow patrons to challenge said materials. The bill would ensure that the library is making the process transparent, it would identify who may submit a book challenge and what information is required for the challenge to be put through the official process.
One of the most important parts of this legislation, though, is the protections it provides library professionals.
The bill specifies that a librarian, media specialist, other employee, contractor, or volunteer (employee) at a public library is not subject to termination, demotion, discipline, or retaliation for refusing to remove a library resource before it has been reviewed in accordance with the public library's policy for the reconsideration of library resources or for making displays, acquisitions, or programming decisions that the employee believes, in good faith, are in accordance with the standards established in the bill."
Update: Good news! It passed the House!
Antigo, Wisonsin City Council discusses public library funding and board appointees“We're on a fact finding mission. So, my main mission tonight is to make sure the people up here know everything they need to know, to go into that review.”
This was how Antigo’s mayor Terry Brand framed Wednesday’s meeting with the city council.
In the meeting, they discussed county board appointments to the library board, as well as the book challenges process, interim director hiring process, recommendations for the library board, and the library’s budget.
The mayor created a joint task force consisting of three city council members and three county board members to open dialogue between the groups.
“This task force is something, this communication we should’ve had since day one of the library branch opening,” said Brand.
Langlade County Chairman Ben Pierce said that the taskforce was huge and he’s hopeful it will enhance communication.
Since 2020, the library board has changed a lot. A few representatives’ terms expired and Pierce didn’t renew them.
Councilman Tim Kassis, who attended the meeting over zoom, expressed concern over this along with other meeting goers.
“One thing that does disturb me a little bit, is some of the appointments that have been made by the county to the library board. The county went ahead and circumvented the city and put them on the library board,” he said.
Glenn Bugni, an Antigo city councilman, questioned the county board’s motives.
“I think none of us really know what the goal of the county board is, is it to weed the current library collection and remove all books that they feel are inappropriate, according to a list?” said Bugni.
Pierce says that that is not accurate at all.
Multiple people expressed concerns that new appointees to the library board were less experienced than the people who were removed, to the detriment of the library.
Langlade County Chairman Ben Pierce told WXPR that the county chose to not renew their terms because they were not practicing fiscal responsibility.
https://www.wxpr.org/local-news/2024-...
From France- a country that claims they have absolute separation of church and state and American politics and religion are too intertwined.https://www.wecb.fm/a-danger-to-minor...
A Danger To Minors’: This Children’s Book Banned From Sale For A Specific Reason
Just a few days ago, an order was signed by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, banning the sale of a book intended for children. Here’s what happened.
In September 2022, “Bien trop petit” (Far Too Small), written by Manu Causse, hit the shelves. But ten months later, the book was banned from sale. On July 18th, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, signed an order to prohibit the sale of the book to minors.
According to ActuaLitté, a specialized literature website, the order states that the novel, “clearly intended for youth,” contains (view spoiler)
The Minister argues that Manu Causse’s work “constitutes p______phic content, thus posing a danger to minors who could acquire or consult it.” Consequently, it is prohibited “to offer, give, or sell to minors” the youth novel, the order stipulates.
The publishing house of the novel is not accepting the ban without a fight, noting that the mention “from 15 years old” is on the back cover. However, this isn’t deemed sufficient according to the government and the commission overseeing publications for children and adolescents.
Despite the ban, the publishing house is determined to keep “Bien trop petit” alive. They argue that literature plays a crucial role “in the ongoing battles.”
Lots of news this week. Alabama and Texas win the most extreme awards for the week.LOCAL NEWSPrattville library pulls 60 books for review based on Clean Up Alabama list
Interim director Tammy Bear told APR the books have not been removed from the collection, but have been temporarily taken off the catalog.
[Still censorship]
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/05/07...
It’s been nearly a year since the Autauga-Prattville Public Library board reviewed the children’s book “Bye Bye Binary” and decided that it belonged in the children’s section, a decision meant to hold for five years under policy past and present.
But patrons searching for the book today won’t find it as part of the APPL catalog—and there’s more than 50 others missing as well.
“While (Prattville library board chair) Ray Boles is busy reassuring us all that no one is removing books, over 58 books have been pulled from the shelves,” said Sam Olson, a founder of Read Freely Prattville. “Interestingly, ‘Red: A crayon’s story,’ is among them, despite the fact that it was already reviewed within the last year and the board’s decision was supposed to stand for five years.”
Interim director Tammy Bear told APR Monday that the books have not been removed from the collection, but have been temporarily taken off the catalog because they are under review. Bear declined to comment on whether the library or patrons initiated the review, directing those questions to the board. Boles refuses to talk to APR, calling the site “fake news.”
Bear said she pulled some books because she wanted to review them herself, and said there have been more challenges from patrons as well. It’s not clear which missing books are which, or that all of them are under review.
One missing book, John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” has already been read by current board members who decided not to take action on the book at their February board meeting despite Boles consistently complaining about the book’s description of (view spoiler)
Many of the books appear on a list that Boles provided to since-terminated director Andrew Foster to review. Boles has consistently claimed that he only wants to move books with sexu---al content and not books that merely include LGBTQ representation.
However, of the books missing from the 113-book list, many of them do not have explicit s---l content.
BookLooks, a favorite site used by book challengers to gather offending excerpts from books, rates “What was Stonewall?” as a 1/5 on its scale—indicating that the book is appropriate for all but “very young children.” The book is typically shelved in the juvenile section at the Prattville library, in the room for adults and minors 12 years and over.
Some of the missing books have been off shelves before Foster’s termination, as they are going through the official reconsideration process. These books include: “Different Kinds of Fruit,” two “Heartstopper” graphic novels, “L8R G8R,” “Relish: My life in the kitchen,” “Forever,” “Forbidden,” and more.
This stuff does not just happen in the United States and Canada!Australia
Sydney council bans same-sex parenting books from libraries
https://www.theguardian.com/global/vi...
Western Sydney's Cumberland city council has voted to place a blanket ban on same-sex parenting books from local libraries in a move the New South Wales government warns could be a breach of the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act. The amendment, put forward by a councillor, Steve Christou, proposed that the council take “immediate action” to remove same-sex parents books and materials in its library service. Six councillors voted in favour of the amendment and five voted against, while four councillors were not present to vote
{What about the safety of kids with same sex parents and the adults who love their kids and want to see themselves represented?]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia...
Sydney council bans same-sex parenting books from libraries for ‘safety of our children’
Local MP is concerned move breaches Anti-Discrimination Act while NSW arts minister accuses council of ‘censorship’
During the meeting, Christou brandished a book he alleged had received “really disturbing” constituent complaints, saying parents were “distraught” to see the book, Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig, displayed on a shelf in the children’s section of the library.
The book, originally published in the UK, explores the experience of having two mums or two dads and features two men and a young child on the front cover.
Six councillors voted in favour of the amendment and five voted against, while four councillors were not present to vote.
“We’re going to make it clear tonight that … these kind of books, same-sex parents books, don’t find their way to our kids,” Christou said during debate. “Our kids shouldn’t be sexualised.
“This community is a very religious community, a very family-orientated community.
