Showing posts with label ALA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ALA. Show all posts

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Public Libraries Saw 92 Percent Increase In Number of Titles Targeted for Censorship Over The Previous Year; American Library Association (ALA) Press Release, March 14, 2024

American Library Association (ALA) Press Release; Public Libraries Saw 92 Percent Increase In Number of Titles Targeted for Censorship Over The Previous Year

"The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by the American Library Association (ALA). The new numbers released today show efforts to censor 4,240 unique book titles* in schools and libraries. This tops the previous high from 2022, when 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship. 

ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources in 2023. Four key trends emerged from the data gathered from 2023 censorship reports: 

  • Pressure groups in 2023 focused on public libraries in addition to targeting school libraries. The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92 percent over the previous year; school libraries saw an 11 percent increase.
  • Groups and individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles, often dozens or hundreds at a time, drove this surge.  
  • Titles representing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals made up 47 percent of those targeted in censorship attempts. 
  • There were attempts to censor more than 100 titles in each of these 17 states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

“The reports from librarians and educators in the field make it clear that the organized campaigns to ban books aren’t over, and that we must all stand together to preserve our right to choose what we read,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “Each demand to ban a book is a demand to deny each person’s constitutionally protected right to choose and read books that raise important issues and lift up the voices of those who are often silenced.  By joining initiatives like Unite Against Book Bans and other organizations that support libraries and schools, we can end this attack on essential community institutions and our civil liberties."

ALA will unveil its highly anticipated list of the top 10 most challenged books in the U.S. on Monday, April 8, which is Right to Read Day of National Library Week, along with its full State of America's Libraries Report.

"Every challenge to a library book is an attack on our freedom to read. The books being targeted again focus on LGBTQ+ and people of color. Our communities and our country are stronger because of diversity. Libraries that reflect their communities' diversity promote learning and empathy that some people want to hide or eliminate,” said ALA President Emily Drabinski. “Libraries are vital institutions to each and every community in this country, and library professionals, who have dedicated their lives to protecting our right to read, are facing threats to their employment and well-being." 

In response to the surge of book challenges and efforts to restrict access to information, ALA launched Unite Against Book Bans, a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship. The coalition will mark its second anniversary during National Library Week.

For more information about ALA and its intellectual freedom efforts, visit www.ala.org. For a breakdown for censorship challenges by state visit this heat map."

Monday, February 12, 2024

Using AI Responsibly; American Libraries, January 21, 2024

Diana Panuncial , American Libraries; Using AI Responsibly

"Navigating misinformation and weighing ethical and privacy issues in artificial intelligence (AI) were top of mind for the panelists at “AI and Libraries: A Discussion on the Future,” a January 21 session at the American Library Association’s 2024 LibLearnX Conference in Baltimore. Flowers was joined by Virginia Cononie, assistant librarian and coordinator of research at University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg; Dray MacFarlane, cofounder of Tasio, an AI consulting company; and Juan Rubio, digital media learning program manager for Seattle Public Library (SPL). 

Rubio, who used AI to create a tool to help teens at SPL reflect on their mental health and well-being, said there is excitement behind the technology and how it can be harnessed, but there should also be efforts to educate patrons on how to use it responsibly. 

“I think ethical use of AI comes with creating ethical people,” he said, adding that SPL has been thinking about implementing guidelines for using AI. “Be very aware of your positionality [as librarians], because I think we are in a place of privilege—not necessarily of money or power, but of knowledge.”"

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Training Generative AI Models on Copyrighted Works Is Fair Use; ARL Views, January 23, 2024

 Katherine Klosek, Director of Information Policy and Federal Relations, Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and Marjory S. Blumenthal, Senior Policy Fellow, American Library Association (ALA) Office of Public Policy and Advocacy |, ARL Views; Training Generative AI Models on Copyrighted Works Is Fair Use

"In a blog post about the case, OpenAI cites the Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) position that “based on well-established precedent, the ingestion of copyrighted works to create large language models or other AI training databases generally is a fair use.” LCA explained this position in our submission to the US Copyright Office notice of inquiry on copyright and AI, and in the LCA Principles for Copyright and AI.

LCA is not involved in any of the AI lawsuits. But as champions of fair use, free speech, and freedom of information, libraries have a stake in maintaining the balance of copyright law so that it is not used to block or restrict access to information. We drafted the principles on AI and copyright in response to efforts to amend copyright law to require licensing schemes for generative AI that could stunt the development of this technology, and undermine its utility to researchers, students, creators, and the public. The LCA principles hold that copyright law as applied and interpreted by the Copyright Office and the courts is flexible and robust enough to address issues of copyright and AI without amendment. The LCA principles also make the careful and critical distinction between input to train an LLM, and output—which could potentially be infringing if it is substantially similar to an original expressive work.

