Black Museums Expect Boost in Attendance Thanks to Book Bans, Teaching Restrictions | Censorship News

Museums centered on the Black experience are seeing more visitors and expect numbers to climb as books about race continue to be banned and teaching about history and race is restricted. In other censorship news, Alabama state superintendent mandates a library review policy in all school districts, open records requests reveal books removed in Iowa schools, and more.

Conservative Leaders Banned Books. Now Black Museums are Bracing for Big Crowds. | USA Today
Marvin Dulaney can’t always field enough staff on Saturdays to serve the growing crowds visiting the African American Museum of Dallas. The number of visitors has nearly doubled in recent years, and Dulaney and others who head museums that focus on the Black experience in the United States expect attendance will continue to climb as more states try to limit teachings of Black history and ban books.

Education Superintendent Mandates Book Challenge Policies at Alabama School Libraries | AL.com
State education superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey sent a memo to local Alabama school superintendents to ensure they have a book reconsideration policy in place at their libraries.

Huntington Beach Considers Restricting ‘Obscene’ Books in Libraries | Voice of OC
Huntington Beach, CA, could soon have a new process for deciding what enters their public libraries, as one city councilwoman proposes the creation of an appointed panel to rule what’s appropriate for public consumption. 

Which Books Have Been Removed from Iowa Schools? Updated Database Lists Them | Des Moines Register
The Register sent open records requests to every school district in Iowa—326 in all—asking for a list of the books they have removed from their libraries to comply with the new law. 

The Plot Twist Behind the Strategy of Some Book Ban Advocates | WVTF
Parents challenging long lists of books are often using lists originally compiled by people who oppose book banning. 

Book Ban Requests Could Cost Pennsylvania School District over $100,000 | Lehigh Valley News
The Nazareth (PA) Area School District could spend more than $100,000 in taxpayer funds to review 23 books if Northampton County Moms for Liberty members move ahead with formal requests to get those books banned. The group sent at least four written requests already. School officials say reviewing those four titles will cost $16,000 alone.

Georgia Parent Appeals Districtwide Book Ban | 11 Alive YouTube
A parent in Marietta, GA, wants Flamer by Mike Curato reinstated.

Colorado Libraries Face Increasing Requests to Ban Books | The Denver Post
So far, the attempts to remove and restrict titles appear to be largely unsuccessful amid backlash from outspoken community members.

Book Restriction Debate Comes to St. Tammany School Board. Will Book Challenges Follow in Schools? | NOLA.com
St. Tammany Parish (LA) School Board members sat in silence as more than 20 people took to the podium to debate the appropriateness of student reading material in school libraries, in some cases reading aloud portions of the books they want removed.

Challenged Books in Carroll County Largely Written by Women, Feature LGBTQIA+ Characters | The Baltimore Banner
In September, Carroll County’s (MD) Board of Education temporarily removed 56 books from the district’s school libraries after complaints about inappropriate content. An analysis by Capital News Service (CNS) found that a high proportion of the titles being reviewed were written by female, LGBTQIA+, and nonbinary authors and featured LGBTQIA+ characters and characters of color. 

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