Right to Read Day!
O ur freedom to read has been under assault for what seems like an eternity. And, the attacks on libraries aren’t just book bans anymore. Now, the groups and individuals behind these attacks on libraries are cutting funding, threatening programs, and most frighteningly, trying to pass laws that target educators and library workers. Even the Department of Education is... Read More.
Speak and Shout from a Man’s Perspective
Laurie Halse Anderson’s book Speak has been accused of being anti-male. There’s also Anderson’s follow-up work Shout: The True Story of a Survivor Who Refused to be Silenced. It’s a poetic memoir written during the height of the MeToo movement, which has been characterized by book banners as containing political propaganda. But are these books really anti-male? Guest essayist... Read More.
And so it begins… Department of Education rescinds guidance on book bans.
A nd so it begins… as of January 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has rescinded all guidance indicating that school districts’ implementation of book bans could violate civil rights laws. The agency has also eliminated President Biden’s recently-created position of book ban coordinator.[1] Responsibilities of this now-abolished post entailed the development of... Read More.