“They don’t want such controversial issues going against their beliefs indoctrinated to their libraries. This is not Marrickville or Newtown, this is Cumberland city council.”
Christou said toddlers shouldn’t be “exposed” to same-sex content and that the proposed amendment was “for the protection and safety of our children”.
“Hands off our kids,” he repeated.
More than half of the population represented by the Cumberland city council were born overseas. About 12.7% of its population has Chinese ancestry, while 13.3% are Lebanese.
Christou told Guardian Australia the motion was not targeted at the LGBTQ+ community but towards any books that promoted “sexualisation”.
Asked what aspects of the book in question were sexualised, he said parents had complained about the book being on the shelf, reiterating that “no form” of sexualisation should be accepted.
“We are a deeply religious community with deep family values,” he said. “I’m only representing the wishes of my community.”
The Auburn MP Lynda Voltz expressed concern over the resolution and asked the NSW arts minister, John Graham, to look at the matter.
“I am greatly concerned at the decision of Cumberland council and believe that it may possibly risk breaching the guidelines for funding of libraries and may also be in breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act,” she said.
“The overwhelming majority of the people in Auburn will tell you that everyone is welcome and we pride ourselves on being a peaceful and friendly community.”
Graham accused the council of engaging in censorship.
“When civilisations turn to burning books or banning books it is a very bad sign. That is equally true for local councils,” he said.
“It is up to readers to choose which book to take off the shelf. It should not be up to local councillors to make that choice for them or engage in censorship.”
The mayor, Lisa Lake, opposed the motion and said she was “appalled and saddened” by the result.
Lake said the book had been in the library since 2019 and was “nothing new”.
“We work really hard at council to foster a spirit of inclusion and talk about everybody feeling welcome,” she said.
“As long as parents are loving families, that’s what’s important.”
Councillor Diane Colman, who also opposed the motion, told Guardian Australia it wasn’t the body’s place to “police” accessibility to books.
“It’s problematic on so many levels,” she said.
“Cumberland city council’s motto is ‘welcome, belong, succeed’ – that means everyone is welcome, everyone belongs.
“Bans like this indicate some people believe that isn’t the case.”
Colman said the “whole premise” of a public library was to provide individuals with equitable rights to information – not to censor it.
A spokesperson for Cumberland city council said it had commenced the process of reviewing its collection to determine which titles “would need to be considered for removal” from library services.
“Council welcomes everyone to our local government area and our libraries, irrespective of the materials available in our library collections,” they said.
Equality Australia’s legal director Ghassan Kassisieh said ... if the move wasn’t unlawful under the NSW anti-discrimination act, it “certainly should be”.
Rainbow Families, an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ families in Australia, spoke with the anti-discrimination board on Tuesday to try to get the ban reversed.
Its executive officer, Ashley Scott, said the board was considering what actions it could take in response.
Scott said he had witnessed an increase in hate speech and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the past 12 months, which had been distressing for families
Baffling news from Texas and it gets worse. Yes, humans are bad. We have advanced brains and it's going to be our downfall at some point very soon. A zany conspiracy theory I heard and agreed with is "humanity is a virus."
______________________________
Board votes to omit 13 chapters with 'controversial' topics from 25 Cy-Fair ISD textbooks
https://abc13.com/post/cy-fair-isd-bo...
Cy-Fair ISD trustees voted 6-1 to omit 13 chapters from 25 textbooks that will be used next school year.
School board members were supposed to vote on a list of textbooks to adapt for the 2024-2025 school year. Those books had been approved by the State Board of Education, but board member Dr. Natalie Blasingame introduced an amendment before the vote could take place.
She proposed accepting the list of books but getting rid of certain chapters in them.
Blasingame made the motion to omit chapters from textbooks in the following areas:
Biology
Environmental science
Earth systems
Principles of education and training
Health science theory clinicals
Blasingame said some of the information being omitted went beyond what the state requires the district to teach, adding that some of the information also creates "a perception that humans are bad."
She and other board members cited concerns around "controversial subjects" included in the textbooks, such as climate change, vaccines, COVID-19, depopulation, and "a perspective that humans are bad," Blasingame said.
The only member of the board who voted against it was Trustee Julie Hinaman.
Despite omitting certain chapters, CFISD educators must still cover topics outlined in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, the state's standards for what students should learn in public schools.
To ensure the district meets state standards, district officials must use other resources to write their own curriculum covering these topics, Chief Academic Officer Linda Macias said.
"As far as staff to get it done, we're going to struggle because we have lost a lot of staff at the district office. Our campuses are used to having the curriculum ready, or a lot of it ready by the time school starts," Macias said. "It may be that they're getting two weeks at a time, and then during those two weeks, we're providing the next two weeks (of curriculum)."
A committee of expert educators reviewed the materials and recommended each book that was considered, Macias said at the April 1 board work session.
Hinaman, the sole trustee to vote against the omissions, questioned whether the district has adequate time and resources to execute this plan amid position reductions and the end of the school year nearing. She said she supported approving the instructional materials exactly as they were recommended.
"I am not clear on why one board member chose to override the recommendations of our highly trained educators who selected these materials for next school year that have been approved by the State Board of Education," she said.
Macias said developing a classroom curriculum is time-consuming, so it will be more difficult without the textbook resources. Without it, she said educators will likely use other resources they already have or purchase supplementary resources to ensure the state standards are being covered.
"We typically do a very thorough curriculum-writing aspect when we do curriculum," she said. "As Mrs. Hinaman said, we have quite a few less staff to do that, so we are going to have to probably rely more on the campuses or those teachers to go through some of their materials."
The state representative for CFISD, Jon Rosenthal, told Eyewitness News that he will do whatever he can to reverse this, by whatever avenues are available.
Ashley Buckner has one child in the district and another one on the way.
"I thought it was a lot of overreach. They're kind of imposing their personal beliefs on what they think our children should learn," Buckner said.
ABC13 asked CFISD how they'll go about omitting these chapters but has yet to hear back. However, board members mentioned removing the chapters and even having new materials written by individuals in-house.
This is a doozy and worth reading in full but here's a summary.A Southlake, Texas, teacher spoke out against a new school policy. It derailed her career. Can't wait to read the book.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...
They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms
Summary: In Southlake, Texas, the Conservative school board made a rule that says any subjects deemed controversial can't be taught unless they teach "opposing viewpoints" of the issue. Teachers questioned "What other side to the Holocaust? Do we have to remove Number the Stars if we don't share books from the POV of Nazis? What about slavery? Do we have to share books by white supremacists?
Christina McGuirk, a teacher in Southlake's Carroll Independent School District, said she couldn't remain silent about new guidelines limiting books available to children.
The administrator’s instruction was secretly recorded and provided to NBC News. McGuirk got into teaching as a way of living out her Christian faith, by showing kindness and compassion to children, had decided to stay and fight for what she believed was right. She and others spoke out to NBC Nightly News. There was no rule in her contract that said teachers couldn’t talk to reporters.
The story went viral and shamed the school district.
New rule: Employees are now prohibited from secretly recording district business.
