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☆ What Physical Space and Book Bans Mean in a Public Library - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Emily St. James | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In theory, that space is curated for everyone in your community. There is, instead, an attempt to just keep you consuming, usually by serving up things the algorithm is pretty sure you already like. That might serve as a saving grace in a time when so many of us long for that decompression, at least a little bit. What might undo libraries is an insistence that they should reflect only one view of reality, one that has little room for queer people in particular. The library is worth defending not just because it’s important to our society as a whole.

☆ Obama slams 'profoundly misguided' effort to ban books in message to America's librarians
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Obama slammed efforts to ban books in a message to the nation's librarians. Obama said banning books is antithetical "to what has made this country great." "It's also important to understand that the world is watching," Obama wrote in a public letter to the nation's librarians. "I believe such an approach is profoundly misguided, and contrary to what has made this country great," he wrote. According to The Post, Obama also filmed a series of TikToks with local libraries across the country to push his message.

Persons: Obama, Barack Obama, It's, Joe Biden's, Biden, MAGA Organizations: Service, Post, PEN America, The, NPR, Politico, Republican, Social Locations: Wall, Silicon, Washington

☆ Give Journalists What They Need To Hold Big Tech Accountable - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Julia Angwin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The traditional gatekeepers of knowledge — librarians, journalists and government officials — have largely been replaced by technological gatekeepers — search engines, artificial intelligence chatbots and social media feeds. Whatever their flaws, the old gatekeepers were, at least on paper, beholden to the public. The reforms also require large tech platforms to audit their algorithms to determine how they affect democracy, human rights and the physical and mental health of minors and other users. To hold them accountable, the law also requires large tech platforms like Facebook and Twitter to provide researchers with access to real-time data from their platforms. But there is a crucial element that has yet to be decided by the European Union: whether journalists will get access to any of that data.

Persons: — Organizations: European Union, Digital Services, Digital Markets, Big Tech, Facebook, Twitter, European Locations: China, India, European Union

DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania, June 24 (Reuters) - On May 12, the library coordinator for Pennsylvania's Central Bucks School District sent an email to colleagues that some conservative parents and Christian advocacy groups had long prayed to see. Liberal groups say the effort amounts to censorship and even bigotry, with disproportionate harm to LGBT students and those in other minority groups. Dana Hunter, a Republican and the chair of the school board, said she sought advice from Jeremy Samek, senior counsel at the Independence Law Center and the Pennsylvania Family Institute. "There are things that everybody would agree, including the ACLU, that you shouldn't be giving to kids," said Samek, who does not live in the school district. Dell'Angelo, one of the board's Democrats, said it was wrong to involve groups that oppose LGBT rights in public school policy, and unethical to do so in secret.

Persons: Maia Kobabe, Juno Dawson, curriculums, Tabitha Dell'Angelo, Dana Hunter, Jeremy Samek, Hunter, Dell'Angelo, Samek, Hannah Beier, Leo Burchell, Shannon Harris, Harris, Jonathan Allen, Paul Thomasch, Claudia Parsons Organizations: Pennsylvania's Central Bucks School District, Republican, Liberal, Family Research Council, Independence Law Center, Pennsylvania Family Institute, Reuters, Republicans, American Association of School Librarians, Liberty, Museum, American, REUTERS, American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, U.S . Department of Education's, Civil Rights, U.S, ACLU, Pennsylvania Family, Family Research, Thomson Locations: DOYLESTOWN , Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Bucks, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, U.S, Central Bucks

☆ Women are seeing historic labor market gains. AI could disrupt that
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Minneapolis CNN —More prime working age women are employed in the United States now than ever before. The labor force participation rate for women between 25 and 54 years old set a record high in April and then again in May, rebounding from the pandemic “she-cession” and returning to its pre-pandemic form of making progressively historic labor market gains. Estimates that nearly eight out of 10 women workers could be affected “are just staggering,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist with online job marketplace ZipRecruiter. “Some of these things are becoming more prevalent, and that’s supportive of more women in the labor market,” she said. On the other hand, AI could prove harmful and threatening for any role that is highly “automatable,” Peterson said.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, University of North Carolina’s, ”, Julia Pollak, it’s, Mark McNeilly, Flagler, “ It’s, ‘ I’m, ’ ” McNeilly, “, Pollak, didn’t, Dana Peterson, that’s, ” Peterson, Ben Zweig, Jobs, Peterson, we’ve, Sara Mannheimer, Kathrin Ziegler, ” Meredith Nudo, you’re, Nudo Organizations: Minneapolis CNN —, University of North, University of North Carolina’s Kenan, Flagler Business School, Kenan, Flagler, UNC Kenan, CNN, of Labor Statistics, Conference Board, Baby Boomers, Labs, Montana State University, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Librarians, Digital, National Association of Voice Locations: Minneapolis, United States, Houston

