was originally reported by Nadra Nittle of .��

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, first partner of California, doesn’t mince words: “When so many things that support working families, children and older adults are being ripped away by this administration in order to help offset billionaire tax cuts, it is our duty to raise up and support these critical public resources.”

It’s a fiery critique of Washington’s priorities — one that has led her to expand the annual summer she began four years ago. The club includes a recommended list of children’s books available at nearly 900 libraries statewide and support for library programs to attract more youth. On occasion, Siebel Newsom and local authors appear at book club events, such as in June, when they dropped by the Altadena Library after the establishment revived its summer reading program following the catastrophic Eaton Fire in January. For the first time, Siebel Newsom’s book club will take place all year long, she announced recently.

Book clubs are critical interventions against “the summer slide” — the brain drain that hits kids when school’s out, causing them to lose months of academic skills and scramble to catch up come fall. Amid what experts describe as a nationwide , Siebel Newsom’s club, formed in collaboration with the California State Library, urges young people to disconnect from the internet and enter the “third space” that is the library — one where they encounter community members from all walks of life.

But there’s one problem: Libraries themselves are under siege. The this spring in a broader attack on public institutions wrapped up with efforts to purge diversity, equity and inclusion from public life.

“At a time when beloved, long-standing public institutions, like our libraries and our parks, are being outright attacked by the administration in D.C., we’re working hard in California to uplift and protect them,” Siebel Newsom said.

None of the 20 titles in Siebel Newsom’s book club has faced censorship — yet. Their themes, however, include positive girl representation, environmental leadership and youth mental health, all of which have been fodder for the culture wars that have played out in the nation’s classrooms.

There’s author Jen Wang’s “,” a book for high school students about a youth’s fight against climate change. Also on the list is JaNay Brown-Wood’s “,” about children learning that planting a garden rarely goes as planned. Aphids, anyone?

In addition to her book club and the Trump’s administration’s attacks against libraries, Siebel Newsom spoke to The 19th about how to respond when kids struggle to read, toxic internet culture and the fact that her governor husband is also a children’s book author.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.��

Nadra Nittle: Why was it important for you to launch this book club? 

Jennifer Siebel Newsom: I started the book club in 2021 to help get more kids and families reading and in our public libraries, especially over the summer. Studies show that students who participate in summer reading programs have improved educational outcomes, and in fact, early literacy is linked to success throughout life — from academics, to earning power, to mental and physical health. And now, more than ever, books offer our kids a much-needed mental health break from the often toxic online world.

This year, we’re expanding the summer book club into a year-round program to encourage kids and families to read more and visit our public libraries year round. In addition to a list of incredible reads for preschool through high school-aged kids, the book club includes investments in library programs that help get more families into libraries — volunteer projects in library gardens, digital storytelling workshops and even library lunches.

The nation’s children are reportedly experiencing a literacy crisis. How does your book club address it?

Helping connect children to great reads available for free check-out and helping get more families into our amazing libraries is a small step to help address a much larger problem around early literacy. Between 2011-2022, California had one of the largest gains in fourth-grade reading levels. However, the state has more work to do to ensure that all kids, no matter their ZIP code, have a chance to read and thrive.

This June, the governor announced the , outlining new investments to boost student reading achievement. In California, we’ve made big investments in education: after-school and summer school programs, free universal transitional kindergarten so all 4-year-olds can start school, and universal school meals, ensuring all kids get at least two meals a day — including through the Farm to School initiative, which ensures that healthier and locally sourced real foods are getting to nearly 50 percent of our schools statewide.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote a 2021 children’s book that draws on his experience with dyslexia, “Ben and Emma’s Big Hit.” He’s also said that two of your children have fallen behind in reading previously. Any advice for families navigating similar issues? 

Yes, absolutely: Read to your children every night and as often as you can and cultivate a love of books and stories. Also, notice if they are struggling at all and get them screened early, as early literacy is such a critical component in educational success and success throughout the span of a life. I am so proud that thanks in large part to my husband’s work and advocacy on this issue, as of this year, California is ensuring that all kindergarten, first and second grade students are annually screened in school for reading difficulties, including dyslexia.

How do the titles chosen for the book club this year stand out?

Well, for starters, librarians across California helped curate the list, and they really are experts on what books are irresistible to kids of all ages. This year’s list also centers around themes of positive role models for girls, environmental stewardship and kids’ mental health. Those issues are close to my own heart, too, as someone whose work has focused so much on women and girls empowerment, improving our climate and food supply through initiatives, and building family and children’s mental health resilience.

For example, “,” by Mariama J. Lockington, is aimed at middle schoolers and follows 13-year-old Andi’s journey as one of the few Black girls in a sea of White faces at music camp. It is just a beautiful coming-of-age story about belonging and the friendships that heal us, following the loss of loved ones early in life. It’s also a love letter to music! Another wonderful book for high schoolers struggling with the fears and frustrations of climate change is “,” which follows one teen’s attempt to right the wrongs of climate destruction by building a secret cabin in the wilderness of California.

How have federal cuts affected funding for California’s libraries, and what has the state done in response?

Sadly, we live in a time when public resources we all used to agree on — our libraries, our beautiful state parks — are under attack from the administration in D.C. California’s federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant for library funding was Through legal challenges, however, some — though not all — of the funding has been restored. California is helping to protect our libraries and parks in our budget, including by helping make these public treasures more accessible to all.

The books on your club’s list haven’t faced censorship, though some in recent years. How has Gov. Newsom addressed these efforts?

