Librarians stand firm as book bans stack up and concerns swirl post-election
Source: USA Today
Published 6:00 a.m. ET Dec. 7, 2024 | Updated 6:00 p.m. ET Dec. 7, 2024
Amber Frey was at a city council meeting in Prattville, Alabama, a suburb of Montgomery with about 40,000 people, listening as parents expressed concerns over books at their public library. Something fellow Prattville resident Angie Hayden said struck a chord with Frey, who, like Hayden, has a child she described as "part of the LGBTQ+ community."
"There is more than one kind of 'concerned parent,'" Frey recalled Hayden saying. "That inspired me," Frey said, and after the meeting, the mother of four approached Hayden. The two women would be among the co-founders of Read Freely Alabama, an all-volunteer group working to combat efforts to ban books in public libraries in the state.
Book bans have been an ongoing battle in Alabama and throughout pockets of the U.S. in recent years. And after an election cycle in which cultural issues played a large role in voters' minds, concerns have mounted - so much so that the American Library Association has doubled down on a vow to preserve the freedom to read.
“We know that many of our members are concerned that the election results portend attacks on libraries, library workers and readers,” ALA President Cindy Hohl said in a statement. “Whatever happens, ALA will stand up for all Americans’ freedom to read — and we will need everyone who loves libraries to stand with us.”
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/12/07/librarians-book-bans-election-concerns/76331822007/
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