Censorship

Rutherford County Library System director Luanne James said that relocating the books would violate the First Amendment rights of county residents and compromise her professional obligations. And more in censorship news.

As the public loses access to data, librarians must respond with stewardship.

Rutherford County (TN) Library board votes to move the books and remove policies that were based on ALA guidelines; anti–intellectual freedom legislation in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Ohio; and more.

States continue to try to control library collections in public schools across the country; congressional representatives reintroduce the Fight Book Bans Act; and more.

The library and intellectual freedom community responded quickly with a call to action against the proposed federal bill and a reminder focus energy on state and local censorship battles.

The dystopian title from Neal Shusterman can be taught in high school English classes; a Stephen King novel is the latest book banned in Utah; and bills that will impact libraries move in state houses across the country.

School librarian Amanda Jones won the next step in her defamation suit, but lost an unrelated censorship battle when her local library voted to move This One Summer to the adult section after a meeting where she spoke out against the move. Plus, more in censorship news.

With the documentary airing on PBS on Monday, February 9, director and producer Kim Snyder spoke with SLJ about the documentary, the audience response, and her hope it makes a bigger impact on the anti-censorship movement.

Author Ashley Hope Pérez teaches the 1960s movement to help her Ohio State University students understand the impact of the current book bans and learn how to take action against censorship now.