I think we can look at history and see that civilizations and governments that banned books were never headed in the right direction. If anything, now more than ever, we need more access to books and more educational freedom. And children, in particular, need to see the world in all of its colors and learn tolerance and how different perspectives and kinds of people make up a shared common humanity.

In California, the governor in 2023 that prevents “book bans” in schools, censorship of instructional materials and strengthens California law requiring schools to provide all students access to textbooks that teach about California’s diverse communities.

You mentioned books offering a “mental health break” from the toxic internet. I recently wrote about the . Do you have any thoughts about this?

So many thoughts! It is a continuing focus for my film work. [Siebel Newsom is a documentary filmmaker.] And looking back on my own childhood, diving into books and the comfort of our public library almost certainly served as “alternative programming” for a girl coming of age in the largely sexist media culture of the time. The misogynistic pre-internet culture I was trying to escape from as a kid seems almost quaint compared to what kids face today. But this is why I think that the act of reading — and access to libraries — may be even more critical for young people today than it has ever been.

Books spur a lifelong curiosity about others and the world and systems one is born into. They can offer a different perspective and show one the strength of the human spirit to rise above and carve out one’s own unique voice. The books I read as a kid created a lifelong love of the transformative power of storytelling, which has fueled me throughout my career in filmmaking and advocacy.

What was your favorite childhood book, and do you think it would still resonate with kids today?

“The Little House” series was the earliest one that had an outsized impact on me, especially with the stories so grounded in a young girl’s perspective. I do think they are still wonderful and relevant and know that today they are taught with historical context and to encourage critical thinking too, so that kids can understand the full picture of that moment in our history.

This story was originally published on The 19th.

After slashing a popular reading program from the budget, Gov. Mike Braun said Friday he asked First Lady Maureen Braun to spearhead an initiative to keep Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Indiana.

“She has agreed and she will work with philanthropic partners and in consultation with state leadership to identify funding opportunities for the book distribution program,” the governor said in a news release.

The program gifts free, high quality, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five on a monthly basis, regardless of family income.

Former Gov. Eric Holcomb included a statewide expansion of the program in his 2023 legislative agenda. The General Assembly earmarked $6 million for the program in the state’s last biennial budget — $2 million in the first year and $4 million in the second — to ensure that all Hoosier kids qualify to receive free books.

But when Gov. Braun prepared his budget proposal in January he discontinued the funding as part of an overall effort to rein in state spending.

“I am honored to lead this work to help ensure our youngest Hoosiers have as much exposure as possible to books and learning,” said First Lady Maureen Braun. “Indiana has many strong community partners and I am confident we will collaborate on a solution that grows children’s love of reading.”

Jeff Conyers, president of The Dollywood Foundation, said he appreciates Braun’s commitment to early childhood literacy.

“The Imagination Library brings the joy of reading to over 125,000 Hoosier children each month in all 92 counties across the state, and we are encouraged by Governor and First Lady Braun’s support to ensure its future in Indiana. We look forward to working with the Governor and First Lady, state leaders, and Local Program Partners to keep books in the hands of Indiana’s youngest learners and strengthen this foundation for a lifetime of success,” he said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.

Karen Grant and fellow school librarians throughout New Jersey have heard an increasingly loud chorus of parents and conservative activists demanding that certain books — often about race, gender and sexuality — be removed from the shelves.

In the past year, Grant and her colleagues in the Ewing Public Schools just north of Trenton updated a 3-decade-old policy on reviewing parents’ challenges to books they see as pornographic or inappropriate. Grant’s team feared that without a new policy, the district would immediately bend to someone who wanted certain books banned.

Around the same time, state lawmakers in Trenton were readying legislation to set a book challenge policy for the entire state, preventing book bans based solely on the subject of a book or the author’s background or views, while also protecting public and school librarians from legal or civil liabilities from people upset by the reading materials they offer.

When Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed that measure into law last month, Grant breathed a little easier.

“We just hear so many stories of our librarians feeling threatened and targeted,” said Grant, who works at Parkway Elementary School and serves as president of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians. “This has been a wrong, an injustice that needs to be made right.”

Amid a national rise in book bans in school libraries and new laws in some red states that threaten criminal penalties against librarians, a growing number of blue states are taking the opposite approach.

New Jersey at least five other states — California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington — that have passed legislation within the past two years that aims to preserve access to reading materials that deal with racial and sexual themes, including those about the LGBTQ+ community.

Conservative groups have led the effort to ban materials to shield children from what they deem as harmful content. In the 2023-24 school year, there were 10,000 instances of book bans across the U.S. — nearly three times as many as the year before, according to by PEN America, a nonprofit that advocates for literary freedom.

“Certain books are harmful to children — just like drugs, alcohol, Rated R movies and tattoos are harmful to them,” Kit Hart, chair of the Carroll County, Maryland, chapter of Moms for Liberty, a national organization leading the book banning effort, wrote in an email.

But some states are now safeguarding librarians and the books they offer.

“State leaders are demonstrating that censorship has no place in their state and that the freedom to read is a principle that is supported and protected,” said Kasey Meehan, director of the Freedom to Read program at PEN America, which has been tracking book bans since 2021.

The drive to ban certain books is not waning, however. While a handful of states fight censorship in school libraries, some communities within those states are attempting to retake local control and continuing to remove materials that conservative local officials regard as lurid and harmful to children.

‘Lives are in the balance’

The New Jersey not only sets minimum standards for localities when they adopt a policy on how books are curated or can be challenged but also prevents school districts from removing material based on “the origin, background, or views of the library material or those contributing to its creation.”

The law also gives librarians immunity from civil and criminal liability for “good faith actions.”

