Facing Cuts Likely to Worsen Under Trump, Academic Librarians Urgently Organize; Truthout, November 17, 2024

 Emily Drabinski, Truthout; Facing Cuts Likely to Worsen Under Trump, Academic Librarians Urgently Organize

"The Project 2025 blueprint for the next Trump administration sets its sights on two crucial public institutions: libraries and higher education. Librarians show up on page 5 — targeted for their support for LGBTQIA+ reading — while dismantling the Department of Education, eliminating student loan programs, and restricting what can be taught about gender, race and class feature throughout the document. But even as academic librarians live in dread of what will happen to their libraries after January 20, many of them are also already facing termination now...

In March, the Department of Education (DOE) announced plans to eliminate data collection about academic libraries from its Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. In contemporary higher education, resources are allocated to those who can make a data-driven case for them — that’s part of what it means to run a school like a business. Removing libraries from the survey means that they can’t be counted at all. In a joint comment, several major library associations argued that such a decision would make it impossible to benchmark resources and services at the 3,700 academic libraries in the U.S. that data librarians use to argue for increased staffing and materials budgets. Such erasure will also make it impossible “to understand the cost of information over time, as well as the correlation between research expenditures and the cost of information.” The DOE still plans to eliminate academic library data beginning in 2025-26, undercutting the capacity of librarians to articulate their value in the data-driven language required by the contemporary university."

A Librarian From Louisiana Fights Book Bans and ‘the Haters’; The New York Times, November 4, 2024

 James Barron , The New York Times; A Librarian From Louisiana Fights Book Bans and ‘the Haters’

"Amanda Jones of Watson, La., is sure to get a shout-out at the New York Public Library’s $5,000-a-person gala tonight. The library, which invited her to attend, is giving her a free ticket.

Amid a surge in book bans nationwide, Jones moved into the spotlight in 2022 with a brief speech during a meeting at her hometown public library — not the library she oversees at a local middle school. She said books with L.G.B.T.Q. themes should not be taken off the shelves. Almost immediately, she began receiving expletive-laden messages accusing her of being a pedophile.

Jones stood her ground, writing a memoir, “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America.” She also started a group called Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship to lobby against restrictions on libraries.

“The backlash she faced is a testament to the urgent need to protect intellectual freedom,” said Anthony Marx, the president of the New York Public Library."

Penn State librarians support freedom to read, unite against book bans; Penn State, October 17, 2024

Penn State; Penn State librarians support freedom to read, unite against book bans

"Saturday, Oct. 19, is the Freedom to Read Community Day of Action, a national event designated by the American Library Association (ALA) and United Against Book Bans to celebrate America’s libraries, safeguard the freedom to read and encourage civic participation.

According to Russell Hall, reference and instruction librarian at Penn State University Libraries’ John M. Lilley Library and Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, his is one voice among many with strong feelings about book banning and censorship.

“Our core values as librarians are found in the Library Bill of Rights, which holds that libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment,” said Hall, a past chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee for the Pennsylvania Library Association, which serves to advocate for freedom of selection of materials for all libraries and oppose any infringement of intellectual freedom upon libraries. “We believe people are free to choose what they want to read, and to determine what their own children can and should read, but do not have the right to impose their will upon others who are free to make that choice for themselves.”

There’s nothing new about book bans. For centuries, published works ranging from religious texts to classic literature to contemporary novels deemed too controversial for young readers have been targeted for removal from library shelves across the United States...

Joel Burkholder, reference and instruction librarian at Lee R. Glatfelter Library at Penn State York, agreed. “Ban advocates try to frame their efforts as objective policy rather than an ideological agenda,” he said. “It’s the same basic tactic as citing peer-reviewed research to support the predetermined conclusion that pornography is a public health crisis or that being trans is a choice.”

For more information on the Freedom to Read Community Day of Action and events planned across the country, visit the United Against Book Bans website."

