Tag Archives: Banned Books

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A Brief History of Banned Books in America

October 8, 2023 DrWeb

Attempts to restrict what kids in school can read are on the rise. But American book-banning started with the Puritans, 140 years before the United States

By Chris Klimek, Host, “There’s More to That,” October 5, 2023

*The* *New English Canaan* by Thomas Morton criticized the Puritan government in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Illustration by Emily Lankiewicz

The American Library Association reports that 2022 saw more attempts to have books removed from schools and public libraries than in any prior year this century—indeed, it documented nearly twice as many attempted bans in 2022 than in 2021. Notably, the common thread in these aggressive efforts is the subject that binds the most-challenged titles: Most of them address themes of LGBT+ identity or gender expression. On our latest episode of the Smithsonian magazine podcast “There’s More to That,” I talk with journalist Colleen Connolly about Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan, the first book ever to be suppressed in North America. What did the Puritans find so threatening about it, and how has this book echoed through subsequent centuries? Then I’m joined by Carla Hayden, the librarian of Congress, for a wide-ranging conversation about the history of book bans in the United States, how a resurgent wave of book bans in many states differs from those of prior eras and why organized attempts to prevent specific people from reading specific books usually fail.

Listen to the podcast:

https://play.prx.org/e?ge=prx_3987_70d62c20-0509-431a-a10f-02ad62c04726&uf=https%3A%2F%2Fpublicfeeds.net%2Ff%2F3987%2Ffeed-rss.xml

Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-banned-books-in-america-180983011/

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How to Protect Your Local Library From Book Ban Campaigns – Bloomberg

May 1, 2023 DrWeb

Library boards, school boards and legislatures are becoming battlegrounds in a push to censor books. Communities are fighting back.

By Ariel Aberg-Riger, April 26, 2023 at 6:12 AM PDT

National Library Week in the US comes amid a period of turmoil for libraries, as efforts to censor books intensify.

Visual storyteller Ariel Aberg-Riger explores the threats libraries face, their historical context and how activists are mobilizing to protect a diversity of thought.

For more on how libraries came to be a critical piece of social infrastructure, read her History of the American Public Library.

Editor’s Note: For free tools for National Library Week 2023, go here.

Source: How to Protect Your Local Library From Book Ban Campaigns – Bloomberg

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American Library Association Names 2022’s Most Banned Books | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine

May 1, 2023 DrWeb

As book censorship soared, titles with LGBTQ themes were the most targeted

By Teresa Nowakowski, Daily Correspondent, April 25, 2023

*Maia Kobabe’s* *Gender Queer* was the most challenged book in 2022, according to the American Library Association. Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune / Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Maia Kobabe’s graphic novel Gender Queer: A Memoir documents Kobabe’s coming out as nonbinary and asexual.

Since the book’s publication in 2019, readers have been regularly reaching out to Kobabe to express their appreciation for Gender Queer’s heartfelt writing and exploration of gender and sexuality.

Editor’s Note: Read more, see link below for original item…

Source: American Library Association Names 2022’s Most Banned Books | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine

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Banned and Challenged: Restricting access to books in the U.S. : NPR

January 29, 2023 DrWeb

A series on books that are facing challenges to their placement in libraries in some areas around the U.S.

Special Series

Banned and Challenged: Restricting access to books in the U.S.

First in series…

Author George M. Johnson: We must ensure access to those who need these stories most

January 11, 2023 • All Boys Aren’t Blue, a memoir for teens and young adults about growing up Black and queer, appeared on many “best books” lists when published in 2020. It’s being challenged in some U.S. counties.

Source: Banned and Challenged: Restricting access to books in the U.S. : NPR

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The history of book bans in the United States | National Geographic

September 8, 2022 DrWeb

From religious texts and anti-slavery novels to modern works removed from school libraries, here’s how the targets of censorship have changed over the years.