☆ Illinois becomes first state to pass law curtailing book bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, signed the historic measure into law on Monday in a Chicago library. The law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, the governor's office said in a statement. "Here in Illinois, we don't hide from the truth, we embrace it," Pritzker said. Under the new law, Illinois public libraries can only access state grants if they adopt the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, which stipulates that "materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval." Other states may choose to embrace prejudice and divisive ideologies, but our state is going in a better direction," said Democratic State Representative Anne Stava-Murray, who represents Downers Grove, in support of the Illinois measure.

Persons: J.B, Pritzker, shouldn't, Laura Hois, We're, Representative Anne Stava, Murray, Maia Kobabe, Toni Morrison, Amanda Gorman, Joe Biden's, Brendan O'Brien, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Illinois, American, Association's, Republican, PEN America, American Library Association, ALA, ABC, Democratic, Representative, Downers, Thomson Locations: Illinois, United States, Chicago, U.S, Florida, Texas, Downers Grove, Utah , Missouri, Miami, Dade County

☆ Group Challenges Arkansas Law That Would Criminalize Access to Some Books
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Elizabeth A. Harris | Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A new state law in Arkansas that could send librarians and booksellers to prison was challenged on Friday in a federal lawsuit filed by libraries, independent bookstores and publishers who said the legislation was unconstitutional. The suit comes as states and counties around the country are increasingly restricting the availability of certain kinds of books, and as those who oppose such regulations are finding more ways to push back. The complaint, which was filed in the United States District Court for the western District of Arkansas, said the law “forces bookstores and libraries to self-censor in a way that is antithetical to their core purposes.”The Arkansas law, which is scheduled to go into effect in August, requires any material that might be “harmful” to minors, including books, magazines and movies, to be shelved in a separate, “adults only” area.

Organizations: United States, Court, of Locations: Arkansas, of Arkansas

☆ She Attacked Israel and the N.Y.P.D. It Made Her Law School a Target.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Each year, the law school graduates elect a member of their class to deliver a speech, and this year they chose Ms. Mohammed, an activist devoted to the Palestinian cause. Although her remarks would later be presented as a lightning bolt of antisemitism, she began uncontroversially, talking about the pain and loss of Covid and how it shaped her cohort’s first semesters in law school. “Let us remember that Gaza, just this week, has been bombed with the world watching,” she said at one point. But it was the fierceness she brought to her denunciation of “Israeli settler colonialism” and CUNY’s collaboration with “the fascist N.Y.P.D.” that especially inflamed the political class, even if her own audience, including the law school dean, seemed receptive. (“Imagine being so crazed by hatred for Israel as a Jewish State that you make it the subject of your commencement speech,” Mr. Torres wrote on Twitter last week.

Persons: Mohammed, ”, “, —, Mohammed’s, “ Stark, Ritchie Torres, Ted Cruz, Mr, Torres, Israel derangement Organizations: CUNY, New York Post, Fox, Democratic, Bronx, Republican, Jewish, Twitter Locations: Gaza, Rikers, Israel, Jewish State

☆ North Carolina governor declares 'state of emergency' over 'extreme' education bills introduced by the state's legislature
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Roy Cooper said on Monday that the state's education system is in a "state of emergency." Roy Cooper declared a "state of emergency" for its education system on Monday. "Public education powers our workforce, builds our businesses, and boosts our communities. "The current General Assembly is considering extreme legislation that would cripple our public education system." Instead, use public money for public schools."

☆ This PTA Mom From Escambia County Is Suing Her School District For Banning Books - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Michelle Goldberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

in bright-red Escambia County, Fla., knows that coming out as a public face in the fight against book banning could make her life difficult, but she’s made peace with it. “I don’t want my business to suffer,” the optometrist and mother of elementary school-age girls told me. I’m not one to keep my mouth shut.”Durtschi is part of a groundbreaking lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, against the Escambia County School District and Escambia County School Board for their sweeping school library censorship. In addition to Durtschi and another Escambia County parent, the plaintiffs include the free expression organization PEN America, Penguin Random House and a group of authors of children’s and young adult books. The suit seeks to have Escambia’s book restrictions declared unconstitutional for targeting specific viewpoints and for infringing on the rights of students to receive information.

