Stuff in the road.
The good and the bad. And an important action item
Hello, and welcome back. I needed a break, and didn’t feel like I had much of worth to say. Rockingham is doing the same thing it’s been doing for the last year and a half (specifics below), the situation at the Library of Congress is unclear, the IMLS situation is also murky. I’ll do what I can to unravel some of this. If you are short on time or patience, skip right to your action item at the bottom.
Library of Congress update
The Acting Librarian, Robert Newlen assumed leadership responsibilities after Dr Hayden’s dismissal, but Trump appointed Todd Blanche. According to a June 25 Roll Call article Fresh off Trump firings, Library of Congress stares down a proposed budget cut. Robert Newlen is still acting Librarian. Shira Perlmutter, the head of the Copyright Office who was also summarily fired is suing. Apparently there are negotiations between Congress and the White House, but it’s quiet. Meanwhile the LOC’s budget is being cut for next year. Dr. Carla Hayden, the fired Librarian of Congress has given a few interviews that are worth watching:
School Library Journal : Unbowed, Carla Hayden Opens Up at ALA Annual
IMLS (Institute for Museum and Library Services)
Legal action continues against the Trump administration. The preliminary injunction in Rhode Island vs. Trump, where 21 state attorneys general filed suit against the Trump administration’s order to dismantle the agency is still in effect, and they are supposed to restore grants revoked in those states and reinstate staff, but may also be restoring grants in other states. Note: Virginia did not participate in this lawsuit. ALA files suit against the Trump appointed head of IMLS, Sonderling, to stop the destruction of IMLS, but that judge refused to grant an injunction, so cuts in personnel and grants can continue. However, the General Accountability Office (GAO) finds Trump administration’s second violation of federal spending law because it has withheld funds appropriated by Congress. IMLS only obligated about 19% of its funds for 2025, cancelling millions of dollars in contracts and firing much of its workforce. It’s unclear what enforcement can or will come from any of these legal actions. It’s murky. And swampy.
Mahmoud vs. Taylor
The announcement of the ruling in this case hit like a rock. It wasn’t unexpected, but still devastating. I’ve had so many great discussions with classes about diverse and inclusive books I’ve shared, and this ruling goes straight to limiting those kinds of books. Parents in Montgomery County, MD, which had adopted a curriculum including readalouds and picture books that included LGBTQ+ characters, stated their religious beliefs were violated if their kids had to be exposed to any of these books. They sued for the right to opt out of any lessons involving these books. A lower court had denied their suit, but they appealed to the Supreme Court, which granted their request. It was ugly in a lot of ways — the mischaracterization of these books that celebrated LGBTQ+ people being regular people, not villains, enjoying and celebrating things like an uncle’s marriage to another man, or a puppy that gets lost at a pride parade. It was ugly in that the basic message is that even hearing about the existence of LGBTQ+ people is considered harmful. Opt outs in elementary school are tricky to manage administratively — where do the kids go, who supervises them? What alternative lessons are given? How do you explain to the kids left behind who may be gay themselves, or have gay parents, or friends why their classmates are leaving? This is not a book ban per se as the parents did not demand that the books be removed from the curriculum, just that their kids not be exposed to them. The de facto effect of the ruling is that these books are going to create a lot more hurdles to use than some school districts or teachers are willing or able to surpass, and it’s safer to not bother. It’s celebrated on the right as a win for parents’ rights — Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin posted on Facebook on June 27 “The Supreme Court today affirmed the fundamental rights of parents in their children’s education. On Day One, we kept our promise by finally making it law in Virginia that parents have a say in the materials used to teach their children. We will never stop fighting for parents’ rights.” Note : it’s only some parents’ rights. Most of the others are ignored. Matt Cross’ Facebook post 7/7/2025 shared a post from Timmy Simmons, an Augusta County school Board member also celebrate this as a win for parents’ rights, and also as an argument for funding for private schools, through vouchers or other means.
