herhandsmyhands OP ,
@herhandsmyhands@romancelandia.club avatar

@romancelandia

If you care about books, about libraries, and about your own freedom to read (and write) whatever the hell you want, it behooves you to pay attention. Currently, Kelly Jensen is the only journalist devoted to this beat, 24/7, for several years now.

Here's her call to action: pay attention and show up locally; don't hope for someone else to stand up for your rights.

@bookstodon
https://bookriot.com/how-public-libraries-are-targeted/

The ways to respond have been outlined in the several years we’ve been covering book banning and censorship here. The long and short: show up and vote — only 18% of my county’s eligible voters even bothered in last week’s election, meaning that fewer than 1 in 5 adults decided the fate of the entire county (I’m in a state where we have some of the easiest access to voting nationwide, so imagine the numbers where barriers purposefully erase voices); show up and use your library; show up by writing everyone who represents you and tell them the value of the library; show up and run for boards; show up and write and speak at board meetings; show up and find as many library supporters as you can to do all of these things and more, regularly. If you work in libraries, you can do all of these things, as well as ensure your collection management policies are airtight; that you are advocating for yourself and not just hoping outside groups do so; use the data to continue emphasizing how trustworthy you are seen in your community — it is leaps and bounds more than the politicians in your community.

Book bans in public libraries continue to increase. Per numbers released by the American Library Association (ALA) this month, there was a 92% increase in requests to ban books in public libraries over the last year. These numbers are nowhere near accurate in terms of quantity and scope, as they only showcase reports acquired or received by the ALA, but they offer a solid perspective of what we know to be true. Public libraries are not immune to the book banning which has taken hold since 2021. Book banning is not limited to school libraries. But something that needs to be addressed more plainly is that censorship in public libraries does and will continue to look different than in school libraries. Yes, people will and do complain about individual titles or lists of titles. The destruction of public institutions remains at the core of the agenda, but when it comes to public libraries, things look different because they are different institutions than public schools. Here are several ways we’re seeing public libraries being targeted.
ALT
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