Book Censorship News: July 14, 2023

This week’s book censorship news post begins with highlighting the results of the author survey on the financial impact they have experienced due to book bans. Because the results were lengthy, that was put into a separate post which is linked here and in the image below. Go dig into those, then come back to this week’s roundup of book censorship news.

• We need more stories highlighting what the nonstop book banning and legislated bigotry are doing to the librarians in these positions. A worthwhile read from a school librarian in Utah.
• “The number of people filing complaints and appeals on books in Greeley-Evans schools [CO] represents less than 1% of the total number of voters who participated in a District 6 ballot issue late last year.” More journalism like this, too, please. The “culture war” is a fake lead because it is not a culture war. It is a small, minuscule minority creating a lot of nonsense.
• Stamped will be put back on shelves in Pickens County Schools (SC).
• Meanwhile in New Hanover County School District (NC), Stamped was challenged then approved. That decision is now being appealed.
• The Old Lyme Public Library (CT) will keep You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender Puberty and Other Things and Let’s Talk About it: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships and Being a Human in the teen section of the public library. Where they belong.
• Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (NC) continues to hear from Moms for Liberty about the need to ban books throughout the district. Maybe the district should not have invited them for a one-on-one meeting last fall to hear them out. Now Moms think they own the district.
• “In the waning days of LGBT Pride Month, Clovis City Councilwoman Diane Pearce posted a message on Facebook that she called a ‘public service announcement.’ It warned about LGBT books at the local library.” Here’s your fascism, once again in California.
• Remember the time a full-grown adult was attempting to break into school libraries in Iredell-Statesville, North Carolina to take photos of the books that she claimed were naughty? (Yes, she’s a Moms member). Well, the district is still dealing with this and turns out, they ban books whenever there is as much as a complaint: “Greg Mueller of Mooresville said he appreciated what progress Mimnaugh and others have made in having books removed from schools in Iredell County but questioned the progress. He proposed that any book that was brought into question by parents be removed from schools while it is evaluated. Superintendent Dr. Jeff James said more than 250 books had been asked to be reviewed by adults. He said books are removed during the evaluation process.” Nice parental grooming of a kid in this one, too.
• Ludlow School’s board proposed a book ban for the district, and now a Massachusetts senator is trying to step in and stop it.
• Picture books are not a new target in the book banning effort — they’ve been a big part of it since the beginning of this particular two+ year endeavor. But it’s a worthwhile Washington Post piece regardless, if you’re not paywalled.
• There is a petition trying to get the librarian who put up a June Pride display at the Athens Public Library (TN) fired from the job.
• “According to Heger, books like The 57 Bus won’t stop bullying in schools of LGTBQ students, as that is a cultural problem for the school. However, she worries that books like The 57 Bus, which focuses on a non-binary student being set on fire while on a bus and their journey of gender identity, will encourage students to use gender pronouns and potentially identify themselves with the ‘attractive’ LGBTQ lifestyle.” Whether or not The 57 Bus remains a choice book in West Bend High School Junior English classes (WI) will be determined later this month. The complainer doesn’t have kids in the school and doesn’t think the book should even be a *choice* to read. You know, though, not book banning since kids can get the book on Amazon.
• The Kite Runner is also under fire in the West Bend School District (WI) and yes, our parent without kids in the school is involved.
• Friends of the Caro Library (MI) are helping raise money to protect the board members who are being pushed for recall. Why are they being recalled, you ask? Because the bigots don’t like that they won’t ban books.
• After throwing chicken feed at the book review committee, Beaufort County Schools (SC) might not allow the individual to attend more meetings. I don’t know, y’all. One side is defending the rights of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC folks and the other is throwing chicken feed.
• “A Columbia County judge has sided with the Columbia County School District saying a parent’s opt-out of the school’s sexual education program does not require schools to keep materials related to sexuality out of the hands of her child.” It’s wild. The “we don’t coparent with the government” contingent expects the “government schools” to parent for them. This judge says it does not work that way.
• Moms for Liberty wants LGBTQ+ books labeled at the Billings Public Library (MT), which is in direct opposition to what libraries do. Libraries do not label beyond (potentially) genre stickers.
• This is a big deal, given this library’s history, but the Public Library of Enid (OK) will allow an LGBTQ+ history display in October.
• Bartholomew County Public Library (IN) did a huge audit of their teen section after fielding complaints about the usual suspects, including demands to move some of the teen books to “more appropriate” sections. Turns out, books are where they should be and oh, they don’t have enough LGBTQ+ books there, either.
• A North Carolina county attempted to take control over their public library. It did not go well, and the reason they wanted to take it over will (absolutely not) shock you: “[C]ommission chairman Jeff Whitson made a motion to begin the process of taking over the library system and making it completely county-operated. He said the purpose was to ensure that there was no bias shown to any religious, political, or ethnic platform. The motion was tabled and sparked a heated debate as many residents believed the motion was in response to the library’s Pride display in June.” (Update: the motion did not pass!).
• An update on our pal Gavin Downing in Kent, Washington, as he prepares for another school year resisting book bans.
• Unpregnant will be under review with the Nixa School Board (MO) once again.
• A new bill in North Carolina is a book banner and public school hater’s dream, wherein leaders can be removed easily and librarians can be prosecuted.
• I am paywalled for this story, and that’s unfortunate since it’s also (what passes for good) news. The Indian Valley Public Library (PA) will not be defunded over LGBTQ+ books.
• I had no idea since 2021 that over 20 books had been banned or censored in the Waukesha School District (WI).
• Under a new proposal in Hempfield Area Schools (PA), who cares about expertise? “Potential new books coming into Hempfield Area School District libraries could first be reviewed by the public before going on school shelves.” Cool.
• It’s not just the U.S. dealing with all of this. In parts of Canada, it’s been brutal, and that’s been especially true in the South Central Regional Library in Manitoba. They’ve dealt with the crisis actors and the city council just found a solution: appoint some of themselves to the library board to ensure the dirty books aren’t in the kids section. “The City’s resolution instructs their two appointed board members to exert influence as members of the SCRL Board of Directors to create a policy, whereby graphically sexually explicit books be moved from the children’s section to another section of the library as appropriate so that children will not stumble across them, but they remain available to parents who wish to use them as an educational resource.” That’s not how this works.
• The Oconee County Library Board of Trustees (SC) voted to remove the YA book Flamer from the YA section and move it to the adult section. That…is still censorship.
• 10 of the 30 folks who showed up at the Yankton, South Dakota, public library board meeting spoke about the library’s Pride month display. Most spoke in favor of it. Y’all, keep this up.
• Finally, let’s go back to Canada for a moment. They released their country’s most banned books of 2022 — noting, too, the largest uptick they’ve seen. Top of the list? Gender Queer. You’ll see some U.S. favorites here and some new ones, sure to start causing crisis preparations from the bigot contingent soon.