California improves transparency of books banned in prisons

Cover of A Prisoner in the Garden by Nelson Mandela, one of the books disapproved in California prisons Steve Brooks writes: “A new state law requires California’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to post the Centralized List of Disapproved Publications [by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)]. CDCR has disapproved over 1,600 books. Books that are banned seem to be disproportionately written by Black and Latino authors and activists, according to Assembly Member Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), who authored the bill.” The new law includes provisions for incarcerated people and others to request OIG review of disapproved books.

Bay City News Service (San Francisco), Feb. 15

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Barbara M. Pope and Samantha Thompson-Franklin write: “Students with disabilities attending institutions of higher education without accessible library resources and students who are unaware of available resources may be unable to fully participate in or complete their education. Accessibility in library resources and services helps to eliminate those barriers, but the information must be communicated to those who need it, including student disability services, teaching faculty, and students themselves. Ideally, academic libraries should collaborate with campus partners to assess existing resources and services to provide accessible learning and support materials.”

Journal of Creative Library Practice, Mar. 25
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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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