In spite of her voice and face being hidden, someone, some parent, cracked the encoding and figured out her identity. They threatened not to renew her contract for the next school year. McGuirk made the difficult decision to quit before they terminated her employment.
Good news from the town in Mass. where the police invaded to look for Gender Queer.https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/s...
Great Barrington voters approved a safeguard aimed at keeping police out of education in the wake of the 'Gender Queer' dust-up.
At annual town meeting Monday night, residents approved a citizens petition that clarifies existing rules that separate police and education. The vote comes in response to the recent outcry over a police search of a middle school classroom for a book, "Gender Queer: A Memoir," based on an employee's complaint.
The citizens petition regarding the classroom search doesn’t add anything new to town regulations, but it clarifies “policies and procedures that are already in place” and acts as a “guideline that is more clear to help professionals do the jobs they're trained to do,” said Erica Mielke, who presented the article on behalf of “a large number of district families and community members” unable to attend a late-night meeting.
The article also helps “ensure that, whatever their intentions may be, nobody can misuse town resources to effectively intimidate or silence our educators and librarians,” she said.
Back to Prattville, Ala.Prattville library board sued over ‘sledgehammer’ policy that restricts LGBTQ books
https://www.al.com/news/2024/05/pratt...
Prattville residents and library organizations filed a suit against the Autauga-Prattville Public Library board of trustees in federal court May 9 for its policies banning LGBTQ content for minors.
The lawsuit asks the Middle District to stop the library board from using what they called “harmful” policies that have “overwhelmingly restricted books with themes about and protagonists of diverse backgrounds, especially the LGBTQIA+ community,” according to a statement.
“A public body ‘has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content,’” a filing from the plaintiffs states, quoting a 1972 Supreme Court case. “The Autauga-Prattville Public Library Board of Trustees is doing so anyway.”
The plaintiffs are Samantha Diamond, Amber Frey, John Craig and Almut Haboeck, plus their children, the Alabama Library Association and anti-censorship group Read Freely Alabama, which began in Prattville last year.
In the complaint, they say the library’s new policies, enacted in February, limit adult and children’s First Amendment rights by stopping them from accessing certain books.
The library’s policy states, “for the avoidance of doubt, the library shall not purchase or otherwise acquire any material advertised for consumers ages 17 and under which contain content including, but not limited to, obscenity, sexual conduct, sexual intercourse, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender discordance.”
Minors can no longer check out these books. The policy excludes biology, anatomy or religious texts.
Angie Hayden, one of the co-founders of competing group Read Freely Alabama, told AL.com that when the board implemented the new policies, she knew “our fears had been justified, and it is now to the point where we feel something must be done just to protect people’s rights in the library.”
“We just see that the collection is going to be gutted of books that young adults and adults have a right to read,” Hayden said.
Besides a reversal of the policies, Hayden wants to see books returned to their original designated categories.
...
According to the complaint, the Alabama Library Association lost revenue from its annual convention because it “had to divert resources away from goals” including planning for the event, resulting in less registrations.
Senior counsel Will Bardwell of the nonprofit legal group Democracy Forward said the library board’s policy “is one of the very worst offenders that we’ve seen.”
Bardwell said the policy is “particularly shocking when you start thinking of all the books that could fall within its scope.”
The introduction to the preliminary injunction motion begins with a quote from Scout Finch, one of the main characters from “To Kill A Mockingbird”: “Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
Democracy Forward is representing the plaintiffs along with local civil rights attorney Wiggins Childs. Bardwell and senior counsel Jessica Morton told AL.com the policy is “shockingly” overbroad in comparison to other cases they’ve worked on in other states.
Morton said the board policy is alarming and that “the freedom to read is fundamental and foundational to a successful democracy.”
“These are policies that are sledgehammers,” Morton said. “They’re not aimed at targeting against obscenity. They’re capturing essentially any book that features any person with gender of any sort.”
Bardwell said the government can’t stamp out controversial ideas.
“Public libraries, maybe more than any public institution, are supposed to be places where people can go in their formative years and find new ideas about how to explain the world around them,” Bardwell said.
More news from BookRiot's Literary Activism editor:Idaho-
The Larsen-Sant Public Library in Idaho is closing temporarily because of the new law that allows parents to sue public libraries for having materials they are bigoted toward in age-appropriate areas. The library needs to move LGBTQ+ YA to adult.
https://blog.idahoreports.idahoptv.or...
The new law allows patrons to submit a request that inappropriate books be moved “to a section designated for adults only” within 60 days, then pursue a lawsuit if the library does not relocate it.
Library director Laura Wheatley told Idaho Reports on Friday evening there are “a fair amount of books in the young adult section” with LGBTQ+ themes or characters which need moved to the adult section because the law includes acts of homosexuality in its definition of sexual content harmful to minors.
Wheatley said the library will be reconfiguring its shelves so it is no longer possible to walk directly between its young adult section and its adult section. They will also position a staff member to monitor the adults-only section and ensure no children are allowed to enter.
“We hope to open fully by June 3rd by the latest, but it may be longer. Programs will still be held until May 18 in the Community Room. There will be no patrons allowed inside the library… we see no other way to make sure the library is in compliance with the new law by July,” the letter reads.
Although the state law does not formally take effect until July 1, the Franklin County library has an online relocation form available so patrons can “identify any books you believe are in the wrong section.”
The website also says patrons should direct questions or “strong feelings” about the change to Gov. Brad Little and their local lawmakers.
Also in Idaho, like Florida, Library officials say new law about harmful material is vague and difficult to implementhttps://www.eastidahonews.com/2024/05...
Libraries have until July 1 to comply with House Bill 710, which became law on April 10. The new legislation requires libraries and public schools to “take reasonable steps” in protecting kids from harmful material.
Under the law, parents can submit a written request to have certain material relocated to an “adults only” section. The library board has 60 days to move the item once the request is submitted. If the board doesn’t remove it, it could be sued by the person who made the request.
Across the state, there are different interpretations of the law and many librarians are still not clear on everything they’ll be expected to do. Figuring out how to comply is a huge challenge.
“The bill has some vagueness to it,” said Lisa Harral, director of the Blackfoot Public Library. “A lot of people believe (they don’t need to do anything). A lot of people feel they need 55 new rules to cover this.”
Up to this point, Harral says they’ve only received two challenges to material in the Blackfoot Library, and neither of them were over anything sexual.
“As far as book challenges, we’ve been very sheltered from that so far and I think I have a very, very supportive community,” Harral said.
Marshall Public Library Director Eric Seuss says material is sorted into sections by age group but there isn’t any section that’s currently off limits to any patron.
He and his staff are planning to comply with the law but they’re trying to decide where the new restricted section would go.
“We have to figure out exactly where that’s gonna be and what that’s gonna look like, and so that’s still to be determined,” Seuss said.
Seuss also pointed out Idaho libraries already have a well-established and highly considered reconsideration process for books that are challenged. That process will stay intact, and they’ll have to establish a separate policy for challenges to send material to the restricted section.
Statewide, the challenge of creating a restricted section is an unfunded mandate. It creates a challenge for rural libraries in particular because budgets are smaller.