On the question of whether ingesting copyrighted works to train LLMs is fair use, LCA points to the history of courts applying the US Copyright Act to AI."

Friday, November 3, 2023

Alabamians react to public library service leaving the American Library Association; AL.com, November 3, 2023

  

, AL.com; Alabamians react to public library service leaving the American Library Association

"North Shelby library director Kate Etheredge said in an email she’s disheartened by this decision and that ALA’s Library Bill of Rights is “a plain-text explanation of the First Amendment when viewed through a library lens.”

“We can change our policy wording to remove ALA, but the guiding principles of the First Amendment would remain the same,” Etheredge, a member of the ALA, said. “Public libraries exist to provide information and access to all. We do not censor. We do not promote. We make a variety of information and services available and ask our patrons to respect that differences exist among us.”

Etheredge said moving books will “create a barrier to access” for library patrons and create a “slippery slope where each successive patron who feels a book is controversial would also need to be accommodated, and their beliefs may not be the same as the initial group.”...

Conservative interest group Eagle Forum, in a statement, commended the people who “stood against obscene graphic illustrations and agenda driven literature in children’s sections of our libraries.” The group said withdrawing from the ALA was “a step in the right direction” and hopes libraries follow Pack’s recommendations.

“We are hopeful that future library selections will include classic children’s literature which has uplifted and instructed generations of Americans while upholding such timeless values as truth, honesty, beauty, loyalty, love, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control,” said president Eunie Smith. She added children should be “engaged, enthralled, inspired and instructed” with content that’s age appropriate and follows the Golden Rule."

Florida joins conservative states severing ties with national library group; Politico, October 31, 2023

ANDREW ATTERBURY , Politico; Florida joins conservative states severing ties with national library group

"Florida is among the latest conservative-leaning states to sever connections with the nation’s oldest library organization after the nonprofit became embroiled in the ongoing culture war over what books should be available to students.

The agency in charge of Florida’s public libraries issued a new rule in October forbidding any grant activities tied to the American Library Association, a 150-year-old organization that aids thousands of libraries across the country with training and funding.

The move by the DeSantis administration puts Florida in line with a cadre of Republican states and lawmakers leveling scrutiny on ALA, labeling the group as “toxic” and a “conduit” for exposing children to pornography — claims refuted by the organization and its supporters.

Conservatives in a growing number of states, including Alabama, Wyoming, Missouri, Texas and now Florida, have severed affiliations with the ALA, in part over the group choosing a new president, Emily Drabinski, who in 2022 tweeted that she’s a “Marxist.”...

How the rule will affect local libraries is currently unclear. Libraries pay for ALA memberships that grant access to benefits such as discounts on professional development and education products."

Monday, October 30, 2023

Librarian feels Alabamians ‘betrayed’ by recommendation to leave American Library Association; Al.com, October 28, 2023


, Al.com; Librarian feels Alabamians ‘betrayed’ by recommendation to leave American Library Association

"Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) executive director Nancy Pack said in a memo they should “discontinue our institutional membership to the American Library Association (ALA).”...

Matthew Layne, president of the Alabama Library Association, an ALA chapter, said in an email that by disaffiliating from the ALA, the APLS “will lose access to a professional organization with over 50,000 members of professional librarians and library workers from around the world. They will lose access to workshops and training from brilliant librarian leaders, thinkers, and the important collegiality that one experiences in such organizations.”

Pack said in the memo “limiting a child’s access to potentially harmful content or relocating controversial reading materials should not be misconstrued as censorship in any form. APLS recommends that libraries exercise their best judgment when it comes to shelving sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate materials, regardless of the intended age group, to support a parent’s right to protect their children.”...

In response to Pack’s recommendations, librarian Marylyn Eubank said in a letter sent to the Alabama Library Association, “it is hard to compose a professional response to fear-based, unfounded, reactionary actions. One shakes with anger and the righteous indignation born from years of professional study and development. But shaking with anger doesn’t make the situation better for the millions of Alabama residents (mostly children) who have been betrayed by the very professionals meant to protect their rights.

Eubank said “Alabama kept books used by her black residents separate from books used by white residents” until the 1960s, and today, “funding for libraries is being held hostage by the governor and the state legislature.”

