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S temperatures soar in the UK, there are some book-banning zealots in the US who may be getting a little hot under
the collar for other reasons. Ernest Jackson writes to inform us of a couple of instances of “satirical attacks” on the laws that have been passed to make it easier for citizens to get books removed from the shelves of public and school libraries. The first is a case in Utah, reported by the Friendly Atheist (a.k.a Hemant Mehta, writing on his Substack at https://tinyurl. com/yc5ua6ku), where a “concerned” parent took it upon themselves to make a complaint about the King James Version Bible.
The unnamed parent pointed out that under new legislation passed by Utah lawmakers, the Bible could be considered age-inappropriate for younger children – citing references to adultery and pornographic content, among other infractions of the state’s new laws. A panel reviewing the submission to have the Bible removed form the shelves of elementary schools, agreed that the content was not suitable and a number of school boards have already had them removed. A further request to have the Book of Mormon removed from a Salt Lake City high school is also being considered, on similar grounds.
As the Friendly Atheist points out: “[…] all of this back and forth is idiotic. The school already has experts who can gauge the worthiness of any book – the librarians – and taking away their agency and ignoring their expertise is just a big waste of time.” He hopes that some of the most vociferous advocates of book-banning legislature may now be re-considering the implications, saying: “To be clear, the purpose of calling for a ban on the Bible and the Book of Mormon isn’t to actually ban either one. It’s to highlight the absurdity of banning books, period. The solution isn’t to toss holy books out of school for children who may want to read them; it’s to make sure public school students have access to all kinds of literature.”
Next up we have some news from June 2023
Moneybags TV quiz show draws inspiration from libraries
Channel 4 quiz show, Moneybags, sent in by Alan Bullimore who suggests that the question-setters “must be CILIP members”. The reason for this assertion comes from a recent repeat of the show, as Alan explains: “[On the] show from 2021/2 there were no less than two related questions in the hour show. “Yes, it is possible to get a Scouting Badge in librarianship (contestant was wrong), and Yes there are more libraries than Wetherspoons Pubs (contestant right). What next? UDC Classification on University Challenge maybe?” Moving on to the Little Free Library initiative in North America, the free book swap boxes that are set up in areas that are not well-served by public libraries. The latest news from the project, which is operated as a non- profit nationally in the US and Canada, has seen a reading scheme targeted at indigenous people. Reported on the MPR News website (https://tinyurl. com/2se3v7f5), the story highlights a grant that will allow book packs containing 50 books, half of which have been selected to represent indigenous people, to be sent out. The books feature a variety of reading levels and were picked by an advisory group made up of seven members from tribal
nations across the country. One of those, Talia Miracle, said: “It’s just so important to see yourself represented in the pages of a book. I didn’t see myself represented in the pages of books when I was a little kid. So, I would really just love to be able to give that opportunity to as many other little Native kids as I can.” And finally, who fancies a story about an overdue book heading back to the library after eight decades? Well, whatever your answer, here is a story about the late return of a book to a library in Washington state. Brad Bitar returned a copy of The Bounty Trilogy by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall to the Aberdeen Timberland Library – just the 81 years past its original due date of March 1942. As reported by CNN (
https://tinyurl.com/ ede7w5ec), Brad does not know who checked out the book or how it ended up in his possession, but says it may have been left at his parents (now closed) store at some point. We’re sure the big question on readers’ lips is “Did he get a fine?”, and the happy answer for Brad is that he did not have to pay a cent, as the library stopped issuing fines in 2020. IP
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