New Jersey state Sen. Andrew Zwicker, a Democrat who introduced the legislation, said until recently he thought that book bans were a disturbing trend, but one limited to other states. But early last year, he went to a brunch event and met a school librarian who told him she faced a torrent of verbal and online abuse for refusing to remove a handful of books with LGBTQ+ themes from her library’s shelves.

“That’s when I realized that I was so horribly mistaken, that these attacks on librarians and on the freedom to read were happening everywhere,” Zwicker told Stateline. “I went up to her and asked, ‘What can I do?’”

He said he’s already heard from lawmakers in Rhode Island who are considering introducing a similar measure this year.

A child who identifies with the LGBTQ+ community can read a memoir like “” by Maia Kobabe and feel seen for the first time in their lives, he said.

“I do not think it’s an overstatement to say that lives are in the balance here, that these books are that important to people, and that librarians are trusted gatekeepers to ensure that what’s on the shelf of a library has been curated and is appropriate,” Zwicker said.

These new state laws, several of which are titled the “Freedom to Read Act,” passed almost entirely along party lines, with unanimous Democratic support.

In New Jersey, Republican state Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, who has worked in schools for the past 18 years, including as an English teacher, vehemently opposed the measure. She did not respond to an interview request.

“This isn’t puritanical parents saying, ‘Oh, I don’t want my child to learn how babies are made,’” during a September committee hearing. “That’s ridiculous, and we all know it.”

She added, “What I do want is for us to be able to have an honest conversation about some of what is in these texts that is extraordinarily inappropriate for that grade level.”

Enforcement and penalties

Legislation differs by state, including in enforcement and how to penalize noncompliant localities.

In Illinois, for example, school districts risk losing thousands of dollars in state grant funding if they violate the state’s new law discouraging book bans. But as the Chicago Tribune , that financial penalty was not enough to persuade many school districts throughout the state to comply, with administrators saying they are concerned about giving up local control on school decisions.

Several school districts in other states have similarly rebelled.

North of Minneapolis, St. Francis Area Schools’ board last month it would consult with conservative group BookLooks to determine which books it will buy for its school libraries. BookLooks uses a 0-through-5 that flags books for violent and sexual content.

Under its rating system, books that have long had a place in school libraries — such as the Holocaust memoir “Night” by Elie Wiesel or “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou — would require parental consent to read.

Asked about the school district potentially violating state law, school board member Amy Kelly, who led the drive to use BookLooks, declined to be interviewed. Karsten Anderson, superintendent of St. Francis Area Schools, also declined an interview request.

In Maryland, Carroll County schools the state in banning books in recent years, removing in the 2023-2024 school year at least 59 titles that were “sexually explicit,” according to a tally by PEN America.

Schools should not allow children to see “kink and porn,” wrote Hart, of Moms for Liberty. She got involved in the effort more than three years ago, saying she wanted to protect her five children and parents’ rights to make educational decisions.

She pointed to one book to make her point: “: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human,” a nonfiction book in graphic novel form by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan that seeks to educate teenagers about anatomy and consensual and safe sex. The book explores other issues of gender and sexuality, as well. Hart likened the book’s illustrations showing different ways of having sex to “erotica.”

“Parents who provide their children with alcohol or drugs, or to give them a tattoo would rightly be charged with crimes,” she wrote Stateline in an email. “Schools that provide children with sexually explicit content are negligent at best.”

The future of book bans

Around 8,000 of the more than 10,000 instances of banned books during the 2023-24 school year were in Florida and Iowa schools, according to PEN America. Lawmakers in those states enacted legislation in 2023 that created processes for school districts to remove books that have sexual content.

Iowa now that reading materials offered in schools be “age-appropriate,” while the Florida ensures that books challenged for depicting or describing “sexual conduct” be removed from shelves while the challenge is processed by the district.

Some of those banned books classics, such as “Roots” by Alex Haley and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith.

Over the past year, lawmakers in Idaho, Tennessee and Utah passed measures that ban certain reading materials that deal with sex or are otherwise deemed inappropriate, according to from EveryLibrary, an Illinois-based organization that advocates against book bans. Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs similar legislation in June.

Laws that allow for book bans have been the subject of in recent years, as plaintiffs argue those measures violate constitutional protections of free expression.

Late last month, a federal judge parts of a 2023 Arkansas law that threatened prison time for librarians who distribute “harmful” material to minors. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, a Republican, announced the state would appeal the decision.

EveryLibrary is 26 bills in five states that lawmakers will consider this year that would target books with sexual and racial themes.

The organized effort to remove books because of LGBTQ+ or racial themes will continue, said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

The association, which book bans as part of its mission to support libraries and information science, found that most of the around the country had LGBTQ+ protagonists.

“Librarians have always been all about providing individuals with access to the information they need, whether it’s for education, for enrichment, for understanding,” she said in an interview. “Censorship is diametrically opposed to that mission.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

Florida topped every state in the nation for the number of books removed from school libraries during the 2023-2024 school year.

That’s 4,500 books from July 2023 to June 2024, according to an annual report from PEN America, a nonprofit advocating for freedom of expression.

That represents nearly half of nationwide removals, which numbered 10,064. Iowa, which removed more than 3,600 books, was next closest to Florida.

Florida’s 2023 law, HB 1069, created a legal process for removing books, including a requirement that they be pulled while schools respond to challenges filed by parents or citizens. The list compiled by PEN includes books permanently removed from schools, removed pending investigation, and restrictions based on grade level or requiring parental permission.

Thirty-three school districts in Florida removed books, according to PEN’s report.

