On Monday, Illinois governor JB Pritzker signed a first-in-the-nation law to combat book bans in Illinois libraries. The law has garnered national headlines, with many (like this one from CNN) suggesting Illinois has "outlawed" book bans. Not quite. The new law doesn't outlaw bans, it merely conditions eligibility for state grant funding for libraries on adopting the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights or a similar written policy that states that library resources should not be “proscribed, removed, or restricted” based on "partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”
That's a powerful statement, of course, though some librarians who fully support the bill's intent question its effectiveness. "Strengthening rules to protect libraries and librarians from book bans is a good idea, but I am against any law that threatens to defund any aspect of the library," one librarian told the local News-Gazette this week in an interesting roundup of librarian opinions on the law.
It's a fair point. If a defiant vocal minority manages to take control of a local library (which is what we've seen happen in many communities across the country), is the state really prepared to punish the entire community by withholding state grant funds? The Illinois State Library is now developing rules to guide libraries in complying with the law before it goes into effect on January 1, 2024, a process that state officials say will include public feedback.
Practical implications of the law's enforcement aside, its passing is an important moment for library supporters and freedom to read advocates. "The argument for banning books always begins with the claim that it's about protecting the children," Pritzker said at the signing ceremony. "But banning books from libraries isn't about that at all. Book bans are about censorship, marginalizing people, marginalizing ideas and facts. Regimes ban books, not democracies."
Also on hand at the signing ceremony was ALA executive director Tracie D. Hall, who praised Illinois lawmakers for not just talking about the need for diverse stories and the freedom to read but acting. "Let us take pride in this day," Hall said, "for history will surely assess this moment in the years to come and note that we—librarians and legislators, civic leaders and community stewards—did not stand idly by and let the right to read and to freely access libraries be taken from us."
The entire signing ceremony is available to view on the Herald and Review YouTube channel. It's well worth watching.
The news from Illinois is well-timed. It comes as the 2023 American Library Association Annual Conference is set to get underway in Chicago, June 22–27. It's a strong program, and it keeps getting stronger. Now joining author Judy Blume at the opening general session speaker program will be Chicago Public Library Commissioner Chris Brown; FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel; Illinois secretary of state Alexi Giannoulias, architect of the state's law to discourage book bans; and Chicago's inaugural poet laureate, Avery R. Young.
And this year's ALA Annual Conference will kick off with the first ever Rally for the Right to Read on Thursday, June 22. The rally, which will feature an appearance by bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi, promises to be another powerful show of support for the library community amid the ongoing surge of book bans and legislative attacks on the freedom to read.
Meanwhile, in Texas, the Austin American-Statesman reports that Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 900 into law on Monday. Titled (ironically) the READER Act (Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources), the law requires publishers and vendors to come up with a rating system, and would prohibit schools from purchasing books deemed to be sexually explicit. Under the new law, "the Texas State Library and Archives Commission is tasked with creating mandatory material standards that will then be approved by the State Board of Education," the article explains. "Those standards, which are required to be in place by Jan. 1, would put the onus on book vendors to rate the content they sell to libraries and catalog a list for the Texas Education Agency. Additionally, the TEA has the authority to review book purchases and ratings and must publish a list of vendors that do not comply with the state rating requirements. School districts must review their content each odd-numbered year and submit a compliance report to the TEA, with the first audit to occur no later than the start of 2025."
In a statement, the Texas Freedom Network (which describes itself as "a nonpartisan, grassroots organization of more than 150,000 religious and community leaders") slammed the new Texas law. "We know that this legislation directly targets the stories of LGBTQIA+ students and families at a time when school boards across Texas have already banned more books representing our diverse communities than any other state," the statement reads. "We denounce Abbott and his ultraconservative collaborators for their attacks on education, and call on all parents and guardians to speak up at school board meetings, get involved in local elections, and teach their children about civic engagement so we can ensure our schools can teach the truth."
