Banned Book Ruling Concerns Texas Public Library
A small Texas county decides whether to shut down its public library system. According to sources, the local commissioners improperly banned a dozen of majority children’s books and it has stained the positive reputation of the library.
The Banned Books
Yesterday, Llano County Public Library held a special meeting to discuss future operation. Speculations behind the removal of the books swirl because of their LGBTQ and racial content. Titles of the books returned includes “They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, “Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen” by Jazz Jennings, and many others.
Conservative lawmakers declares the books to be inappropriate and does not want them accessible to the public. The clash between freedom of speech and education outraged local residents to sue the county about a year ago. The viewpoint and different perspectives in books should be encouraged instead of discriminated upon. The American Library Association (ALA) wants librarians to consider books based upon criteria such as authenticity, public demand, and content. In the Llano County Public Library, there is a section for minors. Commissioners may think the reads are not healthy to the social and emotional development of kids.
To Shut Down Or Not Shut Down
However, the case between local residents and the Llano county officials concluded with the library returning the books to shelves. The special meeting considers depriving thousands of Llano county residents access to books, learning resources, and meeting space — than have the banned books available to residents.
Closing the library would be an extreme reaction, notes ALA’s Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. Unite Against Book Bans and ALA will continue to work closely with the Texas Library Association to support “at-risk library workers” in Llano County. Although, most of the books are returned, Llano County have appealed to stay the injunction of the court. A full trial for the case will continue in October this year.
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