Escambia, Clay, Collier, and Orange counties’ removal numbers were among the highest in the state.

Escambia accounted for 1,582 of Florida’s removals. A great deal of them were “banned pending investigation” in August 2023, shortly after the book removal law took effect.

During the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers passed a law limiting book challenges by residents without a child in school to one per month.

A group of book publishers against the Florida Board of Education in August, claiming the book removal law is overboard and has caused a chilling effect.

Nationwide

The 10,064 removals nationwide included 4,231 unique titles across 29 states and 220 school districts. In 2022-2023, schools removed 1,557; in 2021-2022, the number was 1,643.

Of that total, 43% were complete removals.

“It is important to recognize that books available in schools, whether in a school or classroom library or as part of a curriculum, were selected by librarians and educators as part of the educational offerings to students,” reads the PEN America news release.

“Book bans occur when those choices are overridden by school boards, administrators, or even politicians on the basis of a particular book’s content.”

Among the titles removed in more than one district, more than half, 57%, included sex-related themes and 39% included LGBTQ characters or people.

The most banned book was “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult. Other most commonly removed titles include “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, and “A Court of Frost and Starlight” by Sarah J. Maas.

“Having the most banned book in the country is not a badge of honor — it’s a call for alarm,” Picoult said in PEN’s news release.

“‘Nineteen Minutes’ is banned not because it’s about a school shooting, but [] because of a single page that depicts a date rape and uses anatomically correct words for the human body. It is not gratuitous or salacious, and it is not — as the book banners claim — porn. In fact, hundreds of kids have told me that reading ‘19 Minutes’ stopped them from committing a school shooting, or showed them they were not alone in feeling isolated.”

The nonprofit states that its numbers present a “snapshot of the total number of book bans and the distribution of book bans across states and districts are likely an undercount. Book bans from schools and districts often go under-reported or unreported.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on and .

Computer labs at Delaware libraries across the state are closed after hackers on Friday seized control of the virtual servers that run the facility’s public-use computers, according to Delaware Division of Libraries Director Annie Norman.

The hackers now are demanding money from the state in order to relinquish control of the system, Norman said. She did not know the exact amount demanded but said she “heard” it was around $1 million.

Norman added that she will direct the Division of Libraries not to pay any ransom, insisting instead that the Delaware libraries rebuild the servers that run the public’s computers.

She did not immediately know when the rebuild will occur, nor when the public-access computers will again be available.

“We see a lot of stories about this around the nation, and it seems to be recommended not to pay the ransom, but to rebuild,” she said.

The hack marks the latest in a trend of high-profile breaches of local government computer systems across the United States. On its website, governments have been “particularly visible targets for ransomware attacks.”

Last year, Kent County’s local government experienced what it called “a hostile network intrusion” which downed its webpage and rendered its office phones unusable for more than a month. 

Last month, the Bayhealth health care system based in Dover was , who were offering much of the stolen data on dark web boards for upward of $1.4 million in Bitcoin.

The Division of Libraries technology staff has been consulting with officials from Microsoft and with the Delaware Department of Technology and Information, Norman said. They still are trying to determine “what happened and where they got it,” she said. 

A spokeswoman from Delaware DTI declined to provide details about their consultancy.

In the days since the hack on Friday, several local libraries posted updates on social media sites about their public computer terminals not working. They did not reveal that the system had been the victim of a ransomware attack. 

On Monday, the Division of Libraries posted a note on its website stating that libraries are “experiencing an extended system/internet outage that is affecting some, not all, library services.”

Norman’s division oversees more than 30 libraries across the state. Each operates a computer lab that offers free access to the internet and low-cost printing. The labs are relied upon by a cross section of society, especially people without regular access to the internet. 

Norman stressed that the libraries remain open and still have WiFi, though she said it has been “a little spotty.”

She also emphasized that library card holders’ information is not currently at risk. 

“The good news is — thank God there’s some good news — is it’s not affecting the catalog, which is where there’s patron information,” she said.

The published on .

Imagination Library of Montana celebrated the statewide expansion earlier this summer of the program providing free books to children.

An initiative of First Lady Susan Gianforte, Imagination Library of Montana is a partner of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The Governor’s Office announced in June the growth of the nonprofit that boosts early childhood literacy.

“It is exciting to see how Imagination Library continues to spread across Montana and inspire a love of reading in our state’s youngest readers,” First Lady Gianforte said in a statement. “Our local partners have done a fantastic job helping families get enrolled and spreading the word that this program is available to all Montana children up to age 5.

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“I look forward to seeing its continued growth and impact.”

The program provides a free book each month to any child up to 5 who

“Prior to launching the initiative, the program was only available in some Montana counties and approximately 9,500 Montana children were enrolled,” said a news release from the Governor’s Office. “Today, Imagination Library of Montana has 63 local program partners in all 56 counties serving nearly 24,000 of the state’s eligible children.”

It said Montana is the 16th state to take the program statewide. The news release said the program is part of the Dollywood Foundation, a nonprofit that has gifted more than 200 million free books in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland.

The Imagine Library mails more than 2 million “high-quality, age-appropriate books” each month, said the news release.

“Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading and inspiring children to Dream More, Learn More, Care More and Be More. The program has been widely researched, and results demonstrate its positive impact on early childhood development and literacy skills,” said the news release. “Boosting literacy to empower more Montana children and promoting and expanding access to STEM education, particularly for girls and students in our rural communities, are our First Lady’s chief initiatives.”

