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."

Olympian Johnny Weir funds Quarryville library after Fulton Twp. cuts gift over LGBTQ+ content; Lancaster Online, November 6, 2023

JACK PANYARD , Lancaster Online; Olympian Johnny Weir funds Quarryville library after Fulton Twp. cuts gift over LGBTQ+ content

"When figure skating icon and Quarryville native Johnny Weir heard Fulton Township supervisors were defunding the borough’s library because it offers materials about LGBTQ+ life and culture, he decided to step in.

Weir, an avid supporter of both his hometown and LGBTQ+ causes, announced over social media Saturday that he would cover the township’s annual $1,000 allocation to the library for as long as he could, saying via Instagram that he wanted to “help save a community that raised me and to make sure the library represents everyone, not just the few.”

Weir’s generosity has become contagious."

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

  

Williesha Morris, 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."

Editorial: Support and expand Social Work in Libraries Program; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 28, 2023

  THE EDITORIAL BOARD, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Editorial: Support and expand Social Work in Libraries Program

"The Social Work in Libraries Program, a collaboration among the Allegheny County Library Association, the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, began bringing professionals into libraries this September. The Downtown, East Liberty, Allegheny, Oakland and Hill District CLP branches now each have their own in-house social worker.

These experts can handle more intense interventions. They can take the time to guide people to a food bank or to help them find addiction treatment. They can pull someone into another room to place a phone call to a shelter or help research where they might get an ID. 

Pittsburgh isn’t the only city with this idea, either. Baltimore, Salt Lake City, St. Louis and Seattle have all brought social workers into libraries in the past year.

The local program is still getting established: The social workers are short-term interns, generally students earning a degree in social work. And the other 17 CLP branches are on their own. We hope the county government and local foundations will consider funding to expand the program further.

It’s a creative way to ease the stress on librarians and to bring more services to the people who need them. And it brings help to one of the few public spaces where people are still encouraged to ask for it."

ALL THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES OFFERING FREE ACCESS TO BANNED BOOKS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE; Book Riot, October 23, 2023

Kelly Jensen , Book Riot; ALL THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES OFFERING FREE ACCESS TO BANNED BOOKS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE

"This list is as comprehensive a roundup as possible of all the U.S. public libraries offering access to banned books. It includes the name of the library, the people who are being granted access to the collections, materials within the collections, as well as any other pertinent or relevant information. 

The list will be updated as more libraries engage in this kind of access activism. Note that many of these programs operate under the banner of “Books Unbanned.” Though they will be quite similar because laws regarding libraries differ state by state and because every library collection differs from another, the breadth of access and catalogs differs in each variation of the program. Folks who qualify may apply for cards at each of the Books Unbound programs—you’re not limited to just one."

Huntington Beach City Council to consider review board to stop some books from hitting public library shelves; Los Angeles Times, October 13, 2023

 MATT SZABO, Los Angeles Times; Huntington Beach City Council to consider review board to stop some books from hitting public library shelves

"Van Der Mark has said multiple times that what she is seeking does not amount to a book ban, but Chavez disagreed.

“They’re basically getting a committee to do the book banning for them, right?” she said. “It’s still a book ban. A library of our size orders about 9,000 children’s books a year, so I don’t know where they think the committee’s going to find the time to read these books. It doesn’t seem like a workable plan at all.”"

Greenville County Library System committee votes 5-1 to eliminate all displays. What to know.; Greenville News, October 13, 2023

Savannah Moss, Greenville News; Greenville County Library System committee votes 5-1 to eliminate all displays. What to know.

"“I asked our library staff to research if there was another library system that had eliminated themed displays. They did not find any. In other words, we appear to be the first to eliminate theme displays,” Pinkston said. “Are we blazing a trail that others will soon follow? Or are we overreacting to a containable problem?”"

State commission moves to strike standard for library directors; Montana Free Press, October 11, 2023

 Alex Sakariassen, Montana Free Press; State commission moves to strike standard for library directors

"The Montana State Library Commission voted Wednesday to strike a longstanding professional requirement applied to the directors of Montana’s eight largest libraries, one that dictates whether those libraries qualify for state funding.

Currently, public libraries that serve more than 25,000 people must employ a director with a graduate degree in library or information science in order to qualify for state certification and, by extension, state revenue. A task force earlier this year recommended that the library commission maintain that requirement. However, several commissioners Wednesday argued that professional standards should be left to local library trustees to set...

