Thereve Been More Than 155 Book Challenges Since June: This Weeks Censorship News, December 3… – Book Riot

This week, the American Library Association (ALA) finally released a statement about the uptick in book challenges across the country. In it, they not only note the fact most of the challenges are coming for books by and about people of the global majority, as well as queer people, but they quantify wha theyve documented: 155 unique censorship incidents since June 1. The number is low, and given that these are ones either submitted to the ALAs Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) or ones that the OIF documents, its not a stretch to say its probably twice that number, if not more. Because so many of these happen on a very local level, they arent always reported, and even when they are, they may only be a line or two in a short news report about something else. That number also doesnt include any of the quiet or soft censorship which happens.

Whats maybe most noteworthy, though, in the statement is that theres no note on action. The OIF offers direct support and consultation to those who seek out their services during a challenge 120 of the 155 documented cases since June have had their help but theres no actionable steps laid out for what can be done without their intervention. What can an average citizen do? What can an average librarian or school board member or educator do? Actionable steps are essential to include here, especially as the ALA makes nice, sharable graphics with the information from the statement. Sharing this information on social media is great; sharing this information on social media doesnt put an end to the challenges nor offer anyone the opportunity to do something beyond report cases to the OIF. Thats a step, and a good one, but its not going to do anything as extremists show up at schools and libraries.

Were well beyond the point of depending on one organization to do all of the work and for all of that work to happen outside the public eye. More needs to be done externally thats actionable. Awareness campaigns like Banned Books Week arent enough. Groups like Moms for Liberty, along with other national and local right-wing groups, have their talking points down (see: obscenity, pornography, and other similar words being used in every single challenge), have their targets selected (critical race theory, social emotional learning, and specific book titles that have shown up again and again), and deploy their tactics in ways that are wide open (show up to school board meetings, read passages, make signs, run for local boards). There is a lot of money and energy behind these groups.

Change happens when we unite and take action, and its well beyond time for more than numbers and words. Book challenges will continue through the rest of 2021 most will be overlooked or not highlighted because its a ripe time to take a break from bad news but theyre going to amp up even more in the new year. Heres to hoping ALA and other organizations with power behind them use that to equip as many people as possible with the language, the actions, and the means to stand up against censorship. More, knowing what the groups behind these united movements are and having ready access to what it is theyre doing or taking aim at would put tremendous power into the hands of every person invested in protecting First Amendment rights. An organization like ALA, tasked with being a professional leader for information professionals has the capacity to not just advocate behind the scenes for intellectual freedom and information dissemination; they can be leaders in ensuring that anyone invested in the same principles has quick, accurate, and sound information about the people and groups working in opposition to those values.

Of course, you dont have to wait for an organization to offer that. There are tons of ways you can put in effort to protect intellectual freedom, whether its a few minutes or a few hours. Our toolkit for how to fight book bans and challenges can get you started.

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Heres a look at this week in book censorship news. There are some positive updates, along with a slew of stories that offer less hopeful resolutions.

Lets end this on a really positive note: a library in small town Pennsylvania had their funding cut when library commissioners (AKA the board) learned that an LGBTQ+ group met in one of the librarys meeting rooms. The community responded to this by raising tens of thousands of dollars for the library far more than the budget that was cut.

At the end of the day, the people who are loudest are the ones who get the biggest news stories. But its clear that they dont speak on behalf of the majority.

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Thereve Been More Than 155 Book Challenges Since June: This Weeks Censorship News, December 3... - Book Riot