Book Censorship News: November 24, 2023

Because of the vacation within the US this week—Friday after Thanksgiving is perhaps the worst day to attempt to get consideration, which is why so typically you’ll see dangerous information dumps that day—I’m skipping on any in-depth introduction to this week’s censorship hyperlinks. Over on my private Substack, I lately wrote a few new web site from the guide banners about how they’re not banning books, if you’re on the lookout for a protracted learn on censorship this week from me.

Let’s simply dive proper in.

• Marietta School District (GA) is not going to be reinstating Flamer. It is completely banned.
• “The Alachua County school district [FL] removed another LGBTQ title from its libraries this week, despite issues about the complaint’s validity due to questions whether the woman who challenged the book was legally a resident of the county.” The guide is Gender Queer.
• This is how newspapers ought to reply to guide bans. This editorial board wrote about how inappropriate it’s for Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School District (MN) to easily take away books from cabinets after they’ve been challenged and never reviewed.
• Fluvanna County High School (VA) obtained two dozen complaints over books by a failed faculty board candidate, and so they’ll lastly start to be reviewed. It must be deeply in regards to the books have been faraway from cabinets earlier than the method—and so they’ve been off cabinets for a month now.
• Chino Valley Unified School Board (CA) handed a coverage that may make it simpler to ban books within the district.
• Hernando County School Board (FL) eliminated three books from the varsity district at their final assembly: 13 Reasons Why, The Handmaid’s Tale, and This Day in June.
• After months of losing numerous hours, vitality, and taxpayer {dollars} to take away books from cabinets, the controversial guide coverage at Hamilton East Public Library (IN) is over.
• “More than 11,000 Pulaski County students (AR) are unable to access online educational materials through their local public library as a legal precaution, according to school district administrators, in light of the statewide debate over what content children should be able to access in libraries.” That’s 11,000 college students who’ve simply misplaced entry to supplies for training, enrichment, and pleasure. Why? Politics.
• Here’s what occurred after a department of the Yancey County Public Library (NC) put up a Pride show for June.
• “The Northern Justice Project and the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District for the removal of 56 books from school libraries.” Lawsuits and laws are the one method that is going to finish.
• A Menomonee Falls School Board member (WI) doesn’t consider the district adopted their very own coverage in banning 33 books. She desires them again on cabinets.
• Kirk Cameron’s new guide truthful is coming to Spotsylvania School District (VA).
• Coming quickly: the county management deciding what books can be found to the complete neighborhood in a public library. “New restrictions could be coming to the Rutherford County Library system [TN]. County officials are looking to pass stricter rules on funds provided to their local libraries, along with an age-restrictive checkout policy. The new policy debate comes as the county and city of Murfreesboro have been embroiled controversy and legal wrangling over what constitutes community decency.”
• An replace on Wentzville Public Schools and Francis Howell in Missouri—seems that when the conservative majority doesn’t preserve the bulk, turning over to fascism and bigotry is a a lot slower course of.
• Heartstopper is being challenged in Ocean City, New Jersey, colleges as a result of it was available for purchase on the faculty guide truthful.
• (Paywalled) Conroe Independent School District (TX) is making it even simpler to ban books.
• Moms For Liberty introduced in over $2.1 million {dollars} final yr.
• Garfield County Public Library (CO) refuses to ban books that the county commissioners don’t like, so the county commissioners appear to be hinting that there will likely be penalties for it. That’s referred to as fascism.
• “One more dramatic change the board is considering making to the policy is changing some language to allow the library network to evaluate books “in part” relatively than of their entirety. ” That is certainly towards the usual set by the Supreme Court’s Miller Test. Not to say, it makes clear that the components are extra essential than the entire, which, time and time once more, has been confirmed to be why books are KEPT on cabinets—it’s like taking a look at the entire thing serves a function that simply cherry-picking passages doesn’t. But this public library is creating a complete new coverage over “inappropriate” supplies and entry to supplies to minors—what which means can be below debate. This is at an Idaho public library.
• This is a good story from a Catholic outlet on the influence of far-right Catholic guide banners on the picture of their religion and apply. Note how few of the “Catholic activists” didn’t reply for remark.
• Oklahoma Moms For Liberty complained {that a} part of math textbooks being authorised by the state eliminated what they declare to be “social-emotional learning.” You are studying this in 2023.
• Here are the 75 books banned by Hanover County Public Schools (VA). It’s paywalled, after all, however I broke it for you.
• The Perks of Being A Wallflower will stay on cabinets in Maryville High School (TN), even after the preliminary resolution to maintain it within the library was appealed.
• “The public library in St. Marys [KS] has managed to hang onto its lease for one more year by removing all of the youth-oriented LGBTQ books from library shelves.” This story is infuriating and heartbreaking. I’m not glad that the compromise that the general public library director needed to make right here to be able to get the lease on the library renewed was eliminating each LGBTQ+ guide within the youth part and most of them within the grownup part, and if you learn the story, you’ll know she isn’t both. It’s a small non secular group doing the work right here of bigotry.
• Assassination Classroom is the manga of ire for one dad or mum in Billings, Montana, as a result of there are not any authentic ideas with the guide banners. Imagine if this type of anger have been current for, like, precise weapons getting used to kill college students in colleges.
• Earlier this yr, in response to the Liberty Lakes Public Library (WA) refusing to ban Gender Queer, there was an try for town trustees to take over the library. Following the election earlier this month, there was slightly turnover on town trustee board…and due to a quirk within the state regulation, this difficulty may come up once more after being defeated.
• Former Arkansas Senator Jason Rapert, who’s pleasant with of us just like the Duggars, is now on the Arkansas state library board.
• Members of the right-wing group “Save My America”—let me reemphasize right here that cheering on solely the failures of Moms For Liberty is however a small slice of the teams doing this guide banning—are combating to get the guide Making A Baby faraway from the youngsters’s space of the Pickaway County Public Library (OH).
• Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools’s (NC) superintendent is overriding the committee’s resolution to maintain Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) in district libraries and is as an alternative banning it.
• “An internal review committee has determined that the controversial book “Bang Like a Porn Star: Sex Tips From the Pros,” must be faraway from the St. Charles City-County Library system (MO)—simply not instantly.” It gained’t be banned till the 20 individuals ready to borrow it from the PUBLIC library are completed with it. This guide is/was within the grownup nonfiction part.
• In Catawba County Schools (NC), each Lolita and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close will stay within the faculty library, however college students will want Mommy or Daddy’s permission to borrow both one. Meanwhile, they will join with the navy recruiters at lunchtime with out that permission…
• A bunch of right-wing christofascists in Pasco County, Florida, are demanding the native faculty sever ties with the American Library Association. Their nonsense contains the road that affiliation goes towards their Christian beliefs, which is wild, provided that little factor in regards to the separation of church and state.
• Lake Luzerne Public Library (NY) has been closed since September when the workers stop over harassment for, you realize, inclusive programming. Three board members have left, too, and this week, there was a bodily altercation on the board assembly. I don’t suppose it’s the Drag Queens who’re the issue.
• PEN America joins 16 different organizations who’ve filed an amicus transient over the Texas READER Act, which can as soon as once more be tried later this month.