Search

In this edition of "In the Public Interest," Chris Brown, Chicago Public Library Commissioner, interviews Cathy Sanford, former Deputy County Librarian at Contra Costa County Library. Sanford reflects on her extensive career, including her innovative contributions at Memphis Public Library, San Francisco Public Library, and Contra Costa County Library. She shares her leadership philosophy, emphasizing the importance of combining high expectations with robust support, fostering organizational safety, and nurturing staff development. Sanford's approach to leadership, which includes hands-on involvement, strategic delegation, and a focus on individual strengths, has not only driven numerous award-winning initiatives but also cultivated future library leaders. The conversation also touches on current challenges in the library field, such as book banning, and Sanford's hopes for the future of library services. This interview provides valuable insights into effective leadership and the evolving role of public libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US Supreme Court conducts much of its business through talk, including during oral arguments, where a central activity is the consideration of hypotheticals posed by justices. Using conversation analysis, I examine a key segment of the oral arguments for Citizens United v. FEC, one that arguably changed the course of campaign finance history. I identify the conversational devices employed to advance and contest one particular hypothetical, involving an imagined ban on books, subject to a speech-exchange system that differentially empowers justices to dictate both the terms of the discussion and the time afforded the advocate to respond to any particular question. The article offers the first disciplined qualitative analysis of interaction during oral arguments, illustrates the place of temporality in legal reasoning and argumentation, and makes several contributions to conversation analysis: it advances the study of institutional talk to a new legal setting, identifies some ways in which the machinery of talk can be harnessed for rhetorical effect, and demonstrates the analytical utility of prior knowledge of what a participant arrives to an encounter equipped to say. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Record levels of materials challenges have affected libraries in both Canada and the United States in recent years, but despite the apparent swell in censorship efforts, the large majority of challenges go unreported. This study aims to identify factors contributing to the low rate of challenge reporting through a participation survey distributed to over 500 Canadian public libraries. Results indicate low awareness reporting mechanisms is likely the largest obstacle to greater participation, but obstacles related to library policy, including delegation and challenge policy structure, also exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harrison: I don't really understand why this book was banned. I think what it is a really powerful portrait not only of deeply flawed parents, but also of you know, [...]

The article focuses on the passage of Illinois House Bill 2789, signed into law as Public Act 103-0100, which aims to counter attempts to censor or ban books in school and community libraries. Topics include the implications of the law on library collection policies, the role of the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, and the broader context of book challenges and censorship in educational settings.

The United States is enduring an identity crisis characterized by a polarized political climate precipitating an American culture war. In this battle the Republican Party has been overtaken by "Anti‐wokeism" allied with antidemocratic "states' rights" beliefs claiming an exclusive, antipluralist definition of republic. The extremist right in America insists that America is not a democracy, but a "republic" built to respect the status of a minority characterized as white, nationalist and Christian. "Anti‐wokeism" is an extension of Trumpism and MAGA (Make America Great Again), gathering together antidemocratic forces, fueled by resentment and theories of racial displacement known as the Great Replacement Theory. These forces are overwhelming the modern Republican Party, inspiring homophobia, misogyny, racism, book bans, and violence. This essay addresses the following four elements of this crisis with an eye to a renewed vision of America: (1) the difference between an 18th Century and 21st Century definition of a republic; (2) the antidemocratic states' rights movement; (3) the nature of strongman populism in American politics; and (4) a vision of diversity as the core principle of the American Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers an overview of the rise of anti-critical race theory (CRT) sentiment in the United States and the effect it has had on the teaching of Black history. The article details the backlash to CRT that propagated after the publication of the book "The 1619 Project". It relates how the term CRT was subtly broadened to include anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). It details how the use of anti-CRT rhetoric by conservative media, politicians and advocacy groups led to state legislation banning CRT and DEI education at the K-12 level and the chilling effect such bans have had on educators interested in teaching Black history.

The purpose of this article is to connect the dots between contemporary efforts to ban "dangerous" reading material and Western narratives about childhood innocence that rose to prominence in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Understanding these narratives is important, because they underlie common misapprehensions about how children consume and process literature. By illuminating the history of beliefs about childhood and reading that are used to justify censorship, as well as alternatives to them, this article will provide librarians with useful context for our contemporary moment and perspectives that may prove beneficial when they face book-banning efforts in their communities. By illuminating the history of beliefs about childhood and reading that are used to justify censorship, as well as alternatives to them, this article provides librarians with useful context for our contemporary moment and perspectives that may prove beneficial when they face book-banning efforts in their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of NCTE's Standing Committee against Censorship offer an overview of the landscape of censorship; the ways teachers can prepare, respond, and report censorship; and NCTE resources that support teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examine various teacher literacy sponsorship roles that influence students' reading choices, habits, and literacy practices in an English language arts classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educators across the United States have found ways to resist censorship and attacks on diverse texts through an affinity space called Project LIT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author examines the relationship between the legacy of slavery and book banning in American schools and prisons, arguing that book banning is a modern form of antiliteracy laws, known as "slave codes," that were enacted during enslavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Peter Mott House, tracing its significance through three main parts: Peter Mott's involvement in the Underground Railroad, the community's efforts to preserve the house, and ongoing educational initiatives. It discusses Peter Mott's role as an Underground Railroad agent, the community's struggle to save the house from demolition, and the importance of preserving Black history and educating future generations.