That’s the case for the South Bannock Library District. It has locations in Downey, Lava Hot Springs and McCammon and a bookmobile that travels through the county.
District director Megan Short says there hasn’t been a complaint about library material in 20 years and she wonders if she’s going to have to create a restricted station that stays empty.
The legislation doesn’t have a location requirement for people who challenge material and Short says it would raise a lot of red flags if there were a sudden uptick in the number of removal requests.
The Downey library has a meeting room used for many purposes, and Short has had to consider turning that room into an area for restricted materials.
Another issue for her district is that some of her buildings are small, like the library in Lava Hot Springs.
“It’s packed to the brim and has no meeting room. I don’t know how I would ever separate anything out in that area,” Short said.
Short also wonders if the restricted section requirement will even apply to her cramped bookmobile.
As library officials work to answer these questions, Harral feels the lack of clarity unnecessarily complicated the issue. Ultimately, she says it’s going to result in a court case to iron out the specifics.
“When we leave things open to interpretation, we’re leaving it open to lawsuits,” Harral said.
North CarolinaSix books were challenged in the Transylvania County Schools’ libraries by the local Moms For Liberty chapter president. Five of the six have been reviewed so far, and all will remain on shelves.
https://www.transylvaniatimes.com/edu...
Six young-adult books have been challenged in Transylvania County Schools’ libraries as part of a formal process which reviews books based on the appropriateness of their content for school-aged children.
Five of the six books have gone through the review process and have not been banned, according to a spokesperson for Transylvania County Schools. One has yet to be reviewed.
The following books were protested, but after review by a committee of educators and community stakeholders, they were chosen to stay on library shelves:
– “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews, published in 2012.
– “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, published in 2006.
– “This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson, published in 2015.
– “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah Maas, published in 2016.
– “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, published in 2005.
The following book has not yet been through the review process:
– “The Truth About Alice” by Jennifer Mathieu, published in 2014.
Local parent Jami Reese said she decided to challenge five books after receiving a complaint from a parent of a Rosman student for the book “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.” She filed complaints for all of the books besides “Looking for Alaska” by John Green.
Reese is also the county chair for MFL. Reese said her protests for books in Transylvania County were not due to her affiliation with the group.
Me, Earl and the Dying Girl includes some graphic language and s----ally explicit scenes and is available to eighth through 12th grade students, but only after they request it from a media specialist according to Fletcher.
Reese said she filed a complaint about that book in early April after it had already been through the review process. She said the book was “p----graphic” in nature and followed with four more complaints for other works after receiving direction from a group she would not name which provides guidance to conservative parental rights groups.
“It’s a little disappointing,” Reese said in response to the five titles which have not been banned from school shelves. “It’s a little disappointing that one person can procure literature and place it in front of children and then parents then have to go through a very convoluted process to have it reviewed and removed.”
She said other parents had also filed complaints, but she would not provide any further information.
Superintendent Lisa Fletcher clarified how books are selected and possibly banned in the county’s public schools with the school board setting the policies and procedures to review complaints.
The TCS policies 3200, 3210 and 3210-R list how certified media specialists manage each school’s collection, the protocol for parental inspection of and objection to instructional material and the procedures for media objections and the chain of command for complaints.
During last month’s Transylvania County Board of Education meeting, David Borman, a father who has two children in the school system and is running as a Democratic candidate for a seat on the school board in November, said the choice to file complaints against the books is a result of larger political groups influencing local politics.
“What’s happening right now is that extremists in our community are following a national political playbook,” Borman said. “They are challenging books en masse because they can and then we are left to pick up the pieces. We’re seeing the first part of this and I do not think our schools need to be part of a national political mess. I think we need to stand up. What you’re seeing, five books challenged in five weeks, is something that has happened in states all across the country.”
“You’ll probably see the next part of the playbook that’s been given, which is to read parts of the book aloud to you in public as some sort of shock factor,” Borman continued.
Reese spoke after Borman at the April 15 school board meeting and recited excerpts from one of the books she filed a complaint against.
“It is terribly disappointing to be standing here having to address this tonight,” Reese said. “I had hoped for better. I don’t know who appoints the Media and Technology Advisory Committee, as it is vaguely written in your policy, but I’m assuming it’s you guys."
“I will be reading a few excerpts from a book that that committee deemed appropriate for school shelves,” she said. “This book has been removed from less conservative counties in the state and in the country – Do better. Write a policy that protects our kids. Do something about this.”
Reese read excerpts from “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.” She admitted in a later interview she had only read in full one of the five books she filed complaints against.
“After having read specifically the first book, I don’t know how any intelligent adult could come to the conclusion that that book ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ has any academic value,” Reese said. “It’s just filthy.”
“I struggle to understand how exposing children to graphic explicit s--ual content aligns with the North Carolina Constitution,” said Jayne Mallwitz, following Reese during public comment.
Still banning books in Florida I see.Hernando County Schools (FL) will decide the fates of 23 challenged books this week. The agenda packet here is 507 pages long, with the "proof" of why these "naughty" books need to be banned, per book crisis actors. The update on this one isn't great — 20 of the books will be permanently banned. This includes overturning the decisions of 13 committees to retain books by
Judy Blume, Jodi Picoult, Sonya Sones and Sarah J. Maas
https://www.suncoastnews.com/news/mar...
https://twitter.com/FLFreedomRead/sta...
And in TexasHow "Two Moms and Some Books," a right-wing group of anti-library "activists" in Montgomery County, Texas, has been creating hell for local public librarians.
https://www.houstonpress.com/news/two...
Librarians Under Siege in Montgomery County?
A growing network of increasingly conservative school board candidates running on book-banning platforms is attempting to overtake public school librarians’ judgment calls.
Public libraries [are] run by their respective jurisdictions — whether that be a city, county or state...
Attacks against these librarians and administrative employees started to multiply over a year ago when a new Facebook group called Two Moms and Some Books was born.
EDUCATION
Librarians Under Siege in Montgomery County?
FAITH BUGENHAGEN MAY 8, 2024 4:00AM
Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough made the initial proposal for the new citizen's review policy.
Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough made the initial proposal for the new citizen's review policy. Screenshot
The war on libraries is raging. There is no doubt about it. A growing network of increasingly conservative school board candidates running on book-banning platforms is attempting to overtake public school librarians’ judgment calls.
Public libraries, run by their respective jurisdictions — whether that be a city, county or state — should be protected more than public schools from the infiltration of outside interest groups and their politics. Except they are not, and librarians in the Montgomery County Memorial Library System are getting a front-row seat to this power play.
Attacks against these librarians and administrative employees started to multiply over a year ago when a new Facebook group called Two Moms and Some Books was born.
[L]ibrarians are second-guessing their career choice, considering potential transitions to other industries, quitting or retiring early after decades-long careers. Former staff members said they left as they felt the start of a cultural shift later further emboldened by Two Moms and Some Books.
Michele Nuckolls and Shayla Parker, two homeschool moms, are behind the conservative group. It boasts the catchphrase “Make Libraries Great Again,” which is reminiscent of former president Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
The group works to restrict access to children’s and young adult books that it deems inappropriate. It also advocates for more books featuring conservative Christian content to be added to public libraries’ shelves.
