Intellectual Freedom News 3/8/2024
Highlights
- How Teens Benefit From Being Able To Read ‘Disturbing’ Books That Some Want To Ban | Bucks County Beacon
- ALA announces applications for second year of the Building Library Capacity Grants | ALA
- ALA awards $3.6 million in library accessibility funding to 310 small and rural libraries | ALA
Censorship
- Llano ISD Plans to Implement BookmarkED: Parent Sounds Alarm | Texas Freedom to Read Project (TX)
- Former librarian, fired after refusing to remove books, sues Llano County | Austin American-Statesman (TX)
- Denton ISD Board of Trustees votes to keep children’s books with gender non-conforming characters in school library | North Texas Daily (TX)
- ‘Huckleberry Finn,’ ‘Princess Diaries’ among challenged books at Palm Beach County schools | Palm Beach Post (FL)
- The book ‘Rick’ remains in Spruce Mountain Elementary School library in Jay after appeal fails | Livermore Falls Advertiser (ME)
- What the Canby School District did wrong in removing books from schools, according to a new report | KGW8 (OR)
- Beaufort County school book ban focus of ’60 Minutes’ report on CBS | Post and Courier (SC)
- South Carolina school district reviews, returns dozens of books after ban attempt | CBS News (SC)
- See the full list of 97 books parents tried to ban from Beaufort, South Carolina school library shelves | CBS News (SC)
- Beaufort, SC, bans 5 books from school shelves after push to ban 97 | 60 Minutes (SC)
- Hanover School’s Book Ban Ignites First Amendment Debate, Local Library Counters | BNN (PA)
- Mesa Public Schools Board spars over policies on flags, books | Mesa Tribune (AZ)
- Spring Branch ISD parents keep asking ‘why librarians,’ dismissing leaders’ budget cuts defense | San Antonio Express-News (TX)
- Board of Ed candidate’s book-removal request spurs discussion of FCPS policy | AOL (MD)
- After school board’s CRT rejection, Edgewood Schools leader withdraws from job candidacy | AOL (OH)
- Alachua County School Board votes to keep children’s book about gender identity on the shelves | WUFT (FL)
- Moms for Liberty school board members spent $1.75 million defending book bans, discrimination in Central Bucks | Keystone (PA)
- Faribault School Board Debates Framework for Library Content Removal Requests | BNN (MN)
- After dispute with Somali parents, St. Louis Park school board says state should clarify how far book challenges can go | Sahan Journal (MN)
- Inside the blistering battle over Alabama libraries: ‘Burn the freaking books’ | AL.com (AL)
- Northview School Board upholds committee’s decision to not ban books | WZZM (MI)
- First eight books deemed ‘sexually explicit’ by LCSD1, one deemed appropriate | Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (WY)
- St. Johns County School District in Florida Improperly Removes Library Books Without Following Procedure | NCAC (FL)
- Impacts unclear as Marfa ISD adopts controversial, state-mandated school library policy | Big Bend Sentinel (TX)
- Haters attacked an inclusive public library. So its director made the whole city a book sanctuary. | LGBTQ Nation (NJ)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Congress, don’t give away the keys to our encrypted communications | Hill
- Shotspotter leak shows that surveillance tech is used to overpolice black and brown communities | ACLU
- Communities Should Reject Surveillance Products Whose Makers Won’t Allow Them to be Independently Evaluated | ACLU
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- Appeals court slams Florida’s ‘Stop-Woke’ law for committing ‘greatest First Amendment sin’ | Politico (FL)
- Appeals court blocks Fla. ‘Stop Woke Act,’ says it’s a ‘First Amendment sin’ | Washington Post (FL)
- Trump’s Allies Ramp Up Campaign Targeting Voter Rolls | New York Times
- The Right-Wing War on Abortion Has Nothing to Do With Babies | New Republic
- LGBTQ Advocates Are Ready to Fight the Parents’ Bill of Rights | Stranger (WA)
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
Legislation
- In Georgia, a bill to cut all ties with the American Library Association is advancing | NPR (GA)
- The Florida Senate is passing an amended social media bill that includes more parental consent | WFSU (FL)
- Drag shows targeted in adult-oriented business bill | WTVQ (KY)
- Oregon bill that challenges book bans in schools passes Senate; Democrats reject Knopp move to wait, discuss in future sessions | KTVZ (OR)
- Oregon passes anti-book ban bill | KDRV (OR)
- Citing Efforts Against ‘Indoctrination,’ House Approves Bill Broadening Censorship in Teacher Prep Courses | Flagler Live (FL)
- ‘A concern for everyone’: Tennessee poised to ban Pride flags in schools | Guardian (TN)
- Washington Legislature Revises Library Dissolution Laws Amid Community Clash | BNN (WA)
- Freedom to Read Act would protect books from censorship in Maryland public schools, libraries | WMDT (MD)
- Frustrated by Senate, House members try again to advance their library obscenity bill | News from the States (WV)
State & Local Governance
- U. of Florida axes DEI office under GOP-led law aimed at ridding similar programs | OPB (FL)
- University of Florida Fires All DEI Staff, Reallocates $5 Million DEI Fund | NTD (FL)
Social Media
Disinformation & Media Literacy
- Military Times survey: ‘Alarming’ percentage accept conspiracies | Air Force Times
- Disinformation Is Tearing America Apart | TIME
- Top AI photo generators produce misleading election-related images, study finds | CNN
- AI watermarks aren’t just easy to defeat—they could make disinformation worse | Fortune
International
- Challenges to library materials rising in Canada | Yahoo! News (Canada)
Around the Web
- Proclamation on Read Across America Day, 2024 | White House
- Don’t Say Rape: How the Book Banning Movement Is Censoring Sexual Violence | Ms. Magazine
- A Disturbing Trend: Pushing Religious Chaplains on Public Schools | Humanist
- The Next Chapter In The Battle Of The Books: Librarians | HuffPost
- How a laid-back beach town became California’s MAGA stronghold | Washington Post
- Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters’ Book Ban Record | GLAAD
- SXSW EDU tackles topic of book bans | CBS Austin
- The School Issues We’re Battling Over Aren’t the Ones That Matter | New York Times
- Amidst statewide book bans, Rollins club introduces kids to diverse works | WMFE
- Oscar-nominated documentary ‘The ABCs of Book Banning’ examines kids’ POV | ABC7
- RuPaul Is Sending a Rainbow Bus to Give Away Books Targeted by Bans | New York Times
- How a North Texas race could push Texas’ education board further right | Dallas Morning News
- ‘Charlotte’s Web’ As A Horror Flick? It’s All Part Of The Fun At 90-Second Newbery Film Fest | Block Club Chicago
ALA News
- Teen app developer and author Jay’Aina “Jay Jay” Patton and software engineer and author Antoine Patton, and John and Anni Furniss to present at ALA 2024 Annual Conference & Exhibition in San Diego
- 50 public and academic libraries selected to host extended traveling exhibition from ALA and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
- How-To Stage, Career Center, and more special activities at PLA 2024 Conference
- ALA-SLI National Climate Action Strategy Working Group will hold open forum March 14
- New ‘Field Guides’ column from policy experts to explore key library issues
- Library services and healthcare knowledge in the UK
- AASL Opens Call For 2025 AASL National Conference Committee Members
- AASL Opens Call For Knowledge Quest and School Library Research Editorial Board Members
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