Important reads and the JLARC report
and some good trouble.
Immediately after I published the last post, the following two articles were published. They are both important reads to understand the scope and importance of the attacks on libraries and the freedom to read.
The head of Oxford University libraries lays out the threat Donald Trump’s attacks on libraries threaten democracy across the world. ‘There is no political power without power over the archive’
Tasslyn Magnussson and Jonathan Friedman with PEN America discuss the The Ugly Stereotype Beneath the Supreme Court Ruling on LGBTQIA+ Books | Opinion
Today the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission released the report on book removals in Virginia libraries commissioned by the legislature last session.
A number of points jumped out to me:
Rockingham is 2nd in the state for number of book removals, although they tried to hedge that by saying that their removals were “temporary” pending review, although they have permanently banned 28 books (11 against their own committee’s recommendation) with 10 yet to review. These books have been off the shelves for a year and a half now. They also banned 4 they didn’t own, retained 16, 3 of which have age restrictions. They had taken most of these actions when they were surveyed this spring.
63 % of the divisions in the state had not removed any books. Hanover was responsible for 36% of the total removals, with Rockingham responsible for 17%.
Book removal is a local issue, with policies developed at each division. The state has no authority over which books school libraries contain, although they do mandate that schools have libraries and librarians.
Divisions that removed books frequently are using a 2022 law requiring parental notification (§22.1-16.8) of books with sexually explicit content as defined in the section of the Code that defines what state employees can’t view on state computers. An enactment clause included in the law that specifically stated that the law did not apply to library books was left out of the actual Code that is usually referenced. Governor Youngkin vetoed a law that would have required the enactment clause to be specifically added to the law. Rockingham School Board members were aware that this law was not meant to be applied to library books, but decided to apply it anyway. Delegate Marcus Simon said on Monday that some lawmakers predicted the law would be misused in this way.
What the legislature intends to do with this information is unclear at this point, although it is certain that the upcoming election is vitally important. If the GOP maintains controls of the state, the possibility of any change to the parental notification law is nil, and if they gain control of the legislature, even more restrictive policies may pass.
News coverage
Virginia Scope : JLARC says some school districts are incorrectly citing a 2022 law when removing books from libraries
Richmond Times Dispatch : Hanover leads state in removing books from school libraries
WVTR: Some Virginia schools incorrectly using state law to remove library books, study reveals
Blue Virginia : Video, Highlights: JLARC Survey Finds Just 5 Deep-Red Virginia School Divisions Accounted for 75% of All Book Removal Actions Since 2020 (Presentation starts @ 19:00)
Also, RCPS responded to my FOIA request… it seems like there has been some discussion out of the public eye about these books. My initial request for discussion of all the 57 books returned approximately 10,441,942 records. I’ve sent a revised request just for those books removed against the review committee recommendation. We will see what happens.
Keep calling about the federal budget for support for IMLS, but also be aware of how federal budget cuts will affect school libraries. This Infographic from AASL summarizes it well, and can be printed as a one pager if you want to leave them lying around somewhere.
Also … here’s some good trouble for you. If you want to honor John Lewis but can’t make it to a protest, make sure the young people in your life have access to read his graphic novel autobiography, March. It is suitable for Upper elementary - adult. He chose to tell his story in graphic novels because that’s how he learned about Dr. Martin Luther King. I’ve seen these books suck in some of the most reluctant readers, who often want something “real.” It doesn’t get any more real than John Lewis telling his story of a lifetime in civil rights activism. So, buy at least the first, and prepare to buy the rest. Leave them around the house, drop them in the little free library near you. It’s a small act of resistance…. But an important one. Buy them cheap here: https://www.thriftbooks.com/series/march/76396/
I’m going mostly off grid for the next couple of weeks. I’m hoping the world doesn’t go to hell in the meantime, but not terribly optimistic. As I’ve said before, seizing joy is a form of resistance so I’ll be playing old time string band music in various fields with friends.
Find your joy, make good trouble when you can, talk to your neighbors.
Ordered all 3! Thank you for the recommendation and your newsletter. I appreciate YOU!