Start a neighborhood library book box to fight against banned books
While states like Texas and Missouri are trying to close libraries, locals nationwide may want to find new places for censored books
Imagine hating a set of books so much that you’d consider shutting down an entire library just to try to force them to not be read. That’s what’s happening at a rural Texas county, Llano County, which was ordered by federal Judge Robert Pitman to return banned books to its public library shelves.
According to their meeting agenda via CNN report, a meeting of the Commissioners Court of Llano County on Thursday, April 13, will include discussion of whether to “continue or cease operations of the current physical Llano County library system pending further guidance from the Federal Courts.”
And in Missouri’s Republican-led House, they voted to cut all funding for libraries in its version of the state’s annual budget. The proposal is not yet final, reports PBS. On Fri., April 14, it sits with the state Senate’s appropriations committee, along with the rest of the annual $45.6 billion budget. However, Republican chair Sen. Lincoln Hough said it would be his intention to restore library funding.
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For neighborhood locals who want to continue sharing diverse books without constant backlash from delusional parents, frustrated school officials and stressed-out librarians, setting up a neighborhood book box may be one alternative.
Recommended Read: “Library box: The alternate book club ~ How to give away and receive books through a book box program”
In fact, some library book box programs support programs such as Read in Color, which “distributes books that provide perspectives on racism and social justice; celebrate BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized voices.”
While a neighborhood library book box would require a steward to make sure vigilantes didn’t try to destroy those boxes that dare include a diverse set of books, this could also be a place to share the kind of content that bookworms want to read without being policed for doing so. Give a book. Take a book. Click here to start.
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