Gregory added that Montanans expect their accountants, physicians and attorneys to meet certain educational benchmarks and that removing a similar standard for library directors sends the message that “librarianship is not a profession that needs a professional course of study or license.”"

Alabama public library system mistakenly flags children’s book as ‘sexually explicit’ because author’s last name is Gay; CNN, October 11, 2023

 Fabiana Chaparro, CNN; Alabama public library system mistakenly flags children’s book as ‘sexually explicit’ because author’s last name is Gay

"An Alabama public library system says it mistakenly added a children’s picture book to a list of books containing explicit material because the author’s last name is Gay. 

The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library system accidentally labeled the book, “Read Me a Story, Stella,” by Marie-Louise Gay, as “potentially inappropriate” during an internal review of sexually explicit books in the children’s and young adult sections of the county’s ten libraries. 

The library system admitted to the mistake this week after receiving backlash from internal library system staff and the local community. 

Cindy Hewitt, the library’s executive director, told CNN the picture book was labeled as containing potentially explicit material after an automated keyword search turned up the word “gay” in the book’s title, author name or subject line. 

But, she said, the purpose of the review was never to ban or censor books that dealt with topics related to LGBTQ+ issues, gender identity, race or racism. 

Instead, in response to widespread efforts to ban books across the country, Hewitt said the library system wanted to survey its catalog and take steps to preempt any state efforts to ban books. 

“We decided, as a whole, to look at all our collection and see what was likely to be challenged, with the purpose of protecting our collection and making sure it stayed intact,” Hewitt said. “(The) opposite of banning, we were trying to protect.” 

Library managers conducted the review using a list of books provided by Clean Up Alabama, a group that claims Alabama libraries offer books “intended to confuse the children of our communities about sexuality and expose them to material that is inappropriate for them.”

The organization says it works to protect “the well-being and innocence of children by advocating for a safe and enriching environment in the children’s sections of our public libraries,” according to its website."

A Brief History of Banned Books in America; Smithsonian Magazine, October 5, 2023

Chris Klimek , Smithsonian Magazine; A Brief History of Banned Books in America

"Klimek: And one of the professions most affected by all of this are librarians. How is this affecting librarians across the country?

Hayden: Well, librarians, we have mugs and T-shirts that say, “Librarians, the original search engines.” So we’ve been involved with information and the internet since it’s really been widely available, because that was another way for us to provide information to people, health information, all types of things. And so librarians have been at the forefront of looking at: What are some of the safeguards? How can we be better prepared to be those guides on the side when they’re surfing? People still use public libraries, for instance, as one of their major sources of health information.

Klimek: Yeah, that’s something that I hadn’t thought of, this idea that yes, now anyone with internet access has access to all of this information of widely varying quality. But the librarians can still help us sort the legitimate stuff from the cynical and fabricated stuff. That media literacy seems critical.

Hayden: “Information literacy” is the term that we use, and it’s really that same thing, but also in this new world. And that’s going to be even more of an aspect when you think about artificial intelligence."

Children and parents begin uphill fightback against book bans in Florida; CNN, October 6, 2023

 Elle Reeve and Samantha Guff, CNN; Children and parents begin uphill fightback against book bans in Florida

"Now that books are being banned and disappearing from school libraries, students and parents are showing up to school board meetings in Florida to argue for access to books that take on difficult subjects. But they are losing out to a new state law that makes it easier for opponents to get books off shelves."

'Banned Wagon' rolls into Houston-area libraries for banned book week; ABC13, October 4, 2023

 Briana Conner, ABC13; 'Banned Wagon' rolls into Houston-area libraries for banned book week

"Harris County Public Libraries started the month of October by announcing a book sanctuary for banned books.

A book sanctuary combats censorship and protects the right to read. The library system says more than 600 of the banned titles are in circulation at their libraries.

According to the American Library Association, libraries in Texas have banned more books than any other state."

Former Weld County librarian wins settlement after district fired her for promoting LGBTQ, anti-racism programs; Colorado Public Radio (CPR), September 22, 2023

  Matt Bloom, Colorado Public Radio (CPR); Former Weld County librarian wins settlement after district fired her for promoting LGBTQ, anti-racism programs

"A former librarian will receive $250,000 from the High Plains Library District as part of a settlement in a lengthy civil rights dispute over her firing. 

Brooky Parks lost her job at Erie Community Library in 2021 after promoting anti-racism and LGBTQ history workshops for teens. The programming drew backlash from the district’s board of trustees, which oversees more than a dozen public libraries across Northern Colorado.

