LOCALIZE IT: School library book removal efforts rise

Book Bans School Libraries (Tampa Bay Times)

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

Parents and legislators across the country are debating how states and school districts should decide which books are available to children and how to handle calls to remove material that contains explicit language and addresses controversial issues.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, calls the effort to restrict school library books a "national phenomenon.”

Legislators in states like Iowa, Florida and Texas are getting especially aggressive in their efforts to ease the removal of books, but local school districts in more liberal states such as California, Oregon and Illinois have also faced book challenges.

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School library book bans are seen as targeting LGBTQ content ___

ADD LOCAL CONTEXT

States and communities across the country are seeing disputes over school library offerings. Among the leaders of efforts to fight book removals is the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, which maintains a website with local contacts and resources.

The nonprofit freedom of information group Pen America also has a website with resources and contacts about library book restriction efforts.

The group Moms for Liberty is a national leader in efforts to remove books some think are inappropriate for children. The organization has chapters throughout the country and lists them and offers other resources at its website.

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TAKE YOUR REPORTING FURTHER

Kirsten Slungaard Mumma, of Boston University, recently published a paper with more detail about school library content and how a surge in challenges could affect books available to students on LGBTQ topics.

— Check with your state education department about policies for challenging books in school libraries and classrooms and whether decisions to retain books on shelves can be appealed.

— Ask local school districts if they track book challenges, how the number has changed over time and how many books were removed.

— If books have been removed, explore the subject matter and whether books with similar themes have been taken off shelves.

— Ask local school districts how they decide which books to purchase and whether they have reexamined these policies, given the recent focus on explicit language and pushback against LGBTQ and racial justice themes.

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Localize It is an occasional feature produced by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to Katie Oyan at koyan@ap.org.