☆ Opinion: How to fight back against the ‘anti-woke’ movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Opinion Khalil Gibran Muhammad | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Several states across the country have imposed bans on books, K-12 educational curricula and diversity programs in recent months. And even where statewide bans are not in place, restrictive measures are being enacted by local school boards. The mere mention of structural racism or gender discrimination or sexuality can potentially cost educators and librarians their jobs. The beginnings of this national movement to defend the freedom to learn is rekindling relationships between college students and civil rights activists and inspiring new ones between college faculty and K-12 teachers and librarians. With such formidable alliances among students, teachers, organizers and academics being forged in communities across the country, we finally have an answer to reverse the swelling tide of injustice and authoritarianism.

☆ Book Bans and What to Read in May
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“It is amazing to see both the upward trend in book bans but also the ways that the process of getting bans has evolved,” Alter says. And most of those were from concerned parents who had seen what their kid was reading in class or what their kid brought home from the public library. Now you have people standing up in school board meetings reading explicit passages aloud.”Also on this week’s episode, Joumana Khatib takes a look at some of the biggest new books to watch for this month. Here are the books discussed in this week’s episode:“Chain-Gang All-Stars,” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah“King: A Life,” by Jonathan Eig“Quietly Hostile,” by Samantha Irby“Yellowface,” by R.F. KuangWe would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review’s podcast in general.

Proponents of the restrictions say their aims are to protect students from inappropriate materials and to give parents more control over their children’s education. In focusing on “parents’ rights,” Mr. DeSantis is trying to build on the popularity he amassed when he resisted Covid-19 restrictions, particularly in schools. His Parental Rights in Education law, for example, constrains instruction on gender and sexuality, which has led some districts to remove books with L.G.B.T.Q. Some teachers and librarians say the policies are vague, with imprecise language and broad requirements, leading to some confusion. “It is a whole new level of fear,” said Kathleen Daniels, the president of the Florida Association for Media in Education, a professional organization for school librarians and media educators.

☆ Book Bans Rising Rapidly in the U.S., Free Speech Groups Find
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Free speech advocates are troubled by not just the sharp rise in book bans, but also the new ways in which books are being targeted. Until fairly recently, most book removals occurred when a parent raised concerns about a title with a teacher or librarian. Complaints were typically resolved quietly, after a school board or committee evaluated the material and determined whether it was appropriate for students. The rise of these networks meant that specific books — often titles that center on L.G.B.T.Q. PEN and other free speech groups say that the new laws have had a chilling effect.

☆ ChatGPT is for suckers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Chatbots are bullshit engines built to say things with incontrovertible certainty and a complete lack of expertise. What is it that makes human beings trust a machine we know is untrustworthy? After millennia of debate, the world's leading philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists haven't even agreed on a mechanism for why people come to believe things, or what beliefs even are. We want Google results to be true, because we think of Google as a trusted arbiter, if not an authority. The power of storyAnother possible explanation of why we're suckers for chatbots is that we're suckers for explanation.

☆ North Dakota weighs ban of 'sexually explicit' library books
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Books containing “sexually explicit” content — including depictions of sexual or gender identity — would be banned from North Dakota public libraries under legislation that state lawmakers began considering Tuesday. Though supporters of North Dakota’s bill repeatedly called the sexual content “obscene,” opponents said the material in question is not actually considered legally obscene. Library Director Christine Kujawa at Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library said the library has a book with two little hamsters on the cover. Bills to restrict mature content in school libraries became laws last year in Tennessee, Utah, Missouri, Florida and Oklahoma. The investigation followed a complaint by the ACLU and appeared to be the first based on a nationwide movement to ban school library books dealing with sexuality and gender.

☆ 2 Colorado libraries close after meth contamination
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For the second time in a month, a Colorado library has closed its doors to clean up methamphetamine contamination. The city of about 33,000 just south of Denver decided to test for the drug after officials in the nearby college town of Boulder closed its main library after finding meth contamination, Harguth said. The group declined to comment on whether drug use has been increasing in libraries, citing a lack of up-to-date data. They also pointed out that standards for how much meth contamination is acceptable were developed with an eye toward homes, where frequent exposure is more likely than in public buildings. The Englewood library has made some changes to help homeless people who go there.

☆ A Texas superintendent ordered school librarians to remove LGBTQ books. Now the federal government is investigating.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Mike Hixenbaugh | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

The U.S. Education Department’s civil rights enforcement arm has launched an investigation into a North Texas school district whose superintendent was secretly recorded ordering librarians to remove LGBTQ-themed library books. The comments, combined with the district’s subsequent decision to remove dozens of library books pending a review, fostered a “pervasively hostile” environment for LGBTQ students, the ACLU wrote in its complaint. Last year, voters in Granbury elected a pair of school board members who campaigned against LGBTQ-affirming school curricula and library books. “These comments, combined with the book removals, really send a message to LGBTQ students in the districts that: ‘You don’t belong here. Lou Whiting, a student at Granbury High School, becomes emotional after speaking against the removal of LGBTQ books at a Granbury school board meeting in March.

