Books removed from Florida school district include dictionaries

Part of the cover of the American Heritage Children's Dictionary Judd Legum writes: “The Escambia County (Fla.) School District has removed several dictionaries from its library shelves over concerns that making the dictionaries available to students would violate House Bill 1069, the 2023 Florida law that gives residents the right to demand the removal of any library book that ‘depicts or describes sexual conduct.’ The American Heritage Children’s Dictionary, Webster’s Dictionary for Students, and Merriam-Webster’s Elementary Dictionary are among more than 2800 books (representing 1600 titles) that have been pulled from school libraries and placed into storage, pending review.” Conservative pundit and H.B. 1069 supporter Bill O’Reilly was outraged to find two of his books on the list of those pulled.

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Mike Olson writes: “Library catalogs have always been battlegrounds where content is not merely described but debated. President Trump’s Executive Order 14172 directing the renaming of longstanding geographical designations ‘Mount Denali’ and ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to the politically loaded ‘Mount McKinley’ and ‘Gulf of America’ reveal the naked truth of what cataloging has always been: a battlefield where meaning is contested and conquered. When catalogers implement politically motivated terminology changes, they become unwilling performers in a linguistic ritual that normalizes certain worldviews while erasing others. But there’s potential for subversion within these systems.”

The Scholarly Kitchen, Mar. 25
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Jonah Aragon writes: “There is a growing sentiment that the US shouldn’t be relied upon for the technologies that many people and businesses use every day. At Privacy Guides, we generally value technical guarantees over matters like jurisdiction. There is simply no alternative to privacy technologies like strong end-to-end encryption when it comes to protecting your information. Tools from the European Union (EU) also generally benefit from much stronger data protection laws, thanks to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of some of our favorites.”

Privacy Guides, Mar. 19
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Hannah Fingerhut writes: “Iowa cannot, for now, continue to enforce part of its book ban law, US District Judge Stephen Locher said March 25. The decision temporarily blocks the part of the law that prohibits school libraries and classrooms from carrying books that depict sex acts. In his decision, Locher stated that the unconstitutional applications of the book restrictions ‘far exceed’ the constitutional applications ‘under both legal standards the Court believes are applicable.’ Expecting an appeal, Locher included an alternative standard through which the restrictions could be considered constitutional, but added he does not believe it should be applied in this case.”

Associated Press, Mar. 25; May 26, 2023
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Kim Chandler writes: “The Alabama Public Library Service Board of Trustees voted Thursday to withhold state funding from the Fairhope Public Library after complaints from conservative parents about books in the teen section. Board Chairman John Wahl, who is also the chair of the Alabama Republican Party, said board members believe the Fairhope library is in violation of state policies to protect children from inappropriate materials. The books cited by the upset parents included Sold, a National Book Award finalist about a girl who is sold into sexual slavery in India. Read Freely Alabama has started a fundraiser to try to replace the $42,000 in state funding.”

Associated Press, Mar. 21
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Christine Park writes: “In 1985, anthropologist James C. Scott published Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance, illustrating the ‘prosaic but constant struggle’ of Malaysian villagers indirectly dissenting against the power holders. Since January of this year, there have been seemingly unending and concentrated attacks on [redacted] policies as the new administration has made it a cornerstone of its agenda to combat ‘wokeness’ in America. But it’s fitting to utilize the tools that we have, and not comply in advance. For example, instead of removing any mention of [redacted], we can use visual tools to highlight the absurd and pervasive assault on our First Amendment rights.”

RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Mar. 20
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Megan Nigh writes: “Getting books into your library is one half of the equation, but the other half is getting them into the hands of your teens. Handselling can be effective, but we can’t always be there for every teen looking for their next read. So how do we engage and entice teens to pick up a book? Check out some ideas [including special teen displays, on-shelf recommendations, and light-hearted gimmicks] that worked for us!”

Young Adult Library Services Association: The Hub, Mar. 21
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ALA sent a letter March 20 to Keith E. Sonderling, the new acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), warning him not to cut library programs required by federal law. The letter was sent in response to President Trump’s March 14 executive order, “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” which calls for IMLS’s elimination. Outlining the Congressional mandate of the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) of 2018, which was signed by President Trump, ALA urged Sonderling to follow provisions of the MLSA and avoid violating federal law. Additionally, the National Museum and Library Services Board sent Sonderling a letter outlining IMLS’s statutory obligations.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Mar. 20; Publishers Weekly, Mar. 24

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