Louisiana librarian, anti-book banning author to speak on censorship at Iowa City Book Festival; The Gazette, October 11, 2024

 Elijah Decious, The Gazette; Louisiana librarian, anti-book banning author to speak on censorship at Iowa City Book Festival

"The librarian, who has for decades worked in the same school she attended as a child, filed three police reports — each of which went nowhere.

So the 2020 Louisiana School Librarian of the Year and 2021 School Library Journal Co-Librarian of the Year decided to do something more — sue her harassers for defamation. Requesting damages of just $1, she wanted to set an example for the students who look to her to combat bullies, and for the librarians across the country facing similar challenges.

“I was raised to speak out, love thy neighbor,” she said. “I’m just doing what I was raised to do.”

“That Librarian,” her new book released in August, is part memoir and part manifesto on the front lines of America’s latest culture war. As she maps the book banning crises occurring across the country, she calls on book lovers to fight for intellectual freedom — a right fundamental to everyone’s freedom of speech.

As she studies book bans and court cases, she notices a few trends. Since book bans started in states like Texas, Florida and Louisiana, she said book censorship has spread to all 50 states in some way or another.

But now, in some of the states that were first to initiate the discussion, the pendulum is swinging back as others realize the mistruths they were fed — like the idea that librarians were putting pornography on children’s book shelves."

American Library Association president Cindy Hohl on why book bans are hard to stop; NPR, WAMU, October 11, 2024

 NPR, WAMU; American Library Association president Cindy Hohl on why book bans are hard to stop

"Cindy Hohl, the current president of the American Library Association, says the political temperature surrounding book bans has remained at a boiling point. Over the last year of her tenure, Hohl has witnessed librarians exit the profession due to increased stress, ridicule and public pressure to remove certain titles from their libraries–particularly those related to race and LGBTQ+ identity. Although these battles are particularly pronounced in hot spots like Florida and Texas, they're being fought in communities all over the country. In today's episode, NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with Hohl about what librarians can and can't do to push back against this cycle of censorship and what it's like to lead through times of crisis."

How Book Bans Happen Under the Radar; The New York Times, October 8, 2024

Elizabeth Harris, Farah Otero-Amad, Karen Hanley, Claire Hogan, Laura Salaberry and Gabriel Blanco , The New York Times; How Book Bans Happen Under the Radar

"Thousands of books have been publicly challenged and removed from libraries in the past couple of years. Elizabeth Harris, who covers books and the publishing industry for The New York Times, explains how books are being pulled from libraries in a quiet process called weeding. Weeding normally allows librarians to keep collections current, but some lawsuits argue that it has been used instead to remove books for content about racism, sexuality and gender."

Looking for a Superhero? Check the Public Library.; The New York Times, September 23, 2024

Margaret Renkl, The New York Times; Looking for a Superhero? Check the Public Library.

"One of the most absorbing books I’ve read this year is “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America” by Amanda Jones, a school librarian’s account of being targeted by right-wing extremists in Louisiana for speaking in defense of diverse books...

There are actual groomers among us, a crime Ms. Jones takes care to decry, but the only “crime” she committed was speaking in defense of intellectual freedom at a public meeting. For that she was bombarded with unrelenting condemnation and death threats...

“All members of our community deserve to be seen, have access to information, and see themselves in our public library,” she said when it was her turn to speak at the meeting. “Just because you enter a library, it does not mean that you will not see something you don’t like. Libraries have diverse collections with resources from many points of view, and a library’s mission is to provide access to information for all users.”"

Censorship Throughout the Centuries; American Libraries, September 3, 2024

 Cara S. Bertram, American Libraries; Censorship Throughout the Centuries

"American Libraries travels through time to outline our country’s history of censorship—and the library workers, authors, and advocates who have defended the right to read."