A Culture in theCross Hairs Russia’s invasion has systematically destroyed Ukrainian cultural sites. It has also dealt a grievous blow to Ukrainian culture: to its museums and monuments, its grand universities and rural libraries, its historic churches and contemporary mosaics. This is how empires always work.” The war in Ukraine is a culture war, and the extent of the destruction is becoming clearer. Kyiv Sviatohirsk UKRAINE Damaged or destroyed religious sites Areas controlled by Russia at any time since invasion. Kyiv Sviatohirsk UKRAINE Damaged or destroyed religious sites Areas controlled by Russia at any time since invasion.

☆ A Fast-Growing Network of Conservative Groups Is Fueling a Surge in Book Bans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Elizabeth A. Harris | Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The alliance has a network of more than 250,000 people it can mobilize to flood politicians with letters. Referred to by Mr. Flaugh as “the back office,” this network sprang into action this year to support a bill that requires Florida districts to report all book objections to the state. Some librarians and parents are concerned it will have a chilling effect. The summit also drew other prominent political figures from the right, including Senator Rick Scott of Florida and the Trump administration cabinet members Ben Carson and Betsy DeVos. In her remarks, Ms. DeVos called for dismantling the Department of Education, which she used to run.

The rapid moves Tuesday in Berkeley County, the fourth largest school district in the state, showed the impact of Moms for Liberty’s focus on electing conservative school board members, and prompted uproar among some community members in attendance. Deon Jackson was voted in as district superintendent during a special meeting of the Berkeley County School District board on May 19, 2021 in South Carolina. Berkeley County School DistrictMoms for Liberty said it has endorsed more than 500 school board candidates across the country this year, and 49% have won. Berkeley County School DistrictNone of the board members responded to emails or phone calls Wednesday. Each vote — firing the superintendent, picking his replacement, terminating the district’s lawyer and banning critical race theory — passed with support from only the six Moms for Liberty-backed members.

☆ The Visions of Octavia Butler
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Lynell George | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +27 min

As a science fiction writer, Butler forged a new path and envisioned bold possibilities. Mural with a portrait of Octavia Butler and her name, composed of dots of various densities in 3-D space. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to be awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant. “‘Kindred’ was a story of ordinary people trapped in fantastic circumstances,” Butler wrote in a 1988 notebook. Her point of view was one not traditionally found in science fiction and, simply by writing, she demanded a larger world.

☆ Hate in America is on the rise. It's making it more dangerous for everyone from politicians to librarians to do their jobs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Politicians, poll workers, and even librarians report growing harassment, threats, and attacks. "I'm scared for this country," Ringer told Insider. B-A-D," George Rattay, the chair of the Democratic Party in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, told Insider. Poll workers and even librarians face violenceThere have been multiple reports of increasing threats and violence targeting poll workers. The breadth of the threats to politicians, poll workers, and other civic employees like librarians indicates hate in America has become prolific.

☆ Michigan librarian dedicated to 41-year-old Halloween cold case
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Sarah Portney | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

On October 31, 1981, 11-year-old Karl Heikell told his parents he was going out for a walk in his town of Calumet, Michigan. “And sure enough, I found newspaper clippings about Karl Heikell going missing.”The young librarian was eager to learn more about this local mystery. Cleary told Dateline. “It's a shame that so many people have Billy in their heads as this” kind of person, he told Dateline. Detective Cleary told Dateline that after Billy’s suicide, police looked into his possible involvement in the case.

☆ ABCs not LGBTs: Battles over race, gender inflame Texas school board vote
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

ROUND ROCK, Texas, Oct 22 - At traffic-choked intersections in this Texas town, a blunt campaign slogan stands out from clusters of candidate signs: “Teach ABCs + 123s, Not CRTs & LGBTs." Blood-sport politics have come to school board elections in Round Rock, a rapidly growing and diversifying suburb of Austin. Zimmerman is running against incumbent Tiffanie Harrison, a progressive and the first Black woman elected to the Round Rock school board. Ryan Girdusky, who founded the 1776 Project, estimated about 70% of his school board candidates have won in elections held so far this year. FOLLOW THE MONEYIn school board races where name recognition may be the largest factor, a few thousand dollars can make a difference.

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