What Is “Soft Censorship?”

In a rare move, Louisiana school librarian Amanda Jones fights back in court against conservative rhetoric. “‘I’ve had enough for everybody,’ Jones said in an interview. ‘Nobody stands up to these people. They just say what they want and there are no repercussions and they ruin people’s reputations and there’s no consequences.’”

The Enid (OK) Public Schools situation has turned into a hot mess, as teachers were initially instructed to remove 44 titles from their classroom libraries, and then told to disregard those instructions.

Sarasota County (FL) schools block donated dictionaries amid DeSantis’ book crackdown. The new law requires that new books be approved by state-certified media specialists, and there are no certified media specialists in Sarasota County. So…no new books.

The public library in Logan, Iowa fields complaints about a children’s book about Harvey Milk.

Calls for book bans accelerate in Ohio. In this article, a “conservative organizer” says about The Bluest Eye: “I’m not sure what [the book is] supposed to tell us. I mean, there’s no positive.”

The Hempfield (PA) Area School Board is increasing parental involvement in the review process for challenged books. Parental opinion is NOT on the same level as the recommendation of a trained educator, and it shouldn’t be treated as equivalent!!

Prince William County Schools (VA) have elected not to remove 6 challenged titles.

The Davison (MI) Board of Education voted 5-0 to remove 8 books from the middle school and high school media centers, including Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Push.

Wayzata School Board (MN) member’s discomfort over the book Bi-Normal is troubling.

School librarians in Missouri pull books as a new law allows charges for “explicit” materials. Specifically, the law defines explicit sexual material as any visual depiction of sex acts or genitalia, with exceptions for artistic or scientific significance, and can apply to any images in books, magazines, or Internet sites, and carries a maximum penalty of $2000 fine and 1 year in jail.

The Boone County (KY) Fiscal Court approves new oversight on library boards. This is all thanks to a recent state law that moves library board control from the State Department of Libraries and Archives to county judges.

Once again, people don’t understand what constitutes a book ban…in Wellington, Colorado, citizens are asking for 19 books to be removed from school libraries and placed in a restricted area requiring students to obtain adult permission.

The Idaho Commission for Libraries has made changes to its digital materials policy, including removing a section that states that the commission “recognizes the responsibility of individuals to choose their own reading materials,” as well as removing a section denying the ability for one person to restrict material access for others. This is troubling.

An op-ed from the Director of the Boundary County Library (ID): “This is about control of what information our community is allowed access to.”

Alpine School District in Utah reverses its decision to remove 52 books from school libraries, although they have still imposed temporary restrictions on these titles.

The Mead School District (WA) is considering a ban on critical race theory and gender identity books.

What is “soft censorship?”

40 years of Banned Books Week.