From School Librarian to Activist: ‘The Hate Level and the Vitriol Is Unreal’; The New York Times, September 3, 2024

 Alexandra Alter, The New York Times; From School Librarian to Activist: ‘The Hate Level and the Vitriol Is Unreal'

"She was alarmed when Lunsford, in a recent YouTube video, put her home address on the screen when he pulled up the business filings for Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship to show that she was listed as one of the organization’s directors.

“It’s Banana Jones, the girl who sued us because she couldn’t take the heat,” he says, while displaying her address. Asked about the video in an interview, Lunsford said he had “no idea” that it was her home address and was simply sharing a public business record.

Still, there have also been hopeful moments for Jones. Former students have reached out with messages of support. Authors whose books have been banned have praised her memoir, including Nikki Grimes, Jodi Picoult and Ellen Oh.

And Jones has been hearing from other librarians from around the country. Some are grateful that she has taken a stand. Others share distressing stories about harassment that they’ve faced for opposing book bans."

Channeling Courage; American Libraries, June 30, 2024

Diana Panuncial , American Libraries ; Channeling Courage

"While discussing his book, Small Acts of Courage: A Legacy of Endurance and the Fight for Democracy (St. Martin’s Press, 2024), he highlighted key moments in his vast family history, shared his thoughts on book banning, and emphasized the importance of fostering immigrants in society...

Velshi noted that he chose the title of his book to “emphasize that we can save democracy in small ways, with each of us doing it, but they require a little courage.”

“I only exist because other people before me took up small acts of courage that said, ‘My responsibility is not to do my job and earn a paycheck. It is to leave the place better than I found it.’ And that should always be your responsibility,” Velshi continued. He added that librarians likely initially didn’t choose to become librarians to fight book banning, but became dedicated to advocating for intellectual freedom as a necessity: “The courage is in deciding to do that.”

Imploring librarians to remain strong in their fight against censorship, Velshi said: “Think of the individuals who become smarter, who follow an area of study, who stay alive because of books and libraries.”"

The US librarian who sued book ban harassers: ‘I decided to fight back’; The Guardian, June 2, 2024

Olivia Empson , The Guardian; The US librarian who sued book ban harassers: ‘I decided to fight back’

"While Jones was able to turn her situation around and make a success of her experience with the upcoming book, the journey wasn’t easy. Hate still lingers in the community she grew up in and lives in, and she’s lost friends and acquaintances over the rumors that were spread about her.

“One of the chapters is a play on Michelle Obama’s quote: when they go low, you go high,” Jones concluded.

“When I wrote my story, I tried to go high. I hope that no one harasses the men who harassed me. I just wanted to be honest, truthful, diplomatic.”

That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America will be published on 27 August."

Florida settles lawsuit after challenge to ‘don’t say gay’ law; Associated Press via The Guardian, March 11, 2024

Associated Press via The Guardian ; Florida settles lawsuit after challenge to ‘don’t say gay’ law

"Under the terms of the settlement, the Florida board of education will send instructions to every school district saying the Florida law does not prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ people, nor prevent anti-bullying rules on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or disallow Gay-Straight Alliance groups. The settlement also spells out that the law is neutral – meaning what applies to LGBTQ+ people also applies to heterosexual people – and that it doesn’t apply to library books not being used for instruction in the classroom.

The law also doesn’t apply to books with incidental references to LGBTQ+ characters or same-sex couples, “as they are not instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity any more than a math problem asking students to add bushels of apples is instruction on apple farming”, according to the settlement.

“What this settlement does, is, it re-establishes the fundamental principal, that I hope all Americans agree with, which is every kid in this country is entitled to an education at a public school where they feel safe, their dignity is respected and where their families and parents are welcomed,” Roberta Kaplan, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said in an interview."

