Congratulations to Sam Helmick, who was named by the ALA Council this week to the 2025-2026 ALA presidency, after Ray Pun was forced to step aside for health reasons. Publishers Weekly spoke to Helmick in April, and ran a short interview.
It was a big week in politics, with Kamala Harris becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. And in an encouraging sign for freedom to read advocates, Harris has wasted no time going after book banners. The Advocate reports on her speech this week at the American Federation of Teachers national convention in Houston. "Harris spoke passionately about the recent surge in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in red states, particularly the 'don’t say gay' laws that have proliferated across the country," the article noted. "Harris also condemned the wave of Republican-led book bans that have targeted educational materials dealing with LGBTQ+ issues and racial history. She called out the hypocrisy of those who seek to restrict academic freedom while claiming to champion free speech. 'While you teach students about our nation’s past, these extremists attack the freedom to learn and acknowledge our nation’s true and full history,' she said. 'We want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books.'" The full speech is here.
CNN reports that the author of a book banned by a Florida school district is demanding its reinstatement. Alan Gratz, author of Ban This Book, which is about book banning, wrote a letter to the Indian River County school district that was read at a school board meeting. “To remove these books is bad enough. To remove my book, because it dares to mention books you have already banned, is erasure of the highest order,” he wrote in the letter, which was obtained by CNN.
WABE, the NPR affiliate in Atlanta, reports that some school districts in Georgia have canceled plans to teach the new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies to high schoolers. Their action follows Georgia’s decision to refuse state funding for the course. "There has been little public discussion in Georgia of the African American Studies course. But in 2022, Georgia lawmakers passed a ban on teaching divisive racial concepts in schools,” the report notes.
Over at Book Riot, Kelly Jensen leads off her weekly censorship news roundup with a look at the attacks on AP courses. "It’s not only the AP African American Studies course struggling under right-wing legislation. Others are as well, for reasons similar to those relating to the AP African American Studies course and for reasons of the changing targets of this current wave of censorship," Jensen writes.
Bridge Michigan reports that the Alpena County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday began the process of firing all members of its public library board. Commissioner Travis Konarzewski told the outlet that the action came because "the library board was not listening to the concerns of the public and refused to move sexually themed books to a different part of the library." Dillon Geshel, president of the Michigan Library Association, told reporters that the board "has been careful to follow a process and seek legal advice," and that the reason for the board's proposed removal "seems to be that the library board continues to carefully follow the law when weighing questions about the content of library materials."
Some good news from Michigan this week: the Lansing State Journal reports that after a public outcry the Lansing School District is backing off its plan to eliminate school librarians. "Concerns from parents, students and teachers have prompted the Lansing School District to consider keeping all 4 of their certified, full-time K-8 librarians," the report notes.
The Idaho Capitol Sun reports that a group of lawyers have sued to stop the enforcement of the state's controversial new law that enables students, parents, and legal guardians to fill out a written notice requesting a library move items “harmful” to children to an area with access restricted to adults. “Our coalition of independent schools, libraries, parents, students, and patrons is challenging this unprecedented government interference because it threatens the independence and core missions of our beloved community institutions across the state,” the plaintiffs wrote in a statement to reporters, alleging that the law "violates the First Amendment rights of private schools and libraries and 14th Amendment protections for the fundamental liberty interest of parents."
The Nevada Independent is reporting that Washoe County has canceled Drag Story Hour events at the county’s libraries. "In a letter to library staff,” the report states, “county manager Eric Brown said the Workplace Violence Committee unanimously voted to recommend the events be discontinued over concerns for staff safety. 'Despite ongoing efforts by library staff and volunteers to enhance safety measures, including increased security presence and de-escalation training, the committee concluded that the risks posed to county employees have reached an unacceptable level,' Brown wrote."
And finally this week, NBC News has a chilling, in-depth report (and a video) on a two-year criminal investigation in Granbury, Texas, that targeted three school librarians for allegedly allowing children to access literature that the officer, Scott London, a chief deputy constable, had deemed obscene:
"In an extraordinary look into the ramifications of the right-wing backlash against books dealing with racism, gender, sex and sexuality, an 824-page investigative file obtained by NBC News and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth shows how, for two years, London vigorously pursued felony charges against librarians in the Granbury Independent School District. London secured subpoenas, filed public records requests, received names of students who’d checked out certain books and, after a year, wrote draft criminal complaints," the report notes. "London pushed for third-degree felony charges against three school librarians, which could have carried a penalty of two to 10 years in prison and fines up to $10,000."
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.