United Way of Missoula County announced this month it had delivered its 300,000th book through the Imagination Library program after opening in 2015. It operates in Missoula and Mineral counties and helped launch the program in Ravalli County.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Daily Montanan maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Darrell Ehrlick for questions: info@dailymontanan.com. Follow Daily Montanan on and .

Colorado legislators are advancing a last-minute bill that would require public libraries to implement guardrails on how they review and remove materials in their catalogs.

would require boards for public libraries across the state to establish written policies on how they acquire, display and use library resources, as well as a process for reconsidering materials. State Sen. Lisa Cutter, a Littleton Democrat sponsoring the bill, said many libraries already have these processes in place and will be able to keep them.

The bill’s introduction comes shortly before the end of the 2024 legislative session, and months after lawmakers killed a similar bill, , in February. The new version has broader support given its focus solely on public libraries — the previous bill included school libraries as well, but many school districts opposed the policy. Cutter said that otherwise, the provisions in the new bill are almost exactly the same.

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The bill would require libraries to adhere to certain procedural standards when a member of the public seeks to remove material from their collections. During the review, the material would have to remain in circulation, and the results of the review must be made available to the public. Library materials covered by the bill include digital and physical book collections, as well as displays and community programs.

The bill would also require that someone challenging a book or other library material lives within the service area of that library. Materials would also be eligible for reevaluation once every five years. Cutter said both of these requirements are intended to protect library staff from “ban bombing” to ensure they aren’t overwhelmed with hundreds of requests.

Cutter said librarians work hard to curate materials that patrons will benefit from under a tight budget, but attacks from “culture war extremists” have threatened the ability for other library patrons to access the materials and programming they need. The bill would also prohibit retaliation, such as demotion, firing or discipline, against someone working at a library who refuses to remove a library resource before it has gone through the review process.

“This is a very thoughtful process that librarians go through, and instead of simply choosing not to attend an event or check out a book, other people want to make those choices for others,” Cutter said at the bill’s committee hearing Monday. “Public libraries have a duty in our system to challenge censorship and to stand firmly against partisan or doctrinal disapproval when making their decisions.”

While she said she was disappointed after the first bill failed, Cutter still wanted to establish standards for public libraries, many of which strongly supported the legislation. She said Senate leadership knew the bill was a priority for her and she’s grateful to have introduced it before the end of session.

“It’s really interesting to learn about other experiences and other cultures and broaden your worldview,” Cutter said. “I’m really excited that we’re going to help support the idea that a wide range of literature should be available for people to enjoy and learn from and explore without unnecessary restriction.”

Support from librarians

Mark Fink, executive director of Anythink Libraries, the public library system in Adams County, testified in support of the bill on behalf of the Colorado Association of Libraries. He said the bill challenges censorship and protects the right to read freely, as well as library workers.

“Our community is becoming more diverse and our library needs safeguards so we can amplify all the voices and experiences of our residents and include diverse items in our collection that resonate with them,” Fink said. “This bill protects our ability to do this important work.”

Fink said parents are entitled to determine what they want their children to read, but that right does not extend to other children.

“While a specific book may not be the right fit for one child, that doesn’t mean it isn’t the perfect fit for another child,” Fink said.

In the last few years, and censorship spurred by parents and right-wing groups has targeted books that center on the LGBTQ+ community, Black history and diverse stories across the country. Douglas County Libraries to ban four LGBTQ-focused books after months of meetings and public comment.

State Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, a Commerce City Democrat and co-sponsor of SB-216, said at least 136 book titles were challenged across Colorado in the first eight months of 2023 — a 143% increase from 2022, according to the American Library Association. Fink added that materials representing LGBTQ and BIPOC voices made up 47% of the titles targeted in Colorado last year.

“Regardless of background, zip code or socioeconomic status, we have a right to read a wide range of materials that provide us with the knowledge base and the critical thinking skills that we need to be informed citizens who will contribute positively to our democracy,” Michaelson Jenet said at the committee hearing. “Our communities deserve to be represented in public spaces like public libraries, and codifying those legal standards demonstrates our commitment to protecting all Coloradans.”

The Senate Education Committee approved the bill in a 4-3 vote along party lines. Republicans on the committee thought the five year limitation on material review was too long.

The committee approved two amendments to the bill, making changes to some definitions and wording to better align with library terminology and to win support from the Colorado Municipal League.

The bill will now go to the full Senate for consideration. The 2024 legislative session will conclude on May 8.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on and .

Thirty people, including library staff, board members and patrons testified in person and virtually at a Senate State Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday morning to voice their opinions on the Legislature’s most recent library bill — .

However, the committee did not vote on any motion related to the bill because of time constraints. Committee chairman Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, said the committee will continue its discussion at a later time.

An affirmative vote in the committee would secure the bill a spot on the Senate floor, making the bill one step closer to becoming law after the Idaho House of Representatives last week in a 47-23 vote.

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House Bill 710 is an amended version of a previous bill introduced earlier this year. The bill would rely on Idaho’s , which includes “any act of … homosexuality” under its definition of sexual conduct.

It would require libraries to have a form for people to request review of materials. The bill grants county prosecuting attorneys or the attorney general the authority to seek injunctive relief against schools or public libraries found violating the law on promoting, giving, or making available material deemed harmful to minors.

Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, the sponsor of the bill, said she believes the bill is a great solution.

“Parents and citizens of the state of Idaho and the rest of the country are angry and want access to this harmful material to children be removed,” she said.

House Bill 710 was the only piece of legislation on the committee’s agenda Wednesday morning, and public testimony took nearly all two hours of the committee’s allotted time.