They've taken their battle online, calling those who work for the library system out on social media and accusing librarians of exposing kids to explicit content by way of titles made available to them.
In one Instagram post about books that feature what the group refers to as radical gender ideology, they targeted Andrea Yang, the library system's collection development coordinator when writing, "Andrea Yang...appears to be a radical activist librarian working against our ELECTED officials."
Current and former librarians alike say this group laid the groundwork for the Montgomery County Commissioner Court’s recent decision to remove librarians from reviewing children’s, young adult and parenting texts.
The new policy, initially authored by Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough, calls for each commissioner to appoint one member to a citizen’s review committee. A similar committee to review books existed before the new policy, but it included librarians and members of the librarian administration.
The previously existing committee will remain with library staff on it but will oversee review requests for titles from the adult collection only. The new citizen’s committee reviews children's, young adult and parenting titles and determines whether they should remain available in these sections or be removed from circulation.
During the decision making process, children's and young adult books are restricted to a section where they can be checked out by those under 18 only if a parent or guardian accompanies them.
“These committees give people like them [Two Moms and Some Books] that believe in the same things they do to move books as they see fit,” said Wren, a former librarian who also requested anonymity. “To have a committee of citizens, who are most likely close-minded, trying to decide what is right for everyone does not seem fair.”
“Librarians provide insight through professional reviews or indicating what audiences a book is for,” Wren added. “Rather than just citizens saying, ‘Oh, this isn’t good for children.“ I don’t agree with this, which is what it’s going to be now.”
Many of the library system’s staff and community members who oppose the new policy are concerned about the rate at which the committee will move books and what content will be featured within these restricted titles.
Notably, most are worried about children’s and young adult books that feature LGBTQ+ topics. Only to be replaced with what they assume to be more titles that display heteronormative characters or storylines rooted in conservative, Christian ideals.
“This experience should be the same for every person who walks through that door," Wren said. “They have a mission statement of providing access and information to all, and they're not even able to honor their mission statement now.”
Another former librarian who we'll call Casey doubled down on these concerns, saying these actions would send a clear message to the county’s LGBTQ community — one already received by some of the current and former employees.
[She was outed to another colleague by the toxic administrator.]
Issues Casey was handling that led to her leaving heightened in 2022. Casey says a librarian in charge of marketing told her that one of the higher-ups removed a social media post featuring LGBTQ+ young adult books.
According to Casey, the higher-up's logic was that Montgomery County was “not like Houston” and could not post such content. Casey spoke with the higher-up, who later decided to put the post back up.
Roughly a month later, Casey uploaded a post that included LGBTQ children’s books. It was subsequently taken down, as the higher-up claimed she had instructed the marketing librarian to tell Casey not to post LGBTQ+ children's content. However, according to Casey, the marketing librarian failed to do so.
A day later, the higher-up asked the marketing librarian to upload a post featuring A Church For All by Gayle E. Pitman, a children’s book about a church that welcomes all congregants regardless of age, race, or sexual orientation.
This confused Casey who didn't understand why the marketing librarian could post something like this while she, the only gay employee on the social media committee, was barred from doing this.
Casey received a second-level disciplinary write-up. This action usually involves a period of probation and the inability to contest the infraction. The document said the Facebook page was not for furthering “personal agendas.”
Following this, Casey questioned why Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier, a title known to spread misinformation about being transgender, was purchased for branches’ shelves.
Casey requested to see the positive reviews required to select books for purchase. Shortly after, Casey was called into another higher-up's office for “verbal counseling” or a documented verbal warning.
“There’s a huge community of people in Montgomery County that are LGBTQ, and I know they don’t want it to be this way,” Casey added. “What they’re doing now is trying to take away the choice from other families by limiting the access to other kids. There’s a lot of fear about where this will all lead.”
Two Moms and Some Books efforts launched when the group tried booking library meeting rooms for story times that featured titles by actor turned Christian evangelist Kirk Cameron, author of conservative children’s books published by Brave Books.
The group then opted to fill out batches of book reconsideration forms en masse and built a more vocal presence at the commissioner’s court meetings.
“They’re a very small group that’s not representative of the whole county,” Avery said. “So, as librarians, we were frustrated that they seemed to have the strongest opinion and the loudest voice at all these meetings.
According to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Montgomery County has roughly 711,000 residents. Two Moms and Some Book’s Facebook page shares 421 followers, which is about 0.06 percent of the county’s total population.
The group supported the commissioners' decision to approve the new policy, which passed on a three-to-one vote. Montgomery County Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley cast the sole no vote, and Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack was not present.
Residents who have spoken out against the new policy take issue with the lack of resident requirements when sending requests for book reviews. During the commissioner’s court meeting in March, questions about needing a library card to file a reconsideration form were incorrectly answered.
Those in attendance were told that anyone who wanted to request a title review would need to be a patron of the library system, but according to the new policy, this is not the case. They argue that this opens up the floodgates for potential requests from individuals outside the county, state and country.
Community members – and librarians too — are also concerned about who will be appointed to these committee positions and what connections they could have to the commissioners selecting them or interest groups active in book-restricting efforts.
There are no educational requirements or other standards that these citizens have to meet to serve on the committee.
In an email to the Houston Press, Jason Millsaps, Keough’s chief of staff, wrote that each commissioner is entitled to an appointment on this committee. It is up to the individual commissioner or county judge to vet and determine the criteria for their appointments.
He added that no law or policy dictates any prescribed rules or process for making an appointment.
Millsaps wrote that the citizen’s review committee was not new. It’s a new policy surrounding an existing committee, despite there now being two separate groups — one without librarians and one with librarians — handling reconsideration requests of separate collections.
...
According to Avery, some of their fellow librarians — following in Casey’s footsteps — are considering pulling the plug on their time working for the library system. Most are concerned that this change, and more likely to follow, will allow those encouraged by groups like Two Moms and Some Books to restrict access to any title as they see fit.
“You wouldn’t go to some random person if you had a dental problem, and you wouldn’t go to them for help with your taxes,” Avery said. “We are educated. We have the years and the professional resources to do our jobs. It is really insulting that just this very loud group of people have taken that away from us.”
“I think we’re all just accepting it. We are all just praying that we get to keep our jobs and do all we can to help the community,” Avery added. “But we’re not hopeful that things will go back to how they were.”
More from Literary Activism on BookRiotSome good news this week:
Red Hood will remain on shelves in Ketchikan High School, Alaska
In a Ketchikan School Board meeting that focused on a massive budget shortfall, the Board also voted to keep a book in the high school library.
Superintendent Michael Robbins had already accepted the recommendation of a library review committee to retain the book “Red Hood” by Elana Arnold. But district policy allows instructional material challenges to then go before the School Board for a final say.
Local resident Deborah Simon challenged the book. The School Board heard a challenge from Simon back in January of the book “Flamer” by Mike Curato, and voted to retain it. Simon also challenged those two books in the public library last year, requesting they be moved from the teen section to the adult section. The library board voted down that challenge in January.
