Public Libraries

Ensuring that all students have access to reading material during remote learning; adjusting expectations for student research; fielding questions about Little Free Libraries.

Facilitating research, public librarians question if school assignments are age-appropriate. 

Legislators in Tennessee want to create a parental oversight board to decide what children can and cannot access at their local public library; Jeff Kinney to hit the road for Rowley; and grants and professional opportunities in this edition of News Bites.

Authors discussed their experience with soft censorship at “Not-Quite-Banned: Combating the Invisible Censorship of LGBTQIA+ Stories,” an ALA Midwinter panel. 

Censorship expert Pat Scales provides advice on a teacher's claims of a “political hoax,” a warning to avoid books with the N-word, and other challenging situations.

Pat Scales advises school librarians on teachers judging a book by its page count and forcing students to return books above their reading level.

Pat Scales weighs in on challenging reading choices, a library clerk who judges reading selections, and a panel on gun violence.

Parents' concerns about a YA collection; a grandmother questions a Newbery honoree.

The American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom has released its annual list of most challenged books.