To combat book bans, Illinois passes a book ban ban
Taking a new course in the ideological battle over what books children should be able to read, Illinois is outlawing book bans in its public schools and libraries, with Governor JB Pritzker calling the law he signed Monday the first of its kind.
The law, which takes effect next year, was the Democratic-controlled state’s response to a surge in book bans across the country, especially in Republican-led states where lawmakers have made it easier to remove library books. considered objectionable by political groups.
“While certain hypocritical governors ban books written by LGBTQ authors, but then claim censorship when the media fact-checks them, we are showing the nation what it really looks like to stand up for freedom,” said Mr Pritzker, a Democrat. at a signing event at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago.
The law directs public libraries in the state to adopt or write their own versions of a library statement, such as the American Library Associationstating that “Materials shall not be banned or removed due to partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”
Libraries that don’t follow the rules could lose state funding, according to the bill.
Governor Pritzker appeared to be calling out Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, though not by name, a Republican who has put his 2024 presidential candidacy on the line in part because of his status as a driver of conservative policies that address cultural issues.
Governor DeSantis supported state laws designed, at least in part, to restrict access to some public school literature. Books to be removed focused primarily on LGBTQ and social justice themes, with some groups objecting to gender and sexuality material in books for schoolchildren to read.
Other states, including Georgia and Kentucky, have followed suit with laws that could make it easier to file complaints about specific books and influence library or education boards, according to EveryLibrary, a political action committee that advocates for more funding for public libraries. and suggested books follows. regulatory laws across the country.
“Libraries are not banning books, but they are becoming sites of censorship by groups that often don’t even read the books,” Tracie D. Hall, executive director of the American Library Association, said in an interview.
Efforts to censor books will double in 2022 from the previous year, according to a report from the library association, which counted 1,269 attempts to remove books and other reading materials.
The report, released in March, said the “vast majority” of the material being removed is about or written by people of color or members of the LGBTQ community.
Even librarians have been targeted by groups seeking to remove materials from shelves. According to Ms Hall, many have been ‘run out’ of their jobs. The association’s fund to support librarians who lose their jobs is constantly being depleted, she said.
The battle over book moves is also unfolding in court. Penguin Random House, a publisher, and PEN America, a free speech organization, last month sued and charged a Florida public school district with violating the First Amendment by removing titles because of “their disagreement with the ideas contained in that books are printed”.
Monday’s bill signing may have opened a new front.
“When this was introduced even from Illinois, there was a huge wave of conversation and dialogue across the country about how important it is that we see governors and we see legislators involved in this conversation,” said Ms. Hall.
A similar one bill against book ban makes its way through the New Jersey legislature.