In March, the American Library Association (ALA) revealed that efforts to outlaw books from American libraries and schools reached a record high the previous year. According to the group, 1,269 attempts were made in 2022 to “censor library books and resources.” That is nearly twice as many as the previous year’s attempts. Furthermore, this is the biggest number in over 20 years. An unprecedented 2,571 books were targeted, according to the ALA. According to the survey, individuals of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community wrote or were the subject of most of those works.
The head of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom is Deborah Caldwell-Stone. “The reader or, in the case of children, the parents must make the decision about what to read,” she stated. It is not the self-appointed book police’s decision to make. To shield kids from hazardous content, conservative politicians and supporters, however, claim they wish to outlaw specific publications. A new regulation in Missouri, a state in the Midwest, has caused libraries to delete many books. Three new reading material control legislation were recently passed by the Florida legislature.
The state capital, Austin, lies 120 kilometers away from the rural village of Llano. Officials there suggested shutting the library system following a federal judge’s decision to overturn a local legislature’s decision to remove some books. J.R. Decker stated, “A book’s never hurt anybody,” adding that his family has been residents of Llano for many generations. “According to my government, books are the only thing they can shield my child from. School safety and gun violence need to worry them.” Decker was one of the individuals who voiced opposition to the proposed closure of the library during a recent meeting.
Leave a Reply