Most of the librarians who testified said the legislation is confusing, unnecessary and demoralizing to their professions. Many said this year marks the third year they have had to testify in opposition to a library bill, and they expressed frustration that the bill is targeting the LGBTQ+ community under its definition of materials harmful to minors.

Megan Cafferty, a Meridian librarian, said her main concern was the costs that this bill would create for Idaho libraries, noting that the $250 fine in damages would disproportionately hurt small libraries, and requiring an adults-only section would create challenges for libraries with limited staff and space in their building.

“Currently we are having issues even retaining our current staff because we can’t compete with the rising cost of living,” she said. “We can’t afford to live in the city where we work. I personally can’t have a studio apartment and afford to eat in Meridian, so we definitely can’t afford to remodel and add all of these extra costs.”

Huda Shaltry, a Boise librarian and the legislative co-chair for the Idaho Librarian Association, said that library-related legislation has created challenges in her career. But for each negative encounter, she said she experiences hundreds of positive interactions with library patrons.

“Every week somebody has thanked me for the existence of libraries and what we do and the resources that we provide the tech support, the printing, helping people find a home or escape their domestic violence situation,” she said. “This is what we do. This is what I was trained to do.”

Grace Howat, a representative for the conservative organization, Idaho Family Policy Center, was the only person to testify in favor of the legislation. In her testimony, she said the policy center is excited to support the bill as it would protect children.

Recap of library bills during 2024 session

House Bill 710 was brought to the Legislature after the Idaho Senate Senate Bill 1289, of previous legislation brought by Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, and Sen. Geoff Schroeder, R-Mountain Home.

At least four bills have been brought to the Idaho Legislature to regulate library materials for minors, including

House Bill 384, which library patrons to sue libraries if they provide “harmful materials” to minors. It would have also created a policy that requires community members fill out a written notice asking libraries to relocate a library item that they deem “harmful” to an adult’s only section. If a library failed to relocate the item within 30 days, then one could have sued the library for $250, as well as “actual damages and any other relief.” , which would have required school boards establish a “library materials review committee,” or a group of parents, educators and administrators who review requests for reconsideration of school library items, the Idaho Capital Sun . It did not advance to a hearing.Senate Bill 1289, which according to bill sponsors, combined House Bill 384 and Senate Bill 1221. It died in a 18-17 vote in the Senate, the Sun . House Bill 710, of House Bill 384.

While regulating library materials is at the top of the agenda for some Republican legislators, a Boise State University survey showed that most Idahoans trust library staff with book selection. According to the university’s ninth annual , 69% of respondents said they trust library staff with book selection, while 23% of Idahoans said they do not trust libraries and library staff.

At the end of the committee hearing Monday, Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder, R-Boise, addressed the librarians in the room, some of whom came from Idaho Falls, Ketchum and across the Treasure Valley.

“Please don’t think this is out of disrespect to any of you as librarians, any of you as teachers,” Winder said. “That’s not what this is about. We’ve got parents that have concerns we’re trying to deal with, and remember, our Constitution is set up to protect the minority, not the majority.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com. Follow Idaho Capital Sun on and .

Jessica Davis knows all about encouraging her kids to read. The Garfield Park mom has three kids, all at “totally different” reading levels. Her daughter will pick up three books at a time, while one of her sons wants nothing to do with it. Her other son has autism, Davis said, and he needs extra stimulation to drive his interests.

For Davis, that means filling her home with all kinds of books — chapter stories and picture books, fantasy novels, sports stories and biographies of successful Black athletes such as Jackie Robinson and Wilma Rudolph — to capture each of their interests.

That can be a big cost for a family of three growing readers, so Davis said, she turned to The Mind Trust.

The local nonprofit has given small literacy grants,ranging from $500 to $5,000, to dozens of Center Township families over the last four years. Equipped now with more than 200 books in her home library, Davis said the grant helped advance her family’s reading goals far more quickly than she could have achieved on her own.

“I don’t think, where I am financially, there would have been a point in time where I had that chunk of money to do something like this,” Davis said. “It would have been little by little.”

At a time when Indiana educators and lawmakers are looking to improve reading scores across the state, Davis’ approach shows an example of one model that works. The mom says all of her kids’ test scores have improved.

The Mind Trust began its  four years ago after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, acknowledging that learning gaps were likely to worsen as students spent time out of school.

State officials say literacy rates have been on the decline for a decade, long before the pandemic. But reading scores have remained stagnant in the years since COVID-19 started, with about one in five third graders last spring not passing the state’s standardized reading exam. That motivated state officials to secure grants for large-scale tutoring projects and  to help Indiana meet a goal of 95% of students reading at grade level by 2027.

The Mind Trust oversees one of those large grant projects. The Indiana Department of Education chose the nonprofit to administer its statewide  program, which has awarded more than 20,000 tutoring grants in partnership with 380 schools. But, the Go Farther Literacy Fund, which may only reach a handful of students with each award, is just as important, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit told Mirror Indy.

“Not only is it building literacy skills,” said Kateri Whitley, the Mind Trust’s senior communications director, “It’s building community.”

Davis and her family have received two rounds of grants. She used the first, a $2,500 grant awarded last year, to select books for her kids and build out a space where they would enjoy reading. That included a beanbag chair, rug, bookshelves and a crash pad for sensory learners.

“I’m just trying to cultivate a healthy relationship with being calm and reading at the same time,” she said.

This year, Davis applied for a second round, totaling $2,000, to help buy a laptop to use digital programs such as Audible and Amazon Books during the summer after her kids turn in their school-issued Chromebooks. She also picked out a children’s dictionary and thesaurus set, cursive handwriting books and new titles her kids picked for themselves.

