About half that many were documented in just the first four months of the 2021 school year at only a small sampling of Texas school districts, according to the records obtained by NBC News. Pressure from punitive laws, coupled with efforts from vocal citizens and local and national groups, has placed school districts in impossible situations, as they are forced to restrict access to certain books in schools or face possible penalties on educators and librarians. These dynamics are playing out across both red and blue states and districts, resulting in the further erosion of the critical relationships between educator and administrator, parent and teacher, and district and community. According to a We Believe x Ipsos poll administered in August 2023, only 7 percent of parents believe books should be removed at the objection of a single parent. However, these groups often empower “serial book challengers” in their efforts to remove books from classrooms and school libraries.

The Definitive Guide to Author Events News

Please remember to be respectful and refrain from making ad hominem or personal attacks against anyone who disagrees with you. A small but vocal group is driving the current flood of book bans in school and public libraries across the country. It’s important to counter those voices by uniting in support of the freedom to read in your local community. In response to past censorship movements, the American Library Association developed guidelines for schools to prevent the sudden and arbitrary removal of books. Under the guidelines, which have been adopted by most large districts in Texas and nationally, parents are asked to fill out forms explaining why they believe a book should be banned. In the early 2000s, a conservative backlash to the Harry Potter book series, which some Christian leaders condemned as a satanic depiction of witchcraft, fueled a surge of book banning attempts in Texas, according to the ACLU data. But even at the peak of that wave, the Texas ACLU never documented more than 151 school library book challenges in one year.

VIRTUAL

A virtual gathering may allow for more attendees to participate in a short timeframe. Public input is very important for school and library board members, trustees, and state legislators. In almost all localities, these are elected positions and many local elected officials serve in either 2- or 4-year terms. These elected officials, therefore, take the views of residents and voters seriously, and seek to represent the voices of their community. Libraries provide access to books that offer teachable moments for readers of all ages and expand our understanding of people with different backgrounds, ideas, and beliefs. Limiting young people’s access to books does not protect them from life’s complex and challenging issues.

Books Unbanned

The books contained pornography and X-rated scenes and were inappropriate for children of any age, the parents complained. In less than two years, BookLooks has become the go-to resource for anyone seeking to ban books – especially books about gay people or sexuality – from school and public libraries, according to researchers, library experts and a USA TODAY analysis of book-ban attempts nationwide. As state anti-LGBTQ+ laws have multiplied, Project 2025 promotes discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in every arena on a national scale. It seeks to deny the existence of transgender people, undermine the rights of same-sex married couples and rescind federal civil rights protections wherever and whenever possible—including public schools. McCombs and Shaw originally established agenda-setting within the context of a presidential election and there have been numerous studies regarding agenda setting and politics. However, more recently scholars have been studying agenda setting in the context of brands.

South Carolina Groups Call for Transparency from Berkeley County Schools on Book Reviews

Authors whose books are targeted are most frequently female, people of color, and/or LGBTQ+ individuals. Amid a growing climate of censorship, school book bans continue to spread through coordinated campaigns by a vocal minority of groups and individual actors and, increasingly, as a result of pressure from state legislation. PEN America previously explained how school book banning efforts were “supercharged” by state legislation in the first half of the 2022–23 school year. Our April 2023 report documented a trio of laws enacted in Florida that bar instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity, prohibit educators from discussing advantages or disadvantages based on race, and mandate that schools must catalog classroom and library books. We also tracked the effects of legislation that criminalizes the provision of “explicit sexual material” to students and “prohibits certain sensitive instructional materials in public schools” in Missouri and Utah, respectively. In an environment of vague legislation and increasing fears of punishment for educators, hundreds of books were banned during the past school year in Florida, Missouri, and Utah as a direct result of these laws.

Strategic support and editing throughout the report process was provided by Summer Lopez, chief program officer, Free Expression. These most frequently banned titles are largely young adult novels featuring female, queer, and/or nonbinary protagonists. All purchases support the Unite Against Book Bans campaign and our efforts to fight censorship. Spread the word to your Tales of the Ravenous Reader friends and followers with our shareable graphics and posts. Download sets include graphics sized for Facebook/Twitter, Instagram, and Instagram Stories.

“This is the kind of feel-good situation that us in the library world live for,” said Kathy Penny, a manager at Cambridge’s library, who contacted London about the book. Detractors asked about the added burden to librarians and whether the move could constitute censorship. The three books are currently the only books classified as young adult nonfiction. Wendt said the suggested age range for the books ranged from 8-12 to 9-12. Board President Brad Sherwood said the committee hoped the decision would keep the book accessible while also assuaging the complainant’s concerns.