From PEN America, a post about the efforts of school officials in Nixa, Mo., seeking to ban Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus (along with two other books) that were flagged under Missouri's new law that prohibits sexually explicit materials in school libraries. "Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic novel about the Holocaust was flagged by an internal review by employees, potentially because an illustration shows his mother naked in a bathtub after she committed suicide," the post notes. The fate of the book will be decided at a June 20 meeting. "We haven’t learned much from the past, but there’s some things you should be able to figure out," Spiegelman told PEN America, in an interview. "Book burning leads to people burning. So it’s something that needs to be fought against. It’s a very dangerous tendency."
From the Deseret News, lawmakers in Utah are arguing that school officials at the Davis School District should use a new law that governs "sensitive materials" in school libraries to override the decision of "a district-appointed book review committee" that voted not to ban Erin Gruwell's The Freedom Writers Diary. "HB374, sponsored by Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, and passed by the Utah Legislature in 2022, defines 'sensitive material' as instructional materials that are pornographic or indecent, colloquially referred to as the 'bright line rule' in state code," the article explains. "Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, said school district officials could deselect the title themselves because it violates the 'bright line' rule. 'This is a tool that the state has given you, this definition, this bright line rule doesn’t require a previous community standard evaluation. If the "bright line rule" is violated, it’s out. There’s no evaluation necessary,' she said during Wednesday’s meeting of the Utah Legislature’s Education Interim Committee."
In Iowa, The Gazette reports that the Iowa Library Association "is cautioning school librarians to wait for guidance from the state education department" before removing books from school libraries in an effort to comply with a new state law. "The law, Senate File 496, signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds May 26, bars from school libraries books that depict or describe sexual acts." It takes effect on July 1, but a spokesperson told reporters that the "the Iowa Department of Education will not be providing any guidance" and that schools and municipalities should "consult with their legal counsel if they have any questions about the law."
In Virginia, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports on how the Hanover County School board voted last week give themselves "sole discretion and authority to remove any books from school libraries with a majority vote" and then promptly voted to remove a list of 19 books presented by a board member last month. The list includes Juno Dawson's This Book is Gay and George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue. "The public comment period was fiery, with parents taking opposite sides on the library media center policy," the report states.
Over at Book Riot, Kelly Jensen eschews her usual introduction to her weekly censorship roundup to launch a new survey of authors. The subject: "are you seeing an impact on the number and types of school and library visit invitations in this era of censorship?" Please take the survey, and share the link with your fellow authors.
The Verge reports on a San Francisco library that is now shutting down Wi-Fi access outside the library at night. "The measure, quietly implemented in mid-2022," the report notes, is "an attempt to keep city dwellers who are currently unhoused away from the area by locking down access to one of the library’s most valuable public services."
And finally this week, the New York Public Library has announced that Zain Khalid is the recipient of the 23rd Young Lions Fiction Award for his book Brother Alive. "Brother Alive is a stunning achievement—conceptually daring, endlessly surprising, and rich with moral and intellectual questions that match the beauty of Zain Khalid’s prose and the fullness of his imagination," said Young Lions Fiction Award judge and New York Times bestselling author (and our former PW colleague) Jessamine Chan. "I can’t wait to see what he does next."
The other finalists for this year’s Young Lions Fiction Award were Fatimah Asghar for When We Were Sisters; Elaine Hsieh Chou for Disorientation; Reyes Ramirez for The Book of Wanderers; and David Sanchez for All Day is a Long Time.
Founded in 2001 by Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Rick Moody, and Hannah McFarland, the prestigious annual award honors writers under age 35 comes with a $10,000 prize. The Award is part of the Library's Young Lions program, a membership group for people in their 20s and 30s who are "committed to supporting the organization and to celebrating young writers and artists who are making an impact on this city's cultural life."
The Week in Libraries is a weekly opinion and news column. News, tips, submissions, questions, or comments are welcome, and can be submitted via email. Previous columns can be viewed here.
