They now need to learn how to plan for safety and legally protect themselves.
By Nicole A. Cooke, 24 Jul 2023
How book-banning campaigns have changed the lives and education of librarians
Tag Archives: Book Bans
Salman Rushdie says ‘attack on books’ in Florida ‘has never been more dangerous’
By Melissa Alonso and Jackson Grigsby, CNN, Published 3:51 AM EDT, Fri May 19, 2023
Honoree Salman Rushdie speaks on stage at the 2023 PEN America Literary Gala at American Museum of Natural History on May 18, 2023 in New York City.
Less than a year after an attempt on his life, author Salman Rushdie made a rare public appearance at an awards ceremony Thursday to warn of the dangers of banning books and of related movements in the US to roll back freedoms of expression.
“The attack on books, the attack on teaching, the attack on libraries, in – how can I put this – Florida, has never been more dangerous, never been more important to fight,” he said.
Rushdie spoke at the PEN America Gala in New York City, praising the literary and free speech advocacy group for its latest efforts to block politicians and local officials seeking to ban literature concerning race and gender identity.
PEN America, along with book publisher Penguin Random House and several parents and authors, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging Florida’s Escambia County school district’s removal of certain books on race and LGBTQ issues from school libraries.
Source: Salman Rushdie says ‘attack on books’ in Florida ‘has never been more dangerous’ | CNN
Opinion: Books are not land mines
May 13, 20238:02 AM ET Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday, Scott Simon
Ted Shaffrey/AP
The American Library Association and PEN America say there’s been a sharp increase in the number of books pulled from school libraries over the past two years.
One complaint that a book is obscene or offensive — from a parent, or, increasingly, a group — can be enough to have it removed from the shelves.
The books that get singled out often feature main characters who are LGBTQIA, or people of color. Many address racism, child abuse, sex, suicide, and other topics that young people may want help understanding.
Editor’s Note: Read more, see link below for original item…
Republicans are trying to defund public libraries in addition to book bans – Vox
By Fabiola Cineas, May 5, 2023, 5:05pm EDT
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Shane Keyser/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Fabiola Cineas covers race and policy as a reporter for Vox. Before that, she was an editor and writer at Philadelphia magazine, where she covered business, tech, and the local economy.
When Missouri’s House voted in late March to approve a state budget that would eliminate $4.5 million in funding for public libraries, local and national free speech advocates went into panic mode.
The Missouri Senate later restored the funding to the budget proposal in April. But full funding for the state’s libraries is still not guaranteed, and librarians and patrons are concerned that libraries across the state are still under attack and subject to the whims of Republican lawmakers.
Editor’s Note: Read more, see link below for original item…
Source: Republicans are trying to defund public libraries in addition to book bans – Vox
The book battle is escalating, with library funds on the line : NPR
May 4, 20235:02 AM ET, Heard on All Things Considered By Tovia Smith
Anna Huffman/Anna Huffman
The decibel level is climbing as some 20 preschoolers sprawl out on an alphabet-pattern carpet for story hour.
One toddler, who’s new to the group, is having a bit of a meltdown, so Otter Bowman, a library associate at the Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, Mo., goes for the surest trick she has and starts talking about “Junior,” the library’s bookmobile.
As usual, it gets the kids’ attention and the gaggle settles down so Bowman can begin story hour. “Hello! I’m Ducky Duckling,” she reads. “When I feel happy, I say, ‘Quack! Quack!’ ” The kids cackle and quack back.
Source: The book battle is escalating, with library funds on the line : NPR
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.
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