“Pack is simply providing the state what it wants - censorship in exchange for funding,” Eubank said."

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Sarasota County asked to end ties to library associations over 'ideology, explicit' books; Herald-Tribune, October 25, 2023

Earle Kimel , Herald-Tribune; Sarasota County asked to end ties to library associations over 'ideology, explicit' books

"Citing policies that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, Michelle Pozzie called the ALA part of a “bigger umbrella of three-letter organizations that, believe it or not, push ideology over explicit material and not age appropriate material as well as DEI talking points – which is a pet peeve of our governor, so it should be, as a reflection, for you, too.”

Pozzie, who said she homeschooled two children, said libraries are not safe for children because of books that can found there, including the 2019 graphic novel “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” by Maia Kobabe.

“Let me be clear, no one wants to ban books or censor speech but filth and ideology should not be funded in the taxpayer’s expense,” Pozzie said."

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Book Bans Are Rising Sharply in Public Libraries; The New York Times, September 21, 2023

 Elizabeth A. Harris and , The New York Times ; Book Bans Are Rising Sharply in Public Libraries

"More than two years into a sharp rise in book challenges across the United States, restrictions are increasingly targeting public libraries, where they could affect not only the children’s section but also the books available to everyone in a community.

The shift comes amid a dramatic increase in efforts to remove books from libraries, according to a pair of new reports released this week from the American Library Association and PEN America, a free speech organization.

The A.L.A. found that nearly half the book challenges it tracked between January and August of this year took place in public libraries, up from 16 percent during the same period the year before. The association reported nearly 700 attempts to censor library materials, which targeted more than 1,900 individual titles — more than during the same period in 2022, a year that saw the most titles challenged since the organization began tracking the data.

Most of the challenged books were by or about people of color or L.G.B.T.Q. people.

“A year, a year and a half ago, we were told that these books didn’t belong in school libraries, and if people wanted to read them, they could go to a public library,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the A.L.A.’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “Now, we’re seeing those same groups come to public libraries and come after the same books, essentially depriving everyone of the ability to make the choice to read them.”"

Thursday, September 14, 2023

America's Top Librarian on the Rise of Book Bans; The Ezra Klein Show, The New York Times, September 12, 2023

The Ezra Klein Show, The New York Times; America's Top Librarian on the Rise of Book Bans

"Public libraries around the country have become major battlegrounds for today’s culture wars. In 2022, the American Library Association noted a record 1,269 attempts at censorship — almost double the number recorded in 2021. Library events like drag story times and other children’s programming have also attracted protest. How should we understand these efforts to control what stories children can freely access?

Emily Drabinski is the president of the American Library Association and an associate professor at the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. She is steering an embattled organization at a moment when libraries — and librarians themselves — are increasingly under fire.

[You can listen to this episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” on the NYT Audio AppAppleSpotifyAmazon MusicGoogle or wherever you get your podcasts.]

This conversation unpacks the political and cultural anxieties fueling the attacks on libraries. The guest host Tressie McMillan Cottom discusses with Drabinski how libraries are a bulwark against the increasing class divides of American life, how the “small infrastructure” of the public library differs from big infrastructure like highways and bridges, how library classification systems can entrench the status quo, the parallels between political attacks on the library and the U.S. Postal Service, how censorship attempts fit in the broader landscape of anti-queer and anti-trans legislation and much more."

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Book ban push fuels library exodus from national association that stands up for books; Associated Press via ABC News, September 5, 2023

 MEAD GRUVER, Associated Press via ABC News ; Book ban push fuels library exodus from national association that stands up for books

"Kleinman last month launched an alternative to the ALA, the World Library Association, which he said will offer new policy guidelines for libraries.

“We’re going to return things to commonplace, community standards,” Kleinman said.

Butler and Campbell County Library Board Chairwoman Sage Bear, who did not return phone and email messages seeking comment, have joined as “team members” of the World Library Association. Butler said he hoped the new association will eventually offer librarian continuing education that Campbell County can no longer provide through the ALA.

So far, state library associations — private, professional organizations that resemble the American Library Association, but on a state level — are sticking with the American Library Association. Wyoming librarians don’t always see eye-to-eye with the ALA but the Wyoming Library Association has no plans to cut ties, President Conrrado Saldivar said."

