Newswire
Posted on October 12, 2023 at 1:17 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
As we know, the freedom to read is under never-seen-before levels of pressure.
Here are a few recent stories that cover both the threats and efforts to push back.
-
Suspect arrested in connection to library bomb threats: Since mid-July, public libraries in the Chicagoland area received bomb threats; Jacob Spiro, who now faces pair of felony charges in these cases, doesn't appear to have been operating from a political agenda but rather mental health challenges (BookRiot).
-
Alabama library flagged a book because the author’s last name is "Gay": A spokesperson for the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library system admits that software wrongly flagged the picture book Read Me a Story, Stella by Marie-Louise Gay but says the book was never removed; the book's publisher says the "ridiculousness" of the false alarm shouldn't distract us from the very real issue of book bans (NBC News).
-
The Electric Lit staff recommends its favorite banned books: The website is sharing its top picks from the roughly 600 offered through the Banned Books USA initiative; Florida residents are eligible to receive these books for the cost of shipping only, in face of the restrictions its elected officials are imposing (Electric Literature).
Categories: Today in Books