The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members as of 2021.
Gregory Wayne Abbott is an American politician, attorney, and jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 to 2015 and as a justice of the Texas Supreme Court from 1996 to 2001.
Judith Fingeret Krug was an American librarian, freedom of speech proponent, and critic of censorship. Krug became director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association in 1967. In 1969, she joined the Freedom to Read Foundation as its executive director. Krug co-founded Banned Books Week in 1982.
Banned Books Week is an annual awareness campaign promoted by the American Library Association and Amnesty International, that celebrates the freedom to read, draws attention to banned and challenged books, and highlights persecuted individuals. Held in late September or early October since 1982, the United States campaign "stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them" and the requirement to keep material publicly available so that people can develop their own conclusions and opinions. The international campaign notes individuals "persecuted because of the writings that they produce, circulate or read." Some of the events that occur during Banned Book Week are The Virtual Read-Out and The First Amendment Film Festival.
The New Jersey Library Association (NJLA) is a library organization located in Bordentown, New Jersey. It was established in 1890, and is the oldest library organization in the State of New Jersey. The NJLA began in 1890 with 39 members, and currently has over 1,700. The organization states on its website that it "advocates for the advancement of library services for the residents of New Jersey, provides continuing education & networking opportunities for librarians", and "supports the principles of intellectual freedom & promotes access to library materials for all".
Everett Thomson Moore was a Harvard University-educated librarian active in the Freedom to Read Foundation, which promoted intellectual freedom in libraries. He worked as an academic librarian at the University of Illinois, University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, Los Angeles, eventually joining UCLA's School of Library Service faculty in 1961. Moore is most famous for challenging California's attorney general on issues of censorship and intellectual freedom in libraries in the case of Moore v. Younger. In 1999, American Libraries named him one of the "100 Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century".
Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas without restriction. Viewed as an integral component of a democratic society, intellectual freedom protects an individual's right to access, explore, consider, and express ideas and information as the basis for a self-governing, well-informed citizenry. Intellectual freedom comprises the bedrock for freedoms of expression, speech, and the press and relates to freedoms of information and the right to privacy.
Book censorship is the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational material – of images, ideas, and information – on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable according to the standards applied by the censor. Censorship is "the regulation of speech and other forms of expression by an entrenched authority". The overall intent of censorship, in any form, is to act as "a kind of safeguard for society, typically to protect norms and values [...] censorship suppresses what is considered objectionable from a political, moral, or religious standpoint."
In the post-Stonewall era, the role of libraries in providing information and services to LGBTQ individuals has been a topic of discussion among library professionals. Libraries can often play an important role for LGBTQ individuals looking to find information about coming out, health, and family topics, as well as leisure reading. In the past 50 years, advocate organizations for LGBTQ content in libraries have emerged, and numerous theorists have discussed various aspects of LGBTQ library service including privacy concerns, programming, collection development considerations and librarian/staff education needs, as well as special services for juvenile and teen patrons.
Julius C. Jefferson Jr. is an American librarian who was president of the American Library Association for the 2020-2021 term. In 2022 President Joe Biden appointed him to the National Museum and Library Services Board which advises the agency on general policies with respect to the duties, powers, and authority of the Institute of Museum and Library Services relating to museum, library, and information services, as well as the annual selection of National Medals recipients.Jefferson is additionally a section head of the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress, and served as the president of the Freedom to Read Foundation from 2013 to 2016.
Matthew Haston Krause is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 93rd district from 2013 to 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Cinderella is Dead is a 2020 young adult book by Kalynn Bayron. The novel is focused on Sophia Grimmins, a queer teenager living in the same world as Cinderella, 200 years after her death. Young women that are coming of age are forced to attend balls to be chosen as wives of men they've never met.
Moms for Liberty is an American conservative political organization that advocates against school curricula that mention LGBT rights, race and ethnicity, critical race theory, and discrimination. Multiple chapters have also campaigned to ban books that address gender and sexuality from school libraries. Founded in January 2021, the group began by campaigning against COVID-19 responses in schools such as mask and vaccine mandates. Moms for Liberty is influential within the Republican Party.
Throughout the history of the United States, various topics have been censored and banned in education, including teaching about evolution, racism, sexism, sex education, and LGBTQ+ topics. Due to the federal system of the country being highly decentralized, states are delegated with much of the responsibility for administering public education, and it is often governments of the red states that have enacted such policies.
Starting in 2021, there have been a considerable number of books banned or challenged in parts of the United States. Most of the targeted books have to do with race, gender, and sexuality. Unlike most book challenges in the past, whereby parents or other stakeholders in the community would engage teachers and school administrators in a debate over a title, local groups have received support from conservative advocacy organizations working to nationalize the efforts focused on certain subjects. They have also been more likely to involve legal and legislative measures rather than just conversations in local communities. Journalists, academics, librarians, and others commonly link the coordinated, often well-funded book challenges to other reactionary efforts to restrict what students should learn about systemic bias and the history of the United States. Hundreds of books have been challenged, including high-profile examples like Maus by Art Spiegelman and New Kid by Jerry Craft.
Carrie Coleman Robinson was an African American educator and librarian. Robinson was a founding trustee of the Freedom to Read Foundation and a founder of the Alabama Association of School Librarians.
Gender Queer: A Memoir is a 2019 graphic memoir written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe. It recounts Kobabe's journey from adolescence to adulthood and the author's exploration of gender identity and sexuality, ultimately identifying as being outside of the gender binary.
Kiss Number 8 is a 2019 graphic novel written by Colleen A. F. Venable, illustrated by Ellen T. Crenshaw, and published by First Second Books. In 2019, the novel was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The following year, it was a finalist for an Eisner Award and Prism Award.
Books Unbanned is a United States library program that issues library cards nationwide from regional libraries in order to give electronic access to the library's digital and audio collections to teens and young adults living in U.S. locations where books are being challenged. Initially established by the Brooklyn Public Library, it was created in response to a wave of book challenges against schools and libraries in 2021 and now encompasses five libraries across the United States.
