I am extremely lucky to live in an area with an incredible library system that doesn't suffer from these pressures, but this article makes it clear that the polar opposite is not very uncommon....
Once a comforting presence at story circle and book fairs, librarians have been condemned, bullied and drawn into battles over censorship as school and library boards face intensifying pressure from conservatives seeking to ban books exploring racial and LGBTQ themes. Those voices have grown stronger in red states since the pandemic, when parental groups opposed to mask mandates expanded their sights and became more involved in how and what their children were taught.
Recent polls suggest most Americans are not in favor of banning books. But concentrated pressure by politically connected parental groups, said Peter Bromberg, a board member at EveryLibrary, a nonprofit library advisory group, “has librarians facing a great deal of stress. There are signs on people's lawns calling librarians pedophiles." They face pressure from principals and administrators over book displays, and "neighbors talk about them being an arm of Satan.”
Some librarians are fighting back; others have lost or left their jobs. The culture wars over books come at a time when about 27% of public libraries have reduced staff because of budget cuts and other reasons, according to a 2021 national survey. Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozado, president of the American Library Assn., said librarians' problems are compounded by attacks that are part of an effort "seeking to abolish diverse ideas and erode this country of freedom of expression. I see it as the dismantling of education."
I am extremely lucky to live in an area with an incredible library system that doesn't suffer from these pressures, but this article makes it clear that the polar opposite is not very uncommon. What worries me is that, while "recent polls suggest most Americans are not in favor of banning books", those trying to ban books are getting very highly organized and "have a whole political machinery around them". And they're not just trying to ban specific books. In some cases, they're willing to throw the baby out with the bath water by defunding the library itself. What organized responses are happening? The article mentions a few groups, like the FReadom Fighters. What other groups are you aware of that are organizing to protect libraries?
That's a good point cmccabe. You have pointed out before how these sorts of extreme groups are actively organizing, and even for that reason alone are dangerous---in spite of being batshit crazy....
What worries me is that, while "recent polls suggest most Americans are not in favor of banning books", those trying to ban books are getting very highly organized and "have a whole political machinery around them".
That's a good point cmccabe. You have pointed out before how these sorts of extreme groups are actively organizing, and even for that reason alone are dangerous---in spite of being batshit crazy. Funny how guns are a basic right, but books with gay characters put kids in mortal danger... It is exhausting to keep up with the latest crusade. I would also like to know if and where people are already organizing to push back on this so I can join the ranks.
I don't know how optimistic I am about resolving the issue, though, at least cleanly and immediately (within our current system). The history and state of planned parenthood makes the outlook seem grim, and in this age of Echo Chamber as a Service, it feels like the places where this is happening will continue to fester. Not that I am complacent about all this (quite the contrary, as you probably know by now).
I motion for a ban on book banning! Or allowing kids to choose what's in their library in the first place?
We've seen a similar trend in Canada. A friend of mine is a Librarian, and while they haven't experienced anything that would make the news, they've had people complain about their drag queen...
A friend of mine is a Librarian, and while they haven't experienced anything that would make the news, they've had people complain about their drag queen story times, and there is a lot of negative chatter on certain local facebook groups. There's a lot more subtle stuff too, like people will see materials with LQBTQ+ positive themes and hide them behind other books, or other places where people won't find them.
I originally posted this with another link because the LA Times article is paywalled (at least for me). Does Tildes automatically change that? Here’s the original link for anyone interested.
I originally posted this with another link because the LA Times article is paywalled (at least for me). Does Tildes automatically change that? Here’s the original link for anyone interested.
Looks like @cfabbro switched it. The LA Times stopped being paywalled for me (here in Sweden) about six months ago. Wasn't sure if it was temporary/promotion related, but I have also stopped...
Looks like @cfabbro switched it. The LA Times stopped being paywalled for me (here in Sweden) about six months ago. Wasn't sure if it was temporary/promotion related, but I have also stopped tagging their links as paywall because of it...
Yeah, LA Times is no longer paywalled for me here in Canada either, and hasn't been for quite a while now. There is nothing necessarily wrong with linking to the MSN News version though, since the...
Yeah, LA Times is no longer paywalled for me here in Canada either, and hasn't been for quite a while now. There is nothing necessarily wrong with linking to the MSN News version though, since the LA Times post their articles there themselves. But the general rule here on Tildes has always been to link to primary sources... hence no Archive.is links except in comments. cc: @cmccabe
I am extremely lucky to live in an area with an incredible library system that doesn't suffer from these pressures, but this article makes it clear that the polar opposite is not very uncommon. What worries me is that, while "recent polls suggest most Americans are not in favor of banning books", those trying to ban books are getting very highly organized and "have a whole political machinery around them". And they're not just trying to ban specific books. In some cases, they're willing to throw the baby out with the bath water by defunding the library itself. What organized responses are happening? The article mentions a few groups, like the FReadom Fighters. What other groups are you aware of that are organizing to protect libraries?
That's a good point cmccabe. You have pointed out before how these sorts of extreme groups are actively organizing, and even for that reason alone are dangerous---in spite of being batshit crazy. Funny how guns are a basic right, but books with gay characters put kids in mortal danger... It is exhausting to keep up with the latest crusade. I would also like to know if and where people are already organizing to push back on this so I can join the ranks.
I don't know how optimistic I am about resolving the issue, though, at least cleanly and immediately (within our current system). The history and state of planned parenthood makes the outlook seem grim, and in this age of Echo Chamber as a Service, it feels like the places where this is happening will continue to fester. Not that I am complacent about all this (quite the contrary, as you probably know by now).
I motion for a ban on book banning! Or allowing kids to choose what's in their library in the first place?
We've seen a similar trend in Canada.
A friend of mine is a Librarian, and while they haven't experienced anything that would make the news, they've had people complain about their drag queen story times, and there is a lot of negative chatter on certain local facebook groups. There's a lot more subtle stuff too, like people will see materials with LQBTQ+ positive themes and hide them behind other books, or other places where people won't find them.
I originally posted this with another link because the LA Times article is paywalled (at least for me). Does Tildes automatically change that? Here’s the original link for anyone interested.
Looks like @cfabbro switched it. The LA Times stopped being paywalled for me (here in Sweden) about six months ago. Wasn't sure if it was temporary/promotion related, but I have also stopped tagging their links as
paywallbecause of it...Yeah, LA Times is no longer paywalled for me here in Canada either, and hasn't been for quite a while now. There is nothing necessarily wrong with linking to the MSN News version though, since the LA Times post their articles there themselves. But the general rule here on Tildes has always been to link to primary sources... hence no Archive.is links except in comments. cc: @cmccabe
Especially good practice as I scroll through the Tildes archives to discover all those Outline paywall-bypassing links are now dead links.