Libraries

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media in the Florida Cabinet following his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media after his State of the State address March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla.
Phil Sears/AP
Reading & Literacy There's Confusion Over Book Bans in Florida Schools. Here's Why
Librarians and experts say Florida laws cause book bans in schools, but the governor says there's no connection.
Eesha Pendharkar, March 16, 2023
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9 min read
Photo of librarian pushing book cart.
Wavebreak Media / Getty Images Plus
Curriculum Explainer How School Libraries Buy Books, Struggle for Funds, and Confront Book Bans: An Explainer
Schools are under fire from some parent groups over books they deem explicit. This is how those books end up in their library collections.
Mark Lieberman, February 27, 2023
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12 min read
Books line shelves in a high school library Monday, October 1, 2018, in Brownsville, Texas. The Brownsville Independent School District announced having been awarded a multi-million-dollar grant to revitalize libraries to encourage reading by school-aged children to improve literacy skills. It was stated in the meeting that money could also be used to replace aging furniture in some of the district's libraries.
Books line shelves in a high school library in Brownsville, Texas in 2018. In Florida, school librarians will be required to complete training this year that will include how to seek parent approval before they can purchase new books for school libraries and classrooms.
Jason Hoekema/The Brownsville Herald via AP
Curriculum How Florida's New School Librarian Training Defines Off-Limits Materials
School librarians will soon have to seek parent approval to order new books, and have to avoid books considered "indoctrination."
Eesha Pendharkar, January 19, 2023
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3 min read
A student browses through books in the Presidio Middle School library in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019.
A student browses through books in the Presidio Middle School library in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019.
Paul Chinn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
Professional Development New Training Tells Florida School Librarians Which Books Are Off-Limits
Librarians must undergo training for selecting books and can't choose materials about CRT, SEL, and culturally responsive teaching.
Eesha Pendharkar, January 18, 2023
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6 min read
A students at Frost Elementary School in Jackson, Mich., spends time in the recently revived library on Thursday, May, 19, 2016. A $5,000 grant from the Michigan International Speedway has helped improve the Jackson elementary school's once dormant library.
A student at Frost Elementary School in Jackson, Mich., works in the school library. A new study finds that recent book bans are having an effect on library purchases across the country.
Samantha Madar/Jackson Citizen Patriot via AP
Reading & Literacy What Book Bans Are Doing to School Library Purchases
Book bans might have a much larger impact than the removal of a few titles; they may be changing the makeup of school libraries.
Eesha Pendharkar, January 6, 2023
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4 min read
Children reading books, bookcase behind them
iStock/Getty
Reading & Literacy School Librarians' Top Picks for Holiday Books
Three librarians share some favorite titles that represent a diverse array of holidays and cultural traditions.
Elizabeth Heubeck, December 15, 2022
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5 min read
The Bibles are on display during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
The Bibles are on display during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Reading & Literacy Why the Bible Is Getting Pulled Off School Bookshelves
In an ironic twist, the Bible showed up in mass book removal efforts in at least three districts.
Eesha Pendharkar, December 15, 2022
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5 min read
Image of books in a cell.
erhui1979/DigitalVision Vectors
Equity & Diversity No Parent Objected to These Books. The School District Kept Them Off the Shelf, Anyway
Anti-book ban advocates fear the Florida district's decision to table almost 200 books signals more mass book bans to come.
Eesha Pendharkar, December 9, 2022
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4 min read
Banned books are visible at the Central Library, a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library system, in New York City on Thursday, July 7, 2022. The books are banned in several public schools and libraries in the U.S., but young people can read digital versions from anywhere through the library. The Brooklyn Public Library offers free membership to anyone in the U.S. aged 13 to 21 who wants to check out and read books digitally in response to the nationwide wave of book censorship and restrictions.
Banned books are on diplay at the Central Library, a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library system, in New York City on Thursday, July 7, 2022. Some of these books are among those banned by school districts in Texas.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
School & District Management ACLU Texas Files OCR Complaint Over a District's Anti-Trans Book Ban
The group claims the Keller school district's new policy to remove books about gender fluidity from library shelves violates federal law.
Eesha Pendharkar, November 30, 2022
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4 min read
Banned books are visible at the Central Library, a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library system, in New York City on Thursday, July 7, 2022. The books are banned in several public schools and libraries in the U.S., but young people can read digital versions from anywhere through the library. The Brooklyn Public Library offers free membership to anyone in the U.S. aged 13 to 21 who wants to check out and read books digitally in response to the nationwide wave of book censorship and restrictions.
Several titles in this display of books in at the Central Library in New York city are on Missouri's banned books list. The N.Y. library allows young people anywhere to read digital versions of the books.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
Curriculum Nearly 300 Books Removed From Schools Under Missouri's 'Sexually Explicit Materials' Law
Missouri's efforts to remove books from public schools—either temporarily or permanently—go farther than most.
Eesha Pendharkar, November 18, 2022
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5 min read
101422 mindy lily freeman photo 02 BS
Lily Freeman and her mother, Mindy Freeman, have actively campaigned against efforts to restrict LGBQT books in the Central Bucks school district and elsewhere.
Courtesy of Mindy Freeman
Equity & Diversity Why a Trans Student and Her Mom Are Fighting Their District's Anti-LGBTQ Policies
Lily Freeman and her mother, Mindy Freeman, are working to stem a slew of anti-LGBTQ policies and directives issued in Central Bucks County, Pa.
Eesha Pendharkar, October 14, 2022
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6 min read
Ashley Hope Pérez, author of "Out of Darkness," the third most banned book in the country.
Ashley Hope Pérez, author of <i>Out of Darkness,</i> the third most banned book in the country.
Photo courtesy of Ashley Hope Pérez
Reading & Literacy Q&A Banned-Book Author: If a Book Isn't in the School Library, 'It Might as Well Not Exist'
Ashley Hope Pérez, an author and a former high school English teacher, explains her concerns with the current wave of school book bans.
Eesha Pendharkar, September 27, 2022
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7 min read
Amanda Jones, a librarian in Livingston Parish, La., pictured on Sept. 13, 2022. Jones is suing members of a Facebook group who harassed her virtually after she spoke against censorship in a public library meeting. Jones received angry emails and even a death threat from people across the country after she filed the lawsuit.
Amanda Jones, a librarian in Livingston Parish, La., is suing members of a Facebook group who harassed her virtually after she spoke against censorship in a public library meeting.
Claire Bangser for Education Week
Law & Courts A School Librarian Pushes Back on Censorship and Gets Death Threats and Online Harassment
Amanda Jones lost her legal battle against online harassers this week but vows to continue to press her case.
Eesha Pendharkar, September 22, 2022
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7 min read
Distressed photograph of an empty card catalogue cabinet
Arkadiusz Warguła/iStock/Getty
Education Funding Opinion Book Bans? My School Doesn’t Even Have a Library
Underfunding schools is its own censorship, writes one Philadelphia public school teacher. After all, they can’t ban books we don’t have.
Lydia Kulina-Washburn, July 26, 2022
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4 min read
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