The librarian who couldn’t take it anymore; The Washington Post, November 11, 2023

Ruby Cramer, The Washington Post; The librarian who couldn’t take it anymore

"When she had decided to become a librarian almost 10 years ago, it was for a simple reason: She loved to read. Now she watched as the work she did at a high school in Central Florida became part of a national debate. There were fights going on over democracy and fascism. There were parents and school board members arguing on social media and in meetings. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wasn’t just passing laws but using them to run for president. To Tania, the pure act of reading was becoming more and more political, and as a result, she had to spend much of her time reviewing the books on her shelves — not to suggest one to a student but to ask herself whether the content was too mature for the teenagers at her school. Then she had moved on to the books in each teacher’s classroom, because as of this year, the state considered those books to be part of the library, too.

All of this took time. The librarian’s job was expanding even as she felt it was shrinking to a series of rote tasks: She would copy a book’s ISBN number into a peer-review database. She would decide whether to mark it with the thumb-size red sticker, provided to her by the district, that read “M” for “mature.” If a book wasn’t listed in a database, she would review it by hand, and then she would start again with the next book. In those hours, the job became a series of keystrokes, and she began to feel more like a censor than a librarian...

Somewhere else in the school, interviews were going on for her replacement. Three candidates were coming in. The principal had asked Tania to send him interview questions. She emailed her district supervisor for ideas and received a document in her inbox, the list of questions they kept on file.

“What do you see as the role of the librarian in the school setting?”

“What kind of library attracts students, staff and parents?"

Nothing about the laws, nothing about reviewing books, nothing about book bans at all. Tania scrolled through the questions and added one more. “What is your stance on Censorship?” she wrote, though she had no way of knowing whether it would be asked, or how the next librarian might answer."

Beaufort, South Carolina, schools return most books to shelves after attempt to ban 97; CBS News, March 3, 2024

Scott Pelley, CBS; Beaufort, South Carolina, schools return most books to shelves after attempt to ban 97

"Ruth-Naomi James: I'm a combat veteran, right? There's no way I went to Iraq thinking that when I moved back home, I would have to do this to make sure that the freedom that we fight for in this country is taken out of the hands of students and parents.

The final votes came this past December. Five books were judged too graphic in sex or violence. But 92 returned to the schools. Dick Geier says this lesson reaches beyond the classroom.

Dick Geier: Diversity brings tolerance. The more you understand what other people think and realize that what they say is important, but who they are, what their story, what their background is. The more you know that, the more you see the power of diversity. And then, be kind, and be understanding. And don't make judgments because you haven't lived their story. They have.

In the city that's lived a story of letters and learning, one book that was banned and restored was "The Fixer," a novel of antisemitism that won the Pulitzer prize. In its pages, the book's hero expresses this opinion, "There are no wrong books." "What's wrong is the fear of them."

University Librarians See Urgent Need for AI Ethics; Inside Higher Ed, January 17, 2024

  Lauren Coffey, Inside Higher Ed; University Librarians See Urgent Need for AI Ethics

"Nearly three-quarters of university librarians say there’s an urgent need to address artificial intelligence’s ethical and privacy concerns, a survey finds.

Roughly half the librarians surveyed said they had a “moderate” understanding of AI concepts and principles, according to the study released Friday. About one in five said they had a slightly below moderate understanding, and roughly the same amount had a slightly above moderate understanding. Only 3 percent of respondents said they had a “very high” understanding.

The study, conducted in May 2023 by Leo Lo, president-elect of the Association of College and Research Libraries, had 605 respondents who completed the survey. Of those, 45 percent worked in research institutions and 30 percent in institutions with undergraduate and graduate programming."

Cast as Criminals, America’s Librarians Rally to Their Own Defense; The New York Times, February 3, 2024

 Elizabeth Williamson, The New York Times; Cast as Criminals, America’s Librarians Rally to Their Own Defense

"As America’s libraries have become noisy and sometimes dangerous new battlegrounds in the nation’s culture wars, librarians like Ms. Neujahr and their allies have moved from the stacks to the front lines. People who normally preside over hushed sanctuaries are now battling groups that demand the mass removal of books and seek to control library governance. Last year, more than 150 bills in 35 states aimed to restrict access to library materials, and to punish library workers who do not comply."