Three community members spoke in favor of the book at the April 24 School Board meeting, with only Simon herself speaking against it.
In her appeal, Simon challenged the reasoning of the district’s library review committee, questioning their assertion that because high schoolers are engaging in s----al activity, there is value in them having access to literature about the realities of sexuality.
“The age of consent in the state of Alaska is 16. S-x with a minor under age 16 is statutory rape,” Simon said at the meeting. (view spoiler) in this book are therefore, at best, inappropriate for those students under age 16.”
School Board President Stephen Bradford pointed out that the age of consent in Alaska generally doesn’t apply to two underage partners unless there is a wide age difference between them.
The School Board ultimately sided with the Superintendent, voting unanimously to uphold his decision in retaining the book.
At the end of the meeting though, Vice President Keenan Sanderson voiced support for public discourse. He said it’s important for the School Board to continue to welcome community members who wish to bring forward concerns about educational material.
https://www.krbd.org/2024/05/03/schoo...
Let's Talk About It will remain on shelves at North Hunterdon-Voorhees High School, New Jersey
https://www.njspotlightnews.org/video...
Following heated comments at the meeting, the Hunterdon County district’s school board voted 7-4 to keep the graphic novel “Let’s Talk About It” on library shelves. Critics contended the novel — which discussed sex education and issues facing LGBTQ+ students — contains obscene illustrations and should not be available for children to access through their schools.
Yet a much larger number of speakers turned out in support of the book, arguing that removing it would be a violation of students’ First Amendment rights and that its removal would take away a resource from youth who may not feel comfortable seeking help or advice from their parents. Supporters noted any parent concerned about the book could already ask school staff to not make it available to their children.
"Battle of the Books" program targeted in North CarolinaThere is a statewide competition for public schools in North Carolina called the “Battle of the Books.” This starts in fourth grade and goes all the way through high school to promote literacy. This Mom (MFL?) wants to dismantle it.
If you care to read her opinions you can do so at
https://www.carolinajournal.com/opini...
In the Chetco Public Library, OregonA new librarianship emerges in the era of censorship demands
https://www.theotheroregon.com/the_cu...
The question many are asking: what role should rural librarians play in serving the needs of their communities where there are few resources and minimal funding?
According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, about 30 million Americans are served by the nation's approximately 4,000 rural library systems. That’s 42% of all libraries in the United States.
The Institute’s 2020 study spotlighted the critical role libraries play in connecting community members to vital resources and programs.
“Whether the issue is education, economic development, or access to broadband, this summary shows that rural libraries are expanding their importance as communications hubs for communities,” Cynthia Landrum, the Institute’s deputy director, said.
Julie Retherford, Chetco Community Public Library’s director in Brookings, Ore., is at the front lines of both challenges.
For the last year and a half, Retherford has faced a vicious banning battle. In addition to being called a p---phile and a child-groomer, someone threatened to hang her. When asked how the banning challenges impacted her and her role in developing library programs to fill the gaps in her community’s limited services, Retherford took a breath.
“Perhaps it’s because of this battle but I’ve become more passionate about First Amendment rights and more motivated to keep libraries a place for both knowledge and in-person connection in an increasingly virtual world.”
In these post-pandemic times, in addition to their traditional role as knowledge purveyors and book lenders, rural libraries are filling the gaps of internet availability, digital equity, and community health, as well as offering more common programs including book clubs and children’s story time.
Denise Willms, director of Port Orford Public Library, describes her library as a hub for community connection and knowledge incubation.
“For many folks in town, there’s either no high-speed internet available in their area, or it’s too expensive,” Willms said.
With funding now secured, Willms is eager to open their soon-to-be-completed makerspace. By providing 3D printers, laptops, webcams and podcasting equipment, community members will have access to technology tools to create in ways they can't at home.
“We want to provide our community with access to as many opportunities as possible.”
Retherford and Maryanne Hirning of the Clatskanie Library District refer to their respective libraries as a neutral ‘third place’ outside of home and work where people can come and exist without being expected to purchase something.
As she continues to endure a brutal book banning battle, Retherford asserted, “I'm a trained librarian and neutrality is part of that. But is it really neutral to allow people to have hateful opinions and air those and force other people to live according to those same standards? To counter the attacks, we’re increasingly looking for ways to welcome anyone to come use our building for whatever purpose they want. It doesn't matter if you check something out, or you use our reference books, join one of our classes, or work in the makerspace. Maybe you come and just sit. That is such a rare thing to be able to do, for nothing.”
...
The biggest challenge Connery and other librarians face is garnering the media buzz and social capital needed to build consistent, ongoing community engagement.
With all the demands on rural libraries and librarians, having the time and resources to reach multiple media channels can seem nearly impossible.
Many communities are so small they barely have access to any form of local media. It’s become a team effort and has resulted in grant opportunities that further our ability to become a hub of innovation and connection.”
Rutherford echoed Connery’s perspective.
“If it weren’t for our army of loyal library supporters, I’m not sure our library could have endured the attacks we’ve faced this year. Through it all, we continue to grow our library’s programming to provide more services to our community.
Here’s who is behind the battle of the school book fairs https://baptistnews.com/article/heres...
[F]ormer child actor turned rightwing shill Kirk Cameron attacking Scholastic, saying, “Their book fairs are now filled with the kind of progressive, socialist Marxist material that is undermining God, family and the country.”
In an interview with Glenn Beck last November, Cameron accused Scholastic of offering “instruction manuals for preteen children on how to have s-- as another gender” and books for kindergarteners “grooming them to explore the world of drag.”
[Cameron deliberately misrepresents facts to suit his agenda.]
Welcome to St. Hell is classified in the Scholastic catalog as “for ages 14 and up” and “grade nine and up. A Scholastic representative confirmed Welcome to St. Hell is not available at any of Scholastic’s school book fairs, as Scholastic does not hold book fairs at high schools.
Cameron is using these attacks to persuade concerned parents to pressure their school boards into switching from Scholastic to Sky Tree Books.
“You can replace these harmful Scholastic Book Fairs with helpful, wholesome book fairs,” he said. “Books that have all been vetted and screened to take out all of the nasty p-----graphy and the Critical Race Theory and the race stuff.”
Cameron sits on the board of Sky Tree Books, a nonprofit formed after his 2023 public library story hour tour for his own children’s book, As You Grow. Sky Tree solicits donations to hold its book fairs, which feature some traditional children’s books like Anne of Green Gables and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe along with contemporary books about Legos and Bluey.
But these selections are primarily a way for Sky Tree to get its foot in the door of public schools. Sky Tree is an arm of Christian nationalist children’s publisher Brave Books, whose stated goal is to “secure the hearts and minds of children” by teaching “pro-God, pro-American value(s).”
All the Brave Books, including Cameron’s, are set in the world of Freedom Island, a thinly veiled fantasy version of the United States, complete with a capital city called “Rushington” and a “Car-a-Lago Coast.” The animals that populate the island live in fear of Culture the Vulture and various other inanely named villains who try to ensnare Team BRAVE with liberal ideas like socialism, gun control and Critical Race Theory. In The Island of Free Ice Cream, the animals physically fight communist wolves who have convinced them to close the island’s market by promising free ice cream.
