Book challenges reach historic highs, American Library Association reports

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

Sept. 20, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT


Books have been challenged in libraries across the country at historic rates so far this year, with the vast majority of titles written by a person of color or a member of the LGBTQ community or centered on the topic of racial, gender or sexual diversity.

According to a new report by the American Library Association, between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 there were 695 attempts to censor library materials or services across the country, compared with 681 similar challenges during the same period last year. In total, 1,915 unique titles have been disputed (some censorship attempts include multiple book titles), a 20% increase over the same time period last year, preliminary data released Tuesday by the ALA showed.

“These attacks on our freedom to read should trouble every person who values liberty and our constitutional rights,” Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said in a statement. “To allow a group of people or any individual, no matter how powerful or loud, to become the decision-maker about what books we can read or whether libraries exist, is to place all of our rights and liberties in jeopardy.”

This year is on pace to surpass last year’s total number of book challenges, 1,269 challenges to remove 2,500 titles, which was the highest number of attempted library book removals since the ALA began tracking such data in 2001.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/book-bans-reach-historic-highs-american-library-association-says-rcna107972

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Link to ALA press release - https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/09/american-library-association-releases-preliminary-data-2023-book-challenges

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Every bit of intellectual culture is now a Rorschach Test for Evangelicals and MAGA

The stupid, uneducated, and intolerant wield the most power in this equation. This is the Dark Ages for knowledge.

[mamacita75]

2. Libraries need

a union if Association means lobbyists. I don't know if it does, but it is what I have thought for many years. Just throwing that in to see if anyone knows.

I sure would like people associated with libraries to have an input on these book challenges. Does the 1st Amendment have any part in the shutting down of authors?

Tks

[BumRushDaShow]

3. I'm not sure what the private or non-profit libraries do

but in many municipalities, the librarians work for those municipalities (and/or counties) in government-run public libraries and many of them are members of or represented by AFSCME - https://www.afscme.org/about/jobs-we-do/library-workers

And for those who are librarians in many public schools, they are often members of the local teacher's union. For example here in Philly, the school librarians (the few that actually even exist anymore nowadays ) are members of PFT (Philadelphia Federation of Teachers) - https://www.pft.org/about-us