{"id":51250,"date":"2020-03-02T00:00:23","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T08:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=51250"},"modified":"2020-03-01T13:37:48","modified_gmt":"2020-03-01T21:37:48","slug":"librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

A bill pending in Missouri\u2019s legislature takes aim at libraries and librarians who are making \u201cage-inappropriate sexual material<\/a>\u201d available to children.<\/p>\n

The measure, championed by\u00a0Ben Baker<\/a>, a Republican lawmaker, calls for establishing review boards who would determine whether materials in libraries contain or promote \u201cnudity, sexuality, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse.\u201d In addition, the boards, which would be comprised of parents, would root out materials lacking \u201cserious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.\u201d<\/p>\n

Librarians who defy the review boards by buying and lending such materials would be subject to misdemeanor charges, fines upward of US$500, and a potential jail sentence up to one year.<\/p>\n

As a librarian, and now as an educator who\u00a0teaches aspiring librarians<\/a>, I see this bill as the latest chapter in a\u00a0long history of books being banned<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0public and school libraries<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Censorship and book banning<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Often, efforts to censor and muzzle libraries originate with members of the public rather than public officials or school leaders.<\/p>\n

Censoring and banning library materials and programs\u00a0is nothing new<\/a>.\u00a0Many classic books have been challenged and banned<\/a>, including classroom favorites like \u201c1984<\/a>\u201d by George Orwell, \u201cThe Catcher in the Rye<\/a>\u201d by J. D. Salinger, \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird<\/a>\u201d by Harper Lee, \u201cThe Color Purple<\/a>\u201d by Alice Walker, and \u201cI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings<\/a>\u201d by Maya Angelou.<\/p>\n

The children\u2019s book \u201cAnd Tango Makes Three<\/a>,\u201d by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole, was\u00a0challenged and banned<\/a>\u00a0from libraries around the country for many years after its publication in 2005. The picture book is based on a true story of two male penguins in New York City\u2019s Central Park Zoo who adopt and care for an egg and then keep caring for their daughter, Tango, after she hatched.<\/p>\n

J.K. Rowling\u2019s\u00a0Harry Potter series<\/a>\u00a0is also regularly challenged and banned.<\/p>\n

Separately, opponents of the storytime program known as \u201cDrag Queen Story Hour<\/a>\u201d at libraries and other community venues, have held protests to ban and condemn such events aimed at children. The\u00a0objections voiced by protesters<\/a>\u00a0stem from their belief that drag performers are evil and amoral and that exposure to drag queens will, in their view, cause children to become gay.<\/p>\n

The Missouri bill is not the first of its kind. State lawmakers in\u00a0Colorado<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Maine<\/a>\u00a0both tried to pass similar legislation in 2019. Both efforts failed.<\/p>\n

A profession<\/strong><\/h4>\n

American Library Association\u2019s Office of Intellectual Freedom<\/a>, the\u00a0Missouri Library Association<\/a>, and\u00a0PEN America<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a nonprofit that defends free expression \u2013 are among the literary and library groups that have voiced their objections.<\/p>\n

Many of the\u00a0drag queens<\/a>\u00a0who\u00a0read to kids<\/a>\u00a0are planning a protest against the measure on March 7. Baker has said his concerns about these readings were a factor in\u00a0inspiring him to draft the bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Librarians are professionals. Librarians working in K-12 school libraries also earn certification as\u00a0school library media specialists<\/a>. Librarians have expertise in children\u2019s literature, collection development, child development, psychology, readers\u2019 advisory, reference services and other specialized skills needed to serve\u00a0children<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0young adults<\/a>\u00a0in a variety of settings.<\/p>\n

In short, librarians are more than capable of selecting and purchasing quality books and other materials for people of all ages.<\/p>\n

To imply otherwise, as I believe the proposed Missouri measure would, is to insult these skilled educators. If it should be enacted, I would consider it a potential threat to information access, intellectual freedom and the freedom to read.<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Nicole Cooke is <\/span>Associate Professor of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A bill pending in Missouri\u2019s legislature takes aim at libraries and librarians who are making \u201cage-inappropriate sexual material\u201d available to children. The measure, championed by\u00a0Ben Baker, a Republican lawmaker, calls for establishing review boards who would determine whether materials in libraries contain or promote \u201cnudity, sexuality, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse.\u201d In addition, […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":51251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[350731],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-51250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-librarians"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLibrarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A bill pending in Missouri\u2019s legislature takes aim at libraries and librarians who are making \u201cage-inappropriate sexual material\u201d available to children. The measure, championed by\u00a0Ben Baker, a Republican lawmaker, calls for establishing review boards who would determine whether materials in libraries contain or promote \u201cnudity, sexuality, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse.\u201d In addition, […]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-02T08:00:23+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/libraryprotest.jpg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"680\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"383\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-02T08:00:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":606,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/libraryprotest.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Librarians\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/\",\"name\":\"Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law - World leading higher education information and services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/libraryprotest.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-02T08:00:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/libraryprotest.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/libraryprotest.jpg\",\"width\":680,\"height\":383},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"World leading higher education information and services\",\"description\":\"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\",\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kevin\"},\"description\":\"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/author\\\/kevin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law - World leading higher education information and services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law - World leading higher education information and services","og_description":"A bill pending in Missouri\u2019s legislature takes aim at libraries and librarians who are making \u201cage-inappropriate sexual material\u201d available to children. The measure, championed by\u00a0Ben Baker, a Republican lawmaker, calls for establishing review boards who would determine whether materials in libraries contain or promote \u201cnudity, sexuality, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse.\u201d In addition, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/","og_site_name":"World leading higher education information and services","article_published_time":"2020-03-02T08:00:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":680,"height":383,"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/libraryprotest.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kevin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"headline":"Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law","datePublished":"2020-03-02T08:00:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/"},"wordCount":606,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/libraryprotest.jpg","keywords":["Librarians"],"articleSection":["Education"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/","name":"Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law - World leading higher education information and services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/libraryprotest.jpg","datePublished":"2020-03-02T08:00:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/libraryprotest.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/libraryprotest.jpg","width":680,"height":383},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/librarians-could-be-jailed-and-fined-under-a-proposed-censorship-law\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/world.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Librarians could be jailed and fined under a proposed censorship law"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/","name":"World leading higher education information and services","description":"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee","name":"Kevin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kevin"},"description":"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/world.edu"],"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51250"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=51250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}