On this edition of Your Call’s Authoritarian Playbook series, we're speaking with librarians featured in the new documentary, 'The Librarians,' about how they are fighting back against Republican backed book bans and standing up for the right to read.
Since 2021, there have been nearly 23,000 book bans in public schools nationwide, most targeting works about racism, sexuality, gender, and history, according to PEN America.
How are librarians responding?
Guests:
Martha Hickson, intellectual freedom advocate, and retired high school librarian in Annandale, New Jersey
Becky Calzada, district library coordinator in Leander, Texas, and co-founding member of the Texas #FReadom Fighters
Resources:
PEN America: The Normalization of Book Banning
The Guardian: US librarians tackle ‘manufactured crisis’ of book bans to protect LGBTQ+ rights
NPR: PEN America warns of rise in books 'systematically removed from school libraries'
The New York Times: With Rising Book Bans, Librarians Have Come Under Attack
American Library Association: Book Ban Data