Thursday, August 17, 2023

ALA Announces Steps to Support LGBTQIA+ Library Workers; American Libraries, August 9, 2023

  American Libraries; ALA Announces Steps to Support LGBTQIA+ Library Workers

"Recognizing the urgency to address and combat discriminatory practices targeting library workers within the LGBTQIA+ community, ALA is taking proactive steps to support and protect LGBTQIA+ library workers:

1.  Establishing a task force: ALA has created a task force composed of experts and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategy for addressing and tracking retaliatory employment cases against LGBTQIA+ library workers.

2.  Developing a supportive communications plan: The task force will work to formulate a communications plan that highlights the resources and support available from ALA, specifically tailored to the needs of the LGBTQIA+ library worker community.

Libraries are essential spaces for all people to safely explore and access information about the world around them. It is crucial to create safe work environments for LGBTQIA+ library workers, where they can continue their invaluable work in facilitating learning, discovery, and understanding for library users."

Friday, June 2, 2023

Librarians sue Arkansas state over law banning them from giving ‘obscene’ books to children; The Guardian, May 31, 2023

 , The Guardian; Librarians sue Arkansas state over law banning them from giving ‘obscene’ books to children

"The American Library Association and the Authors Guild are among a group of organisations bringing a lawsuit against the state of Arkansas over a law which makes it a crime for librarians to give children books with “obscene” content.

The lawsuit involves 17 plaintiffs, including the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), the Association of American Publishers and the American Booksellers Association.

The groups are aiming to challenge Senate bill 81, which exposes librarians who provide “obscene materials” to children to criminal liability. The law, part of Act 372 of 2023, is due go to come into force on 1 August."

Friday, March 24, 2023

American Library Association reports record number of demands to censor library books and materials in 2022; ALA News, March 22, 2023

ALA News; American Library Association reports record number of demands to censor library books and materials in 2022

 "The American Library Association (ALA) today released new data documenting* 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 challenges reported in 2021.

A record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color.

Of the reported book challenges, 58% targeted books and materials in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula; 41% of book challenges targeted materials in public libraries.

The prevalent use of lists of books compiled by organized censorship groups contributed significantly to the skyrocketing number of challenges and the frequency with which each title was challenged. Of the overall number of books challenged, 90% were part of attempts to censor multiple titles. Of the books challenged, 40% were in cases involving 100 or more books

Prior to 2021, the vast majority of challenges to library resources only sought to remove or restrict access to a single book. 

“A book challenge is a demand to remove a book from a library’s collection so that no one else can read it. Overwhelmingly, we’re seeing these challenges come from organized censorship groups that target local library board meetings to demand removal of a long list of books they share on social media,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “Their aim is to suppress the voices of those traditionally excluded from our nation’s conversations, such as people in the LGBTQIA+ community or people of color. 

“Each attempt to ban a book by one of these groups represents a direct attack on every person’s constitutionally protected right to freely choose what books to read and what ideas to explore,” said Caldwell-Stone. "The choice of what to read must be left to the reader or, in the case of children, to parents. That choice does not belong to self-appointed book police.”    

ALA will unveil its highly anticipated list of the top 10 most challenged books in the U.S. on Monday, April 24 during National Library Week, along with its full State of America's Libraries Report. The theme of National Library Week 2023There's More to the Story, focuses on the essential services and programming that libraries offer through and beyond books."

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

ALA Announces $7 Million in Grants to Support Accessibility; American Libraries, March 3, 2022

 American Libraries; ALA Announces $7 Million in Grants to Support Accessibility

"On March 3, the American Library Association announced that its Libraries Transforming Communities initiative will be distributing $7 million in grants to support accessibility efforts at small and rural libraries. The statement reads as follows:

The American Library Association (ALA) announced today that its Libraries Transforming Communities project will offer more than $7 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities.

“[The] Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities [grant] represents an important next step in ALA’s commitment to serving small and rural libraries as well as emphasizing the essential connection between accessibility and our work in spreading the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI),” said ALA President Patricia “Patty” M. Wong. “Made possible by a generous grant, this project will also allow ALA to strengthen our staff by providing accessibility training and other professional development around EDI issues. We are also grateful for the opportunity to bring on ALA’s first accessibility officer to oversee our work on this important core value.”"

Saturday, January 1, 2022

‘A For-Profit Company Is Trying to Privatize as Many Public Libraries as They Can’; FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING (FAIR), December 17, 2021

, FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING (FAIR); ‘A For-Profit Company Is Trying to Privatize as Many Public Libraries as They Can’

CounterSpin interview with Caleb Nichols on defending public libraries

CN: And so it’s all about slashing pensions, slashing pay from salaries to hourly rates, kind of nickel-and-diming workers. And that does save money. But the other dimension to that is that these are library budgets and county budgets that are miniscule compared to the other things that money is being spent on. So it’s this sort of race to zero idea of, there’s already not really much money. So in the case of Riverside, and I go over this in the article, they kind of have this narrative, it’s their flagship case, it’s like, look at what the private sector can do for the public sector. Look at how much better we are at running this.

