In this episode of Rogue Librarians, we discuss the importance of voting to combat the ongoing issue of book banning in the United States. The conversation covers recent legislative developments, state-specific ballot measures affecting libraries, and the significance of local elections in combating censorship. We provide information on the congressional resolution condemning book bans Discuss several state specific issues on the ballot that we found through Libraries2024.org including: Utah’s Amendment A (Vote No), North Dakota’s Measure 4 (Vote No), Kentucky’s Constitutional Amendment 2 (Vote No), and California’s Proposition 5 (Vote Yes). We tell you how to learn more about the governance behind libraries through the ACLU’s - School Governance 101 page We offer a variety of interactive web sites to help you find out about items on your local ballots, including issues around book banning and more. Here is the list: Vote 411 AARP Everylibrary.org Ballotpedia.org We also offer suggestions about how to stay abreast of what’s happening in Book Banning Politics at the following websites: ALA.org-Office for Intellectual Freedom ALA Banned & Challenged Books ALA Book Résumés Book Riot - Literary Activism Newsletter Every Library: Political Activity Unite Against Book Bans Pen America Here is the link to the episode of On The Media that we recommended in the Intro. The segment on book banning is at timecode [39:36] From their show notes: “Host Brooke Gladstone interviews Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, whose children’s picture book, And Tango Makes Three, is among the long list of banned titles across the country. Hear why they’re suing in Florida to make their book — and others — accessible again.”