There are also activities for parents to do with their children to re-enforce the books’ morals. For The Island of Free Ice Cream, children and parents compete in a make believe spa to see who can give the best back massage, foot rub or head massage “to teach them how much customer satisfaction affects the success of a business in the free market.” Why a spa is unclear. The story itself does not feature one. To hammer home the lesson, parents are encouraged to “be assertive,” “push your kids’ patience” and “take back some of their Brave Bucks if the service is poor.” This aggressive celebration of capitalism is backed up with the Bible verse Proverbs 18:9, “Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.”
Their “authors” are culled from Fox News, X and other corners of the MAGA world. Neo-Nazi sympathizer Jack Posobiec is behind The Island of Free Ice Cream, and former spokesperson for the NRA Dana Loesch offers the pro-gun parable Paws Off My Canon. Michael Flynn has lessons on what makes a good leader and a good follower in The Night the Snow Monster Attacked. Fox News contributor Sara Carter teaches children about the importance of tough border control.
There is a book on fake news by Sean Spicer, and Dinesh D’Souza warns children about the dangers of socialism in Freedom Day the Asher Way. Chaya Raichik, known for harassing trans children through her Libs of TikTok account, wrote an allegorical book about public school teachers grooming students and helping them secretly transition. Current RNC chair and nepotism poster child Lara Trump tells kids about the “value of hard work” in The Never-Give-Up Pup.
At least, these are the names on the covers of these books. In most cases, staff writers familiar with the Brave canon do the actual writing. The company is expanding into chapter and middle grade books for older readers.
Brave’s books are not going to make it onto school library shelves through their literary merit, which is one reason Sky Tree seeks to replace Scholastic as the go-to book fair. Schools who partner with publishers like Scholastic or Sky Tree can receive a cut of the book fair revenue, either in dollars or as credit with the book fair provider, which they can then use to buy more books from that provider. Brave Books donated two copies of all 26 of its books to Spotsylvania County Public Schools after the superintendent organized a book fair at one of the system’s schools.
During a November 2023 school board meeting in Conroe, Texas (the same month as Cameron’s interview with Glenn Beck), a man demanded the board ban Scholastic’s graphic novel Drama by author-illustrator Raina Telgemeier. The “book bounty hunter” he employs flagged Drama as “inappropriate” because of the protagonist’s gay friends.
At the same meeting, a young woman also objected to the book, which she said she had read as an 11-year-old. She claimed a kiss in the book between two gay characters in a school play was to blame for her pr0n addiction and demanded the school board remove all Scholastic books and cut ties with the Scholastic Book Fair.
Reporting by a local journalist uncovered that the young woman who spoke was in fact Lanah Burkhardt, the public relations coordinator for Sky Tree Books. Sky Tree’s president, Riley Lee, and Brave Books’ founder and former ophthalmologist, Trent Talbot, also spoke at the meeting in support of switching to Sky Tree.
y Tree also has the support of rightwing activist groups such as Moms for Liberty, an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled an “anti-government extremist group” for its promotion of conspiracy theories. Moms for Liberty has received backing from groups like the Heritage Foundation and Publix heiress Julie Fancelli, who helped fund Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally.
In a press release, the Oklahoma chapter of Moms for Liberty said Scholastic was a “conduit for inappropriate books into schools” and asked for the vendor to be replaced. They also told parents it is their right to attend Scholastic Book Fairs and “oversee what (kids) may be exposed to” — an ironic call to action since Scholastic Book Fairs are often run and staffed by parent volunteers and the company encourages parents to shop with their children.
Sky Tree is receiving help from conservative state legislatures that are passing laws designed to restrict the books available in school libraries. Such laws threaten librarians with severe penalties for disseminating “obscene” or “harmful” books, with just what constitutes “obscene” left intentionally vague.
To help librarians comply with these laws and others forbidding such things as the teaching of racism in U.S. history, sexual orientation, gender identity and Critical Race Theory, Scholastic curated the “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice” catalog, listing 64 of their books for elementary schools that state legislators might deem controversial. It did not last long. Scholastic quickly discontinued the resource because school librarians objected to the company’s participation in censorship. Cameron insinuates the protest by school librarians and liberals proves they are depraved for wanting book fairs to include these controversial titles.
However, the main reason librarians objected is that, aside from one book celebrating different kinds of families, including ones with LGBTQ members, the cautionary catalog was primarily comprised of books about historic African American figures like Ruby Bridges, John Lewis and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, or books featuring protagonists of color: a Lokota girl trapped in a magical world, a Mexican American retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood,” and a young Muslim boy playing with his mother’s headscarf. The list also included books whose main character has Down syndrome, one with brittle bone disease, and a touching story about a brave girl from Rwanda who journeys to Texas for surgery to correct a congenital deformity in her legs.
While Scholastic withdrew the “Share Every Story” catalog, it is chilling that the company feared states would penalize schools and librarians for selling these books to children. Sky Tree is trying to capitalize on the controversy without disclosing the titles on the list.
[S]upporters of Sky Tree Books have their sights set higher than book fairs. (view spoiler) said Cameron. Such language from Christian nationalists like Cameron, who paint those who disagree with them as less than human and not due the consideration or respect human beings made in God’s image deserve, should raise alarm bells in minds of all freedom-loving people because dehumanization is the bedrock of every form of prejudice, oppression and exploitation.
Taken to the extreme, it is the language of the Nazis, who also used children’s books in homes and schools to indoctrinate German kids.
The animal villains in the Brave books are eerily reminiscent of Jewish caricatures [in 1930s Nazi propaganda children's books]. Culture the Vulture is hunchbacked with a hooked beak. The hyenas and wolves who threaten Freedom Island are depicted in shades of gray and must likewise be driven out. Most troubling, one of Brave’s books is The Treasure of Cabal Island, which warns children against the dangers of greed while utilizing a recognized antisemitic dog whistle in its title.
These parallels, when paired with the rhetoric of the publishers and their advocates, is truly worrisome. Brave’s CEO Trent Talbot touts their books as “designed to equip your children to fight in our land the same way our heroes defend Freedom Island.” Note the preposition: fight in our land, not for our land.
Brave’s first book was the anti-trans Elephants are Not Birds and featured the debut of Culture the Vulture, who convinces a young elephant he can live as a bird. This bigoted book was written by Ashleigh St. Clair, a right-wing commentator who was fired by Turning Point USA for her association with white nationalists, including Holocaust denier and Trump dinner companion Nick Fuentes, and some who stormed the Capitol on January 6. None of that bothers Talbot who said, “I would love to see it (Elephants are Not Birds) taught in schools and on summer reading lists, and we’re going to fight to make that happen.”
Arkansas-Rapert pledges to keep advocating for book censorship as next library board meeting nears
https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/20...
Jason Rapert, the born-again fiddle player who recently declared himself the “conscience of the Arkansas State Library Board,” is aiming to grab more attention at the panel’s May 10 meeting and, for that matter, all future meetings.