But really, if you look at the amount of money that Riverside was spending on their libraries, it just wasn’t enough money. It just wasn’t a good fraction of the budget. And also the savings that they claimed to have engineered come from places that are not necessarily linked to what this company has actually done. It’s all kind of a shell game, scam, illusion. It’s a grift.

And the same people that are running this company are the same usual suspects as have done other grifting, notably the Scantron Corporation, which has arguably changed the way that we do public education in the United States—for the worse, if you ask most people. The CEO of Library Systems & Services came from the Scantron Corporation. So these are people with experience in this type of, we are going to take our private interests into the public and capitalize off of taxpayer dollars without being accountable...

"CN: But the thing that people need to know, first and foremost, is that there is a private, for-profit company that is trying to privatize as many public libraries as they possibly can. And why is that? That right there for me is enough to go whoa, whoa, whoa, something’s really wrong.

And so on that same note, I don’t understand why American Library Association, for example, is not coming out much more forcefully against this happening, and is not being much more pivotal in forwarding this discussion. There are non-profit groups, like Every Library that has been working on individual cases where libraries are trying to be privatized by this company. But why isn’t the professional organization that governs all of librarianship, literally accredits the schools that give us our master’s degrees, why aren’t they protecting this most precious public good? So that’s a big question that I have. But also, like, where’s the rest of the media?

Why aren’t we talking about this? ‘Cause it’s happening. According to LS&S, they have 80 public library systems they are operating, making them the third-biggest public library operator in the country. I guess that’s probably behind New York Public Library, and maybe LA? I’m not really sure what exactly their metric is. But they’re bragging about that on their website. So I’m just like, no no no no no no; that can’t be how this is.

Because Americans love public libraries. And they love the public part of public libraries. It is one of these things that’s like, we all love the post office and we all love libraries. We can kind of agree on that. And as you mentioned before, the post office is another example of where this kind of attack is happening."

Saturday, July 11, 2020

“Keep on Pushing” Celebrating the life and career of E. J. Josey; American Libraries, June 27, 2020

Phil Morehart , American Libraries“Keep on Pushing”


Celebrating the life and career of E. J. Josey


[Kip Currier: Uplifting article about the late E.J. Josey, Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences and indefatigable champion for full inclusion of Black Americans during the tumultuous 1960's Civil Rights era and beyond. Dr. Josey was a consummate challenger of barriers to equality. His life and this article inform one of several capstone essays that graduate students in my inaugural LIS 2040: The Information Professional in Communities course are writing this month:

Reflection Essay 1: Breaking Down Barriers to Access by Communities
1. Barriers to information and resources are prevalent and persistent for many kinds of analog and digital communities. Read this 6/27/20 American Libraries article, “Keep On Pushing”: Celebrating the life and career of E.J. Josey. (see https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/keep-on-pushing/). The late E.J. Josey was a professor at Pitt’s School of Library and Information Sciences and was a “transformative force and leader” whose entire life was about breaking down barriers:
At the 1964 ALA Annual Conference in St. Louis, Josey “did something extraordinary” by putting forth a resolution to prevent the Association from working with Southern state library chapters that refused membership to Black librarians. “All hell broke loose,” said [Prof. Renate] Chancellor, quoting Josey, but the resolution passed.” https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/keep-on-pushing/

In a 750 – 1,000 word essay, identify and discuss at least one barrier that information professionals face in promoting access to information and resources for at least one specific community. Talk about at least one tangible strategy that you, as an information professional, can use to help to break down barriers and promote more access to information and resources for the community you identify. Cite at least one scholarly source in your essay.
Kip Currier (c) 2020]



[Excerpt]

"The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) honored the legacy of a trailblazing librarian—and celebrated its own 50th anniversary—at a live-streamed event at ALA Virtual June 26.

“E. J. Josey’s 1964 Charge: ‘Keep on Pushing’” charted the life of E. J. Josey (1924–2009), librarian, educator, author, activist, founding member of BCALA, and 1984–1985 American Library Association (ALA) president...

