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Posted on April 20, 2023 at 9:47 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Free-speech organization PEN America has updated its data on book bans in US schools during the first half of the 2022-2023 school year.
And as you likely guessed, it's not pretty.
In fact, there were more book bans during the fall 2022 semester than each of the prior two semesters (covered in PEN's 2022 report covering July 2021-June 2022).
Several new state laws have gone into effect since that prior report, too, and the resulting trend of erring on the side of caution has resulted in a much more limited selection of books in schools, according to PEN.
You can read more about the consequences of what's now been dubbed the Ed Scare on PEN's website.
Elsewhere in the world ... the UK’s library and information association found that a third of librarians have been asked by the public to censor or remove books.
The group's chief executive told the Guardian that these requests have "increased significantly in recent years."
Books covering themes of empire, race, and LGBTQ+ issues are common targets.
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Categories: Today in Books