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Kelly Jensen is off enjoying some much-deserved time off this week, so fellow editors Erica Ezeifedi and Danika Ellis are filling in for the censorship news round-up. We’ve each picked three book banning stories to discuss — the first three are Erica, the next three are Danika. As usual, we have some hopeful stories and some depressing ones.
The First Designated Book Sanctuary in Maryland
Shoutout to the Anne Arundel County Public Library system for becoming the first one in Maryland to be designated as a book sanctuary. It joins a tradition started in 2022 in Chicago that sees to collecting and protecting banned and endangered books, making sure the general public has access to them, as well as holding discussions and other events that bolster the community.
This comes after more than half of Maryland’s public libraries have had to deal with book challenges, a 600% increase in staff threats, and 11 bomb threats related to book banning. As with all other book banning across the country, the books targeted have been ones that give a voice to people of color and LGBTQ+ people.
The CEO of the library, Skip Auld, said,
“Anne Arundel County Public Library is dedicated to protecting the rights of all who use our library’s resources and will defend their freedom to read. In becoming a Book Sanctuary, we reaffirm the library’s role as a defender of intellectual freedom, a place where every individual has the right to explore ideas without fear of censorship or judgment. This declaration is a powerful statement of our values and redoubles our efforts to educate people on the dangers of censorship to a democracy.”
“We are hardcore,” he continued, “Just because one person objects to something, or one parent objects to something that they don’t want their kids exposed to, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other parents who do want those books there for their kids.”
I feel a tangential sense of pride since this library system is just a few counties over from the one I worked at a few years ago in Prince George’s County. I see y’all!
Major Publishers Renew Lawsuit Against Iowa’s School Book Ban
Earlier this year, major publishers HarperCollins Publishers, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan Publishing Group announced they would be joining Penguin Random House, authors John Green, Malinda Lo, Jodi Picoult, and Laurie Halse Anderson, and the Iowa’s teachers union in a lawsuit against the state of Iowa for book banning. And Monday, they just officially appeared on a court filing.
The lawsuit came about because of 2022 legislation that was passed that prohibited “sex acts” and gender identity instruction in public school libraries. Kelly wrote about a partial victory the suit had last December. And, in an appeals court ruling, the court stated that Iowa’s library book restrictions are subject to the First Amendment, which resulted in an amendment to the suit seen in Monday’s court filing. Now, the plaintiffs are honing in on the protections granted by the First Amendment — namely that the state of Iowa can’t restrict the right to read.
The outcome of this federal case could set the standard for how far local governments can go in banning books.
California Makes It Harder to Ban Books in Public Libraries
More good news! California joins Illinois and Maryland in passing a law that makes it harder to ban books. Assembly Bill 1825 prohibits book bans based on “the race, nationality, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, social economic status or political affiliation of a book’s subject, author or intended audience.”
It also purports to have built-in protections for library staff — it requires that libraries develop and publish the process involved in selecting and managing library materials, but it also demands that there be a process for challenging library materials. All of this transparency regarding policy is in place so that library staff will be protected from being fired or officially reprimanded when they develop programs or don’t remove challenged books.
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, the writer of the bill, said “In California, we know that our freedom to read is a cornerstone of our democracy. Unfortunately, there is a growing movement to ban books nationwide, and this bill will ensure that Californians have access to books that offer diverse perspectives. Those diverse perspectives include books containing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQ and communities of color.”
B.C. Conservative Party Campaigns By Promising to Ban LGBTQ Books and Educational Resources
I live in British Columbia, Canada, and while I wish I could say we haven’t experienced the right-wing, racist, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric that drives book bans in the U.S., that’s just not true. As the saying goes, if the U.S. sneezes, Canada catches a cold, and plenty of book banning tactics have crossed the border.
For many years in B.C., the lightning rod for anti-LGBTQ hatred has been SOGI 123, a set of resources for educators on being include of LGBTQ (or Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) students. This year, the B.C. Conservative party is running on a platform that calls SOGI 123 “divisive, an assault on parents’ rights and a distraction to student education.” To be clear, SOGI 123 is not part of the curriculum: it’s just a set of resources available to educators.
B.C. NDP Leader David Eby replied to Conservative Party Leader’s question about removing SOGI 123 with, “It is outrageous that he would stand here and do this. He sees political advantage in picking on kids and families and teachers and schools who are just trying to do their best for kids who are at risk of suicide. Shame on him. Choose another question.”
Clint Johnston, president of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, says this resources “have absolutely made schools, classrooms a safer place. That’s feedback that comes from our members. That’s feedback that comes from students when they are asked.” He added, “It’s frustrating…to see the adults in communities having these kind of discussions and debates. Whereas in schools, what we see is students understanding each other better.”
Pasco Public Library Suppresses More Than 100 LGBTQ Children’s Books
One patron’s complaint about one book has led to more than 100 LGBTQ children’s books being removed from Pasco Public Library shelves. The book was Calvin by J.R. and Vanessa Ford, illustrated by Kayla Harren, a picture book about a Black trans boy. Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman then demanded 130 titles be pulled off shelves for an “audit,” calling Calvin an “adult conversation in our kids’ environment about transsexuals, all the things that go on that people figure out in life as they get older.”
Calvin is based on the experiences of the child of the authors, so obviously, it is age-appropriate for that kid and many other young trans people — but LGBTQ families are never recognized by book banners’ logic. Vanessa Ford said having the book challenged “feels terrible. It feels as if your experience does not matter, it is not valued.” She added that trans kids are “just like every other kid trying to live their lives.”
These 130 books have been sent to be reviewed by the library advisory board, but they’ve already been pulled off the shelves, despite Calvin being the only title that was challenged by any patron. One commissioner, Jack Mariano, wanted to skip the review process altogether: “Why this is in our library is beyond me. I don’t think we need to wait on a committee.…This is absolutely horrendous.” A county attorney advised against this, pointing out that it could lead to a lawsuit.
Pasco parent Bridget Killebrew spoke out at the library board meeting, saying, “We deserve to have access to books in the public library. We have people in our community who are trans, who are gay. They deserve to be represented. It’s not going to be erased.”
Carmen Alvarez also spoke at the meeting, saying, “They are picking on a marginalized part of the population. They are picking on them, taking books about them out of the library. You’re setting the state up to harm trans people.”
When the Library Board Banned any Recognition of Banned Books Week, One Employee Made Her Own Display Outside
The Flathead Library employees were told by their board of trustees not to have any displays or recognition of Banned Books Week — so longtime library employee Sierra Benjamin found a loophole. On her days off, she sat outside the library with a sign that said “Banned Books Week is BANNED at Your Public Library” and a stack of frequently banned books, giving handmade zines about Banned Books Week to people who asked her about what she was doing.
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