Members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission signed off on the financial agreement on Friday, making it official. It also drops discrimination charges against the district and includes requirements that district leaders update their programming policies to be more inclusive. 

“I feel validated and really vindicated,” Parks said. “I think this sends a message to all libraries that there’s consequences for retaliation against people and that libraries are meant to serve all members of the community.”"

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

 Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Alter, 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.”"

Warren County tries to control local library in LGBTQ+ book debate; The Washington Post, September 15, 2023

 Gregory S. Schneider, The Washington Post; Warren County tries to control local library in LGBTQ+ book debate

"Warren County supervisors, under pressure from a group of conservative activists who want to remove LGBTQ+ materials from children’s sections of the library, withheld three-quarters of Samuels’s operating funds from the budget that went into effect July 1. Library leaders tightened parental controls, but the activists’ attacks broadened, until the county proposed a fundamental change in the way the library operates.

If the library cedes greater control to the county over which books stay and go, the budget woes would go away. But the Samuels board of trustees voted 11-1 Thursday to stand their ground, defending their book selection policies as protecting the interests of vulnerable minority groups in the community and fairly representing everyone.

“We don’t want to get sued and we don’t want to discriminate,” Melody Hotek, president of the board of trustees, said earlier in an interview with The Washington Post. “So we’re holding the line.”

The standoff in Front Royal is the first example in Virginia of attacks on books threatening the operation of a public library. Most fights over literature have taken place in school libraries, part of a national movement by conservative activists seeking to ban or restrict access to books they find objectionable. A few other Virginia counties have wrestled with objections to LGBTQ+ or sexually explicit content in public libraries, but none has yet resulted in a battle for funding."

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 App, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google 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."

Inside Clean Up Alabama’s plan to jail librarians for giving LGBTQ+ books to kids; Alabama Political Reporter, September 7, 2023

 JACOB HOLMES, Alabama Political Reporter; Inside Clean Up Alabama’s plan to jail librarians for giving LGBTQ+ books to kids

"At Tuesday’s council meeting, Prattville residents affiliated with Clean Up Alabama, which began as Clean Up Prattville, pleaded with the council that their solutions were a “common sense” approach to inappropriate materials for minors.

But the local goals are just one part of a three-prong plan that Clean Up Alabama has to push the issue across the state, according to meeting minutes included in an email to subscribers.

The minutes detailed the group’s local goals, as well as its goals with the Alabama Public Library Service, primarily to dissociate from the American Library Association. Gov. Kay Ivey has sent a letter to APLS Director Dr. Nancy Pack expressing concerns that closely follow Clean-Up Alabama’s push over LGBTQ materials in library spaces intended for minors.

But the meeting also included three state legislative goals, which go much further than simply severing any ties with the ALA or asking librarians to move books to an adult section."

Saline County Quorum Court vote to pass ordinance, allows county judge to oversee county library board; KATV ABC7, August 22, 2023

 KATV ABC7 ; Saline County Quorum Court vote to pass ordinance, allows county judge to oversee county library board

"The Saline County Quorum Court voted to pass an ordinance in an 11 to 2 vote on Monday that gave county judge Matt Brumley authority over the county library board.

Before that court made its final vote after a third reading, the public provided their final comments in hopes of steering the decision one way or the other...

According to the ordinance, prior to the adoption of any rules, policies, procedures, or regulations under article seven, the board shall submit the proposals to the Saline County judge for viewing.

It also states that the board shall have the final authority to adopt or amend any rules, policies, procedures, or regulations subject to all applicable state and local laws."

The Small-Town Library That Became a Culture War Battleground; The Nation, August 7, 2023

SASHA ABRAMSKY, The Nation; The Small-Town Library That Became a Culture War Battleground

"Over the past couple of years, movements that seek to ban books with LGBTQ+ or racial justice themes have picked up steam in GOP-controlled states around the country. Pro-censorship groups have sprung up at both the local and national levels, pioneered by a Florida outfit with the Orwellian appellation Moms for Liberty. The organization is endorsed by Steve Bannon, the Heritage Foundation, and other avatars of the hard right and has more than 200 local chapters. Egged on by such groups, legislatures in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Idaho, Indiana, and other states have either passed or are considering policies restricting what sorts of books can be on school library shelves or lent to children from public libraries. The tiny town of Dayton is one of the latest flash points of this effort to limit what young readers can access."