States respond to growing number of book bans with book ban bans – Baptist News Global

After an unprecedented increase Some states are responding to efforts to ban books by passing laws that make it harder for partisan, ideological or religious groups to remove books from public access in libraries and schools and threaten librarians with prison sentences.

According to Book Riot, a media company that covers books and publishing, seven states have so far passed laws that limit national campaigns against book bans. A handful of other states are considering such laws. CNN has also reported on the resistance to book bans.

The new laws are a response to bans orchestrated by conservative Christian activist groups, advocates for parental rights in education and opponents of “woke indoctrination.” One of the most prominent groups behind statewide bans is Moms for Liberty, which was founded in Florida in 2021 and has chapters across the country.

Source: American Library Association

In 2023, there was a record number of efforts Banning books across the country: more than 4,349 bans in 23 states in the second half of the year, said PEN America, a group that advocates for free speech around the world. That six-month total surpassed the number of bans in all of 2022, the 102-year-old organization said.

The American Library Association also tracks book bans, most of which have involved books on topics such as sexuality, gender or race. The ALA, which observes an annual Banned Books Week, said the number of attempted book bans in 2023 would be “the highest ever documented by the 148-year-old group.”

A year ago, Illinois became the first U.S. state to pass a law lifting book bans. The law went into effect on January 1. This month, Colorado became the latest state to complete the ban. California, Maryland, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington also have bans in place.

“Young people should not “I want them to become critical thinkers who confront ideas they disagree with, take pride in what our nation has overcome, and think about what comes next.”

State laws vary slightly, but most require libraries and schools to have written collection policies that explain how they determine what materials are acquired, who has access to disputed materials, and what process must be used to challenge materials.

Colorado’s new law, which applies to public libraries but not schools, includes a number of important innovations:

• It establishes a process for reviewing materials that must be followed.
• People who want to ban books must live within the library’s catchment area, making it more difficult for national groups to launch campaigns.
• People who want to ban books must make their names public and abolish anonymous requests.
• Libraries must make their decisions when questioning materials public.
• The bill highlights librarians’ professional experience in managing collections and protects them from retaliation.

“I just think it’s so important “Children can be exposed to a wide variety of experiences and perspectives,” said Colorado State Senator Lisa Cutter. “Libraries help develop empathy and understanding. Children feel isolated when they don’t recognize themselves in society, but they can recognize themselves in books and media.”

Meanwhile, some school districts are having concerns about the book bans they previously imposed. Two districts in Texas are reconsidering their bans after being accused of removing books containing racial discrimination, such as To disturb the nightingaleand books by minority authors, including The colour purple by Alice Walker.

But in Utah, according to Book Riot, efforts to lift book bans led to even more restrictive bans.

Some groups that support book bans say these are not really bans, including Moms for Liberty and Focus on the Family, which support the mothers’ group.

Focus claims that the use of the term “book ban” is one of the “ways the media and their allies evade the real issues and try to force offensive books on children.” Focus says: “This hysteria is being stoked by groups like the American Library Association.”

“The not-so-subtle insinuation is that parents who want to protect their children are totalitarians – who may even hold weekly book burnings and grill hot dogs and marshmallows over burning copies of Gender Queer and All Boys Aren’t Blue!”, said one of his publications in Focus.

“Does anyone seriously believe that these books are really ‘banned’ – that they cannot be bought or read in America? Will publishers be goose-stepped shut down by police? Will we see book warehouses go up in flames because of fires set by angry mobs of parents or government officials?”

Related articles:

For the Love of Literature: How Book Bans Whiten America | Analysis by Laura Ellis

Love, Hate and Harry Potter | Opinion by Greg Garrett

Everything you need to know about the growing effort to ban books from libraries | Analysis by Mark Wingfield