A few suggested reads:
Book Riot : Supreme Court Says Parents Can “Opt Out” Of Positively-Affirming LGBTQ+ Public School Lessons
The Nation, by Elie Mystal: Samuel Alito Takes Pride in Gay-Bashing
PEN America: Authors and Illustrators of Books in Mahmoud v. Taylor Case Respond to Supreme Court Ruling
I doubt that this will have any effect in Rockingham County, as I don’t believe they include LGBTQ+ inclusive books as part of the curriculum, and from what I understand, there’s not much if any latitude in teacher choice in readalouds. They have already removed chapters on Islam because a few (one?) teachers were “uncomfortable.” I’m not sure about restrictions on librarians’ readalouds. If anyone wants to clarify, contact me, and I‘ll be happy to make a correction. This decision certainly does nothing to encourage inclusive and diverse literature or protect LGBTQ kids.
RCPS News
The Rockingham County School Board banned another two books, Smoke by Ellen Hopkins and The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed against the recommendation of their own review committee. That seems like standard operating procedure for them, but this time Hollie Cave didn’t even bother to cite page numbers. Surprisingly, they kept a third book, Valiant Ladies by Melissa Grey with Hollie Cave being the only vote to remove it.
One of the odd things about the RCPS book ban is that books were selected for removal without any official complaint, so we don’t know who actually wanted these banned. Since Hollie Cave votes to ban everything that was on that list, regardless of what the content review committee says, it’s highly likely that it’s either her or her influencers. It’s also concerning that there is no public discussion among School Bard members. Using the Freedom of Information Act, I’ve requested copies of communications discussing these books. We will see if anything turns up.
There’s a few high profile ones they’ve avoided so far still to be reviewed. These books have been off the shelves for a year and a half for vague anonymous complaints. The next meeting is July 14.
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Rainbow Party by Paul Ruditis
Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens speak out by Susan Kuklin
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
l8r, g8r by Lauren Myracle
The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Lawn Boy: a Novel by Jonathan Eviston
News coverage:
Daily News Record: Rockingham County school board removes more books from libraries
Harrisonburg Citizen : Rockingham schools to add multi-million dollar camera system and provide laptops to more elementary students
Good News
Samuels Library in Front Royal has fended off a takeover, again, for now. The Board of Supervisors had sent sent a request for proposal for running the library to take funding away from current operations. The Save Our Samuels group worked their tails off to mobilize voters in the primary to choose candidates who supported the library — and it worked. Northern Virginia Daily : Carter, Henry win GOP nod to run for Warren County supervisors. The company that had offered a bid to take over the operation of the library , LS&S, withdrew their services from consideration . LS&S withdraws library proposal for Warren County The battle isn’t over - they still have to win in the general election. But it’s a good start.
Lynchburg, VA was going to close the downtown branch of the public library for budget reasons, but supporters rallied and the City Council decided to fund it after all. Lynchburg Public Library Downtown Branch saved from budget cuts
North Carolina’s governor Josh Stein vetoed bans on DEI and limit LGBTQ+ rights in North Carolina, saying they “whitewash history” and “ban books” NC Gov. Josh Stein vetoes immigration, anti-DEI bills’
Dr. Hayden accepted a position at the Mellon Institute as a Senior Fellow.
Conclusion
Needless to say, that big budget reconciliation bill will also hurt kids, libraries, and public education in the midst of its track of destruction. I’ll save that for another day.
Over the weekend, when I was trying to write this and feeling pretty glum, I read this essay by Kelly Jensen. “We cannot give up on each other, ” she wrote. So I recommend reading it, and picking yourself up, and finding how and where you can be useful. Remember, sometimes you can be in the front leading, and sometimes you need to hang back, regroup, regain your strength. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and while my gut feeling is the pendulum shift may not happen in my lifetime, I need to be pushing at it for future generations, because I’m human and I care.
ACTION ITEM:
The IMLS still has a shot — but they need you to speak up, and now. While the legal stuff is still making its way through the courts and the inevitable appeals, it could all become moot if the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018 is not reauthorized. This is part of the fiscal budget 2026 for federal agencies, and was not part of that reconciliation budget bomb. So, there’s a lot of keyboard warrior action and phone calls to be made to put pressure on lawmakers. Y’all can do this! and tell your friends! Kelly Jensen lays the action plan out for us in Book Riot : We Can Still Save the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Do what you can, friends.
And because there is still beauty in this world… I can’t end with the shit. Plus it’s not the social media image I want to use.
Thank you 🥰
Know that these updates and recaps are MUCH appreciated.