By Erin Blakemore, Published September 6, 2022

Book banning is more common than ever. Stories featuring LGBTQ+ issues are often targets today—including these five books that recently survived an attempt to remove them from the shelves of the library at North Hunterdon Regional High School in Annandale, N.J.
Photograph by Bryan Anselm, Redux

Mark Twain. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Judy Blume. William Shakespeare. These names share something more than a legacy of classic literature and a place on school curriculums: They’re just some of the many authors whose work has been banned from classrooms over the years for content deemed controversial, obscene, or otherwise objectionable by authorities.

Book banning is once again in the headlines. Earlier this year, Utah approved a stat e law suppressing “sensitive material” in classrooms. Meanwhile, a group of Georgia moms have gotten attention for attending school board meetings and reading passages out loud from books they find objectionable, such as Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, claiming they are “pornographic materials.” (Did Ovid’s erotic poetry lead to his exile from Rome?)

Editor’s Note: Read more, see link below for original item…

Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/history-of-book-bans-in-the-united-states

Arts & Humanities, Books & Reading, Current Affairs, Libraries, Politics, Web & Technology

New York Public Library makes banned books available for free : NPR

April 18, 2022 DrWeb

By Deepa Shi varam, April 15, 20225:18 PM ET

Visitors look at a globe in the map division at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York. The library announced an effort this week to make commonly banned books available through their app.
Seth Wenig/AP

In response to the more than 1,500 books challenged to be removed from libraries in the last year, the New York Public Library launched an effort to make some banned books available for everyone — for free.

The initiative is called Books for All and allows any reader aged 13 and older to access commonly banned books through the library’s app until the end of May. There are no wait times to access the books and no fines, the library said. Typically, access to books at the New York Public Library are only available to New Yorkers with a library card.

“The recent instances of both attempted and successful book banning —primarily on titles that explore race, LGBTQ+ issues, religion, and history — are extremely disturbing and amount to an all-out attack on the very foundation of our democracy,” said Tony Marx, president of the New York Public Library.

“Knowledge is power; ignorance is dangerous, breeding hate and division … Since their inception, public libraries have worked to combat these forces simply by making all perspectives and ideas accessible to all,” Marx said.

The New York Public Library’s efforts launched on April 13. The books currently available are Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Source: New York Public Library makes banned books available for free : NPR

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Tag Archives: Banned Books

A Brief History of Banned Books in America

Attempts to restrict what kids in school can read are on the rise. But American book-banning started with the Puritans, 140 years before the United States

Like this:

How to Protect Your Local Library From Book Ban Campaigns – Bloomberg

Library boards, school boards and legislatures are becoming battlegrounds in a push to censor books. Communities are fighting back.

Like this:

American Library Association Names 2022’s Most Banned Books | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine

As book censorship soared, titles with LGBTQ themes were the most targeted

Like this:

Banned and Challenged: Restricting access to books in the U.S. : NPR

Author George M. Johnson: We must ensure access to those who need these stories most

Source: Banned and Challenged: Restricting access to books in the U.S. : NPR

Like this:

The history of book bans in the United States | National Geographic

From religious texts and anti-slavery novels to modern works removed from school libraries, here’s how the targets of censorship have changed over the years.

Like this:

New York Public Library makes banned books available for free : NPR

Like this:

all things library and life.. from a librarian

Attempts to restrict what kids in school can read are on the rise. But American book-banning started with the Puritans, 140 years before the United States

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Like this:

Library boards, school boards and legislatures are becoming battlegrounds in a push to censor books. Communities are fighting back.

For Sharing

Like this:

As book censorship soared, titles with LGBTQ themes were the most targeted

For Sharing

Like this:

Source: Banned and Challenged: Restricting access to books in the U.S. : NPR

For Sharing

Like this:

From religious texts and anti-slavery novels to modern works removed from school libraries, here’s how the targets of censorship have changed over the years.

For Sharing

Like this:

For Sharing

Like this:

all things library and life.. from a librarian