Des Moines library's first social worker is helping make it a center of community resources; Des Moines Register, December

F. Amanda Tugade, Des Moines Register; Des Moines library's first social worker is helping make it a center of community resources

De resources

"Allee is one of the dozens of patrons who have found refuge in Lippert at the library, which sits just blocks away from Central Iowa Shelter and Services, the city's largest emergency shelter. Lippert joined the staff in late August, part of an effort to expand the library's role as a center of community resources, helping connect people to agencies across the city and metro area...

Sue Woody, the library's director, said she and other librarians have seen the needs of their patrons go beyond book titles and literacy issues. Visitors want referrals for housing, mental health and substance abuse programs — services that exceed her librarians' expertise.

"We are not social workers," Woody said. "We don't have doctorates and master's in social work and social sciences."...

Even Lippert said she didn't know libraries had social workers until she came across Central Library's job post. But the more she thought about it, the more the post reminded her of social work's true mission."

In Missouri, years of efforts to ban books take a toll on school librarians: 'It's too painful'; St. Louis Public Radio , NPR, December 26, 2023

St. Louis Public Radio , NPR; In Missouri, years of efforts to ban books take a toll on school librarians: 'It's too painful'

"Maestas decided to speak out at a recent school board meeting for the first time against the proposed revisions. She is especially worried about the removal of diversity requirements.

“We have to have diversity in our libraries,” Maestas said. “We have to. All people have the right to be recognized or appreciated, to see themselves in the collection. And students have the right and the privilege of being able to step into the shoes of someone unlike themselves, to experience their life through 300 pages.”

The school board has indefinitely tabled the policy change.

Looking back at the past two years, Maestas doesn’t know what is behind the focus on libraries, but she thinks it is part of a broader attack on truth, public education and even democracy.

“Libraries are at the heart of our democracy,” Maestas said. “People have those First Amendment rights to learn what they want to learn, to hear what they want to hear, to say what they want to say. When you can attack those First Amendment rights and you can remove the sources of valid information and valid education from everyone, then you have the power.”"

Someone complained about a book in a Great Barrington classroom. Then the police showed up; The Berkshire Eagle, December 15, 2023

Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle; Someone complained about a book in a Great Barrington classroom. Then the police showed up

"What baffles and disturbs educators, parents and librarians is that a police officer was allowed into a school to investigate a book. It is also that the teacher was not alerted beforehand.

One librarian said it harkens to something dark.

“It brings you back to 1930s Germany, when law enforcement was behind censorship,” said Wendy Pearson, director of the Stockbridge Library, which has Kobabe’s novel on its shelves.

The teacher whose classroom was searched pointed also to the absurdity of it.

“I will never condone book-banning,” she wrote in another social media post about the incident. “Respect for parental and educational guidance? Absolutely! But a police officer should never, ever search classrooms for award-winning literature to remove. Period.”"

Ocean City Man Wills Nearly $150,000 to Library; OCNJDaily, November 13, 2023

MADDY VITALE,OCNJDaily; Ocean City Man Wills Nearly $150,000 to Library

"There was one reason that stood out why Haines may have left funds to his local library, Barse said. Haines spent his career as a librarian.

According to his obituary, Haines served as an academic librarian in colleges in New York and Chicago, retiring from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y.

Barse emphasized what a kind thing Haines did to remember his local library.

“It is a very generous gift,” Barse said, adding that Haines did not even ask that his name be placed on anything in honor of his contribution.

Ocean City Interim Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott McCartney, a representative to the library board, asked if the funds were restricted or unrestricted.

Barse said that they were unrestricted.

Haines only wished that those who received the funding do as they see fit to benefit the charities, he pointed out.

“He was just a good person,” Barse added."