In an April 15 email sent to the board’s director and others, Rapert pledged to continue his advocacy for book banning.
“I will make a motion at each and every upcoming Arkansas Library Board Meeting to stop funding libraries that violate the spirit of ACT 372,” pending the outcome of litigation challenging the state censorship law’s constitutionality, Rapert said in the email obtained under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
“The board was wrong for refusing that simple request when I made the motion at the last meeting,” the Conway Republican and former state senator complained in his April email.
The board’s director, Jennifer Chilcoat, recently released the results of a survey she took of state-funded libraries at Rapert’s request to find out which, if any, of 30 book titles the libraries have or have had and that are accessible to minors.
“It is clear objectionable material that is inappropriate for minor children is available all over our public library systems in Arkansas,” Rapert contended after seeing the results of the survey.
Yet neither the survey nor the board labeled the books objectionable; that’s Rapert’s doing and likely whoever created any list where he found them. Not surprisingly, Rapert’s list contained some books with LGBQT+ topics.
“I still maintain that it is wrong for any library receiving public funds to refuse the simple common sense request to keep books with obscene or pornographic materials out of reach of minor children — at the very least. I also question purchasing such books with taxpayer funds, and personally oppose doing so,” he wrote in the April email.
Rapert also attacked library workers, public employees and board members who dare disagree with him. Yet in the same email, Rapert asked Chilcoat to obtain a print copy of each of the 30 books “for my review and for any of the board members to review.” Who was going to pay for those books?
It now appears Rapert may have to pay for them or perhaps check them out at a library if he wants to read them because Chilcoat subsequently advised him, “We do not own copies of any of the books on your inquiry list.”
The reality of book bans and their impact on the Asian American community.https://abcnews.go.com/US/book-bans-t...
Book bans, threats and cancellations: Asian American authors face growing challenges
Samira Ahmed, an author of young adult and middle-grade literature, never expected to hire security for events, travel under an alias or face cancellations at schools and libraries.
Ahmed told ABC News she faces threats and book bans over her novels – including “Internment” and “Hollow Fires” – which have caused a firestorm of criticism for tackling complex issues about race, oppression and politics.
“People are afraid of what might be said if my books are being taught,” said Ahmed. “My books deal with issues of race and Islamophobia and adults making terrible decisions that they impose on children.”
Titles highlighting Asian American cultures have been targets among the long and growing inventory of books singled out by critics, prompting concerns about representation in literature.
“They're saying to young people, ‘stories of people who look like you don't deserve a space on our shelf, they are not worthy,’” said Ahmed. “It's identity erasure, and so it's obviously disheartening, but it's also really infuriating.”
Critics have called for the removal of books like Ahmed’s, Grace Lin’s “A Big Mooncake for Little Star” and Hena Khan’s “Under My Hijab.”
Advocates for restrictions against certain books, including groups like Moms For Liberty, argue that they weed inappropriate or "objectionable" content -- including violence, s--ual conduct or anti-American sentiment -- out of classrooms to protect children.
Some say libraries and educators have begun to “soft ban” these books as well, declining to order the books to avoid controversy in the future.
When Lin found her book on a list of “objectionable materials” to be removed by a local district school board, she was stumped.
The story is inspired by her daughter, who ate many moon cakes at a Moon Festival celebration and got really upset when the moon cakes were all gone: “That became the inspiration for ‘A Big Moon Cake For Little Star,’ which is simply about a girl who cannot resist eating a moon cake – a very, very big moon cake.”
She continued, “The only political statement that it makes is that the main character is Asian … To realize that there are people, fellow citizens, who believe that we should not be the heroes in stories is very, very disheartening.”
Khan, who is on the board of the nonprofit advocacy group We Need Diverse Books, said that it's disheartening to celebrate an increase in diverse voices at the same time as pushback against these voices appears to be increasing.
Representation for people of color has been steady over the years – books for children and teens that have Asian representation are up from an estimated 2.9% in 2002 to 11.7% in 2023, according to research by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cooperative Children’s Book Center.
Growing efforts to restrict books from libraries and schools threaten this progress, authors say.
...
Ahmed wrote a new story called “This Book Won’t Burn” to confront the realities of what it means to restrict books that center on people of color, she says. She said she writes her stories for a younger version of herself, hoping to offer young adults a story about what they might be feeling or experiencing in their lives – offering them the language to help them understand these issues and help them feel less alone.
“When you're saying 500 books have to be pulled from the shelves because of ‘content’ – when that content is merely the existence of say, a queer character, or a black or brown or indigenous character – that’s saying that our identities are controversial,” said Ahmed.
“Our identities are absolutely not controversial,” Ahmed said. “We exist in this world. And we have a right for our stories to be heard.”
In Conn.Stratford, Connecticut, might eliminate school librarians with their budget challenges.
https://www.ctpost.com/news/education...
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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Fort Worth ISD to return some banned books to libraries after over 100 pulled for review
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/lo...
The Fort Worth Independent School District is in the process of returning books back to library shelves that were pulled eight months ago for review of s--ual or violent content. Although the district removed more than 100 books, it’s unclear how many of them will be returning. District officials confirmed this week that “the book review process was completed, and books are in the process of being returned to appropriate campuses based on the decisions made regarding age/grade level appropriateness,” according to Fort Worth ISD spokesperson Jessica Becerra. The books have been unavailable to students since the beginning of the 2023-24 school year after they were transferred to the district’s professional library to be reviewed for “developmentally appropriate” content by a committee of master-certified librarians, officials said. All school libraries were closed during the first two weeks of school when the books were removed amid the district’s inventory process. “The return process should be completed in the next couple of weeks,” Becerra said in a statement.
District officials did not respond to questions asking if the books would be returned to shelves before the last day of school on May 23 nor how many of the reviewed books were coming back, as of Tuesday afternoon. District officials originally stated that the book review process was prompted by a new state law that went into effect on Sept. 1, which required book vendors that sell books to schools to give a “s--ually relevant” or “s--ually explicit” rating to titles containing depictions or references of sexual content. Books labeled as “s--ually relevant” required parent permission for students to check out, and books labeled as “s--ually explicit” were banned from libraries. The law went into effect before criteria was issued outlining these definitions.
In recent months as the Star-Telegram has inquired about updates regarding the book review process, district officials have now stated that the Fort Worth ISD review was independent of the new Texas law, according to spokesperson Cesar Padilla. Officials have also said the district’s review is independent of direct challenges, as the book removals came about two weeks after the Tarrant County chapter of Citizens Defending Freedom announced it had found more than 100 books it deemed to be inappropriate through an independent audit of the district’s middle and high school libraries. The conservative nonprofit organization has been vocal in book debates in various states.
Before House Bill 900 went into effect as law, a coalition of Texas bookstores and national bookseller associations sued the state, claiming the legislation violated the First and 14th amendments through “vague and overbroad” regulations on speech and targeting protected speech, according to the Texas Tribune. In January, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the Texas Education Agency from enforcing the law. The full panel of judges of the 5th Circuit doubled down on this ruling last week on April 16 in a split vote, declining to reconsider the case.