Davis said her family hopes to apply again for a third round to add seats in their home reading room.

“We have found with all three of our kids, a lot of their friends don’t have the best home life, don’t have the opportunity to even go to the library,” Davis said. “The next steps would just be adding to our collection … so that other children can come and have a spot to sit and relax and read.”

Building cultural connections

The Mind Trust has given four dozen grants to families. The nonprofit also awarded funds to a few small projects each year.

, an Indianapolis-based language school, received a $3,000 grant this year to support the launch of Libros Para Indy, a program that puts books written by Latino authors directly in the hands of Spanish-speaking families.

María Rosana Mestre, the program’s founder, sources hard-to-find books by authors from countries such as Argentina, Chile, Spain and Venezuela. Families are encouraged to take home their favorite titles, read them and bring them back to exchange with others.

Some of the books are bilingual. Others are written in Portuguese. Mestre says incorporating these books into bilingual students’ reading can help build a connection to material they may not otherwise find in their English-based lessons at school. That connection, Mestre said, can create excitement for reading that later translates to other studies.

“It’s reading for pleasure, not reading because it’s homework,” Mestre said. “The truth is that many times they are not native English readers, and many of their families are behind because they don’t read at home.”

Judith Gomez heard about Libros Para Indy through her children’s school, Invent Learning Hub. She showed up there last week with her daughters to pick up new books to take home.

“I feel like an important person because of the people who come here and share information,” Gomez, speaking in Spanish, told Mirror Indy through a translator. “They take account of us as Latinos.”

Seeing results

Davis used her grant money to educate her kids about their cultural heritage. She shopped at , owned by local author Leah Johnson, and picked titles that teach Black history or have appeared on banned books lists. She said she wants her children to feel represented through the books they read.

“With their reading comprehension, it has made a difference for them to have stories that they’re really interested in,” Davis said. “Because now they can give me the actual synopsis about what was just read.”

She says those gains have matched the goals her kids’ teachers set for them at school. Davis said she regularly communicates with the educators at Emma Donnan Elementary and Middle School.

She shares credit with her kids’ teachers, but feels strongly the extra time reading out of school has made a difference. Today, her kids read for at least 20 to 30 minutes a day.

“They enjoy it a lot more,” Davis said. “That’s really the goal. I want them to be enthusiastic about all of it.”

The Mind Trust plans to offer the grant again next school year. In the meantime, the nonprofit has shared resources  about how families can start their own home libraries.

This story was originally published on Mirror Indy.

Some parents’ public comments against diversity and inclusion initiatives likely led to “increased fears and possibly harassment” of students, and the district’s efforts to reduce any harm were insufficient, according to from the department’s Office for Civil Rights.

The resolution required the Atlanta-area Forsyth County Schools to notify students of its library book review process, but concluded it did not violate federal discrimination and harassment laws when Superintendent Jeff Bearden directed staff to remove eight books last year for material it deemed sexually explicit.

Some anti-censorship advocates welcomed the department’s involvement.

“This is the most volatile time in history of book censorship,” said Pat Scales, a retired school librarian and former chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee. “I hope that the [Office for Civil Rights] will look into more cases.”

That’s what Democrats in the House requested earlier this year when the department to investigate whether restrictions on books and curriculum violate the law. The Georgia action — which a department spokesperson confirmed was the first time its civil rights division issued findings on book removals — could inform how other districts handle future challenges. But the spokesperson added that “neither the investigation nor the resolution agreement directs, supervises or controls curriculum.”

Democrats recently criticized the GOP-led , which they say will lead to more book bans. Republicans intend the measure to increase transparency into curriculum and reading materials.

The department’s resolution comes as Republicans continue to push restrictions on students’ access to library materials. The Louisiana Senate last week passed a bill that would allow parents to block their children from checking out books they considered inappropriate. And under that takes effect Aug. 1, librarians and educators in Arkansas could face criminal charges if they distribute texts labeled “obscene.”

Last week in Florida, nonprofit PEN America, publisher Random House, five authors whose books have been removed and two parents for withdrawing controversial books even when experts in the district advised against it. 

The district is “depriving students of access to a wide range of viewpoints, and depriving the authors … of the opportunity to engage with readers and disseminate their ideas to their intended audiences,” according to the complaint. 

Beyond its investigation into the 54,000-student Forsyth district, the department began looking into the Granbury Independent School District in Texas last December. The American Civil Liberties Union calling the district’s removal of books with LGBTQ themes sex discrimination under Title IX. That investigation is ongoing.

In Forsyth, parents complained about books that included John Green’s a story of a boy at an Alabama boarding school that has a sex scene, and a memoir about growing up gay and Black by journalist George Johnson, one of the plaintiffs in the Florida lawsuit. The books, which were not required reading for any class, are young adult titles considered suitable for teens 14 and up.

The district removed eight books. In early August last year, the district’s media committee decided to return seven of them after reviewers considered a series of questions such as whether the books had a “high degree of potential user appeal and interest” and “promoted diversity.” was the only one not returned to the shelves.

But leaders did not take “steps to address with students the impact of the book removals,” according to the department’s investigation. As part of the resolution, the district must survey middle and high school students next fall to ask about harassment based on race or sex and whether they feel comfortable reporting it. 

Forsyth spokeswoman Jennifer Caracciolo said the district would implement the resolution and was “committed to providing a safe, connected, and thriving community” for students and families.

One Forsyth County student said a book ban focusing on LGBTQ and non-white characters “contradicts the idea of democracy.”