The session was moderated by Anthony Dunbar, librarian, sociology professor, and equity-diversity-inclusion consultant at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. He began by asking speaker Renate Chancellor—associate professor in the Department of Library and Information Science at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and author of E. J. Josey: Transformational Leader of the Modern Library Profession (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020)—to briefly encapsulate Josey before they moved into the breadth of his work.
“He was a transformative force and leader,” Chancellor said. “A lot of younger librarians may not be aware of his contributions to the profession.”...
1964 was a pivotal year for Josey, Black librarians, and civil rights, Chancellor said. At the 1964 ALA Annual Conference in St. Louis, Josey “did something extraordinary” by putting forth a resolution to prevent the Association from working with Southern state library chapters that refused membership to Black librarians. “All hell broke loose,” said Chancellor, quoting Josey, but the resolution passed.
“Josey was so passionate about equal rights and equality,” Chancellor said, describing how those issues drove much of his life’s work, from working with the student chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People while employed at Savannah (Ga.) State College; cofounding BCALA in 1970; and eventually becoming ALA president in 1983. One of Josey’s strengths, Chancellor said, was his ability to see the bigger picture."

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

8 of last year's 10 most challenged books had one thing in common: LGBTQ content; CNN, April 21, 2020

Alaa Elassar, CNN; 8 of last year's 10 most challenged books had one thing in common: LGBTQ content

"It's clear that the days of censoring books are far from over. And while sex, magic and curse words are all reasons books are still being banned, it's LGBTQ stories that now top the list of challenged books. 

In 2019, at least 377 challenges were filed seeking to remove 566 books from libraries, schools and universities, according to a recent news release from the American Library Association (ALA). Out of the top 10 most challenged books of the year, eight of them contained LGBTQ content and characters.

This is the fourth year in a row that books containing lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters and story lines have been targeted by mainly patrons, parents, school boards, and political and religious groups."

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

State of America’s Libraries 2018; American Libraries, April 9, 2018

American Libraries; State of America’s Libraries 2018

"On April 9, the American Library Association (ALA) released The State of America’s Libraries report for 2018, an annual summary of library trends released during National Library Week, April 8–14, that outlines statistics and issues affecting all types of libraries. The report affirms the invaluable role libraries and library workers play within their communities by leading efforts to transform lives through education and lifelong learning...


Through an analysis of the number of books challenged, the OIF produced the “Top Ten Most Challenged Books” of 2017, which includes:
  1. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
    Reason: Suicide
  2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
    Reasons: Profanity, Sexually Explicit
  3. Drama, written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
    Reason: LGBT Content
  4. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
    Reasons: Sexual Violence, Religious Themes, “May Lead to Terrorism”
  5. George, by Alex Gino
    Reason: LGBT Content
  6. Sex is a Funny Word, written by Cory Silverberg and illustrated by Fiona Smyth
    Reason: Sex Education
  7. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
    Reasons: Violence, Racial Slurs.
  8. The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
    Reasons: Drug Use, Profanity, Pervasively Vulgar
  9. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, illustrated by Henry Cole
    Reason: LGBT Content
  10. I Am Jazz, written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
    Reason: Gender Identity
Additional information regarding why books were challenged, a Top Ten List video announcement, and infographics regarding the 2017 Top Ten List of Most Challenged Books are available on the OIF’s Banned and Challenged Books page."

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Ban Before Reading; New York Times, 11/6/15

David K. Shipler, New York Times; Ban Before Reading:
"The American Library Association gets 300 to 500 reports of book challenges annually and estimates the actual volume at five times that number. If you picture citizens in towns across America parsing every line, however, you’ll be disappointed to learn that many passionate parents are not passionate about reading the books in question.
So it is with would-be censors everywhere. At Theater J, a Jewish theater in Washington, D.C., several conservative activists campaigned last year against an Israeli play they never went to see. And who thinks the Ayatollah Khomeini read past the title of “The Satanic Verses” before issuing his fatwa against Salman Rushdie?"

Thursday, October 1, 2015

The 10 most frequently banned books since 2001; Entertainment Weekly, 9/29/15

Christian Holub, Entertainment Weekly; The 10 most frequently banned books since 2001:
"'And Tango Makes Three,' Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Years on Most Challenged list: 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
Reasons cited: “Homosexuality, anti-family, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group”
Based on the true story of Rory and Silo, two male penguins in New York’s Central Park Zoo who formed a couple and raised a baby together, And Tango Makes Three has been controversial ever since its 2005 publication. The depiction of a natural, healthy homosexual relationship among animals has raised the ire of conservative parents and advocates, some of whom believe the book promotes “the homosexual agenda.”"