Copyright of Historia y Sociedad (01218417) is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Economicas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Historia y Sociedad (01218417) is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Economicas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article offers information on progressive events in Florida, contrasting recent controversial actions with positive initiatives. It highlights Singfest 2024, a three-day event focused on African Diaspora drumming, dance, and workshops on various topics, including comedy improv and palmistry. The article also mentions ReadOut, an annual event hosted by OUT Arts and Culture, featuring authors and serving as a gathering place for LGBTQ communities.

The annual What's Hot in Literacy survey uncovers the current focal points within literacy education. A panel of twenty-five literacy leaders participated and engaged in interviews to identify the most and least emphasized literacy topics, as well as those deserving more attention. The findings for 2023 spotlight several topics categorized as "very hot," including dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities, early literacy, phonics/phonemic awareness, and social justice/equity/anti-racism in literacy. The topics of the science of reading and structured literacy emerged as "extremely hot," and the sole topic ranked as "should not be hot" for the 2023 survey cycle. Assessing these outcomes and their potential impacts on literacy education holds importance for educators across all levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions of higher education (IHE) throughout the United States have a long history of acting out various levels of commitment to diversity advancement, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Despite decades of DEI "efforts," the academy is fraught with legacies of racism that uphold white supremacy and prevent marginalized populations from full participation. Furthermore, politicians have not only weaponized education but passed legislation to actively ban DEI programs and censor general education curricula (https://tinyurl.com/antiDEI). Ironically, systems of oppression are particularly apparent in the fields of Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology (EECB), which recognize biological diversity as essential for ecological integrity and resilience. Yet, among EECB faculty, people who do not identify as cis‐heterosexual, nondisabled, affluent white males are poorly represented. Furthermore, IHE lacks metrics to quantify DEI as a priority. Here we show that only 30.3% of United States faculty positions advertised in EECB from Jan 2019 to May 2020 required a diversity statement; diversity statement requirements did not correspond with state‐level diversity metrics. Though many announcements "encourage women and minorities to apply," empirical evidence demonstrates that hiring committees at most institutions did not prioritize an applicant's DEI advancement potential. We suggest a model for change and call on administrators and faculty to implement SMART (i.e., Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) strategies for DEI advancement across IHE throughout the United States. We anticipate our quantification of diversity statement requirements relative to other application materials will motivate institutional change in both policy and practice when evaluating a candidate's potential "fit." IHE must embrace a leadership role to not only shift the academic culture to one that upholds DEI but to educate and include people who represent the full diversity of our society. In the current context of political censure of education including book banning and backlash aimed at Critical Race Theory, which further reinforce systemic white supremacy, academic integrity and justice are more critical than ever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States and the United Kingdom have faced a record number of book challenges in recent years. In the US, the American Library Association documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and materials in 2022, nearly double the number of challenges reported in 2021 (ALA n.p.). In the UK, a third of librarians have been asked to censor or remove books from their libraries (CILIP, qtd. in Shaffi n.p.). In both countries, YA texts are among the most banned and challenged books. The assaults on young people’s freedom to read represented by this form of censorship particularly target marginalised identities and experiences: “the majority of banned titles are authored by or about members of the LGBTQ and Black communities” (Diaz n.p.). The ideologies underpinning many book challenges can also be seen in the divisive attacks against transgender people and their right to exist, vitriolic responses to critical race theory, and the elimination of reproductive rights, to name but a few. In short, the personal has become political, as “book challenges represent the movement of a private act (determining what one’s own children should read) into the public sphere” and the attempt to transform personal convictions into “community values and beliefs” (Knox 132). In this iteration of “Ploughing the Field”, we brought together YA experts (see Table 1) who have lived and/or worked in the US and the UK to better understand: some of the recent trends in YA and why they have garnered such strong reactions in the Western milieu; the role that YA can play in the lives of young people; and our responsibilities as teachers and scholars of YA to young readers and each other

'Stay angry, little Meg, ' Mrs. Whatsit whispered. 'You will need all your anger now. ' --A WRINKLE IN TIME BY MADELEINE L'ENGLE Education is under attack. This is not [...]