“Despite the claims that these bans are not based [on] discrimination, they have a ripple effect,” said Isabella Rappaccioli, who will be a sophomore at Forsyth’s Alliance Academy for Innovation this fall. She’s also a member of the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, which campaigned against restricting classroom discussions of divisive concepts. s.

“Challenges like these … vicariously send a message to our young people that they are different from their peers,” she said. “No child deserves to feel that way.”

But Neal McCluskey, director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the libertarian Cato Institute, called the resolution “federal overreach.”

“The agency’s analysis seems to have come down to this: Some students reported feeling that the school climate was hostile to their group, therefore it was,” he said. “But issues like this are much more complicated, including whether others felt keeping the books in libraries was hostile to them.” 

The department’s investigation is not the first time the district became embroiled in controversy over a decision to remove books some parents find inappropriate. Under  in January with parents who complained about several books, the district must allow the reading of explicit excerpts at school board meetings.

Mama Bears, a conservative parents group that advocates for book restrictions, last year when the board refused to allow parents to recite passages with profanity or sexually explicit language during public comments. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Story sided with the parents. In a settlement, the district paid $107,500 in legal fees and agreed not to prohibit parents from quoting from any book in the district’s school libraries or classrooms. 

“It’s their First Amendment right to be able to give their opinions like anybody else,” said David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech, which defended the parents. 

The nonprofit didn’t take a position on whether the books removed were unsuitable for students, and he said he would defend liberal parents if they were silenced for arguing in favor of such books. But he added that if districts are removing books because of political pressure, “that raises First Amendment red flags all over the place.”

Legal precedent on the issue dates back to 1982. The U.S Supreme Court ruled in that the Island Trees Union Free School District in New York violated the Constitution when it removed books that some parents deemed to be “anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic and just plain filthy.”

‘True education’

In Granbury, Superintendent Jeremy Glenn’s comments — such as there being “no place” for books with transgender characters in school libraries and that “there are two genders” — sparked the district’s review of books. Ultimately two of the three titles removed contained LGBTQ topics, including “This Book is Gay,” a nonfiction for youth coming out as gay, lesbian or transgender.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas arguing that removing books with LGBTQ themes amounts to sex discrimination under Title IX.

Scales, the retired librarian, said schools discriminate against students when they remove such books.

“Books help readers develop empathy,” she said. “Let’s give them the books and hope that this younger generation will see things differently than the folks who are trying to shut down true education.”

The Louisiana Senate approved a proposal Monday that would limit children’s access to library material. The vote took place without any lawmakers voicing opposition to what up until now has been a controversial proposal.

, by Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, would require libraries to create a card system so parents could prevent their children from checking out books deemed inappropriate. Libraries would also have to adopt policy language to limit minors’ access to material that describes “sexual conduct,” which the bill defines in five ensuing paragraphs.

Attorney General Jeff Landry, the Louisiana Republican Party-endorsed candidate for governor, supports Cloud’s bill. It’s a response to ongoing fights in parish library systems where conservative activists have sought to restrict children’s access to certain materials — and in some cases remove them from shelves altogether. Most of the titles targeted .

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The bill advanced on a party-line 27-11 vote, but none of the 11 Democrats against the bill raised concerns with the bill when given the opportunity.

While limited debate in the Senate is not unusual — the House is considered the more contentious chamber — critics are concerned that no senators spoke out against it.

“That’s kind of shocking,” Peyton Rose Michelle, executive director of Louisiana Trans Advocates, said in an interview. Michelle has been at the forefront of the library issue, raising concerns about the unintended consequences for young LGBTQ+ readers.

“For them to not object is really disappointing,” Michelle said. “I was expecting literally any dissent.”

The bill will next be heard in a House Committee.

A similar bill, , sponsored by Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carenco, also supported by Landry, has not yet been heard in committee. It’s pending approval by the House Municipal Parochial and Cultural Affairs Committee, which last week killed that would’ve allowed members of parish library boards to be fired without cause.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on and .

In the summer of 2021, public libraries everywhere, from and to and , will to families with children in their local communities.

What might look like a new role for libraries of serving as , and .

I’ve been address – what happens when households can’t acquire adequate food because they can’t afford it or can’t access it for other reasons. Across the board, these efforts emerge from community partnerships with organizations that include school districts and food banks.

As , president of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, explained in 2016, “We have the food, and they have the patrons who need it.”

Lunch at the Library

The earliest example of this kind I’ve found dates back 35 years. In 1986, the Nelsonville branch of the Athens County Public Library in southeastern Ohio began to children to ensure that they don’t go hungry.

That county has one of Ohio’s , which helps explain why librarians there sought to provide .

By 2019, – about – served summer meals.

This practice has largely remained below the radar. The official magazine of the didn’t mention this trend until 2008. Since then, though, growing and has begun to emerge.

The COVID-19 Pandemic

When the coronavirus pandemic got underway, public libraries and their staff continued to fight , even when their doors were closed.

Some library workers were to help process and distribute donations. Others worked with food banks to hand out in library parking lots.

Still others established at libraries.

In St. Louis, the county public library system took part in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s . Libraries everywhere, from and to and , participated in the emergency national food distribution program too.

Many libraries have started to host small . These sharing boxes are modeled on the “” movement. These are usually simple cabinets fastened to posts and stocked with books anyone passing by can take for free. The movement, which began in 2016 and seems to have , instead seeks to dispatch food to those in need.

In 2021, by the middle of May, at least to schoolchildren during their summer vacations. This number is only preliminary and will rise once more states report their data to the USDA.

This essay originally appeared at and is published in partnership with