American Library Association Archives

Memo Reveals How Teachers Union Worked on Bill to Keep Sexually Explicit Books in Schools

October 28, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Democratic lawmakers privately negotiated with the nation’s largest teachers union to craft a bill intended to combat bans of sexually explicit books in schools, according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Right To Read Act was reintroduced by Democratic Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva and Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed in April 2023, and is intended to rebuff efforts by parents and Republican lawmakers to remove sexually explicit content from school libraries, according to a press release from the lawmakers. The bill also authorized $500 million in funding for school libraries and provides liability protections to school librarians and educators providing sexually explicit books to students.

American Library Association Helped Draft Bill Cracking Down on Limits the the Availability of Sexually Explicit Books to Children

October 2, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

The former president of the American Library Association (ALA) said the organization helped “develop” legislation intended to combat attempts to remove sexually explicit books from school libraries, according to documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Right To Read Act, reintroduced by Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed and Democratic Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva in April, ensures students can access “culturally diverse and inclusive materials,” including sexually explicit books, as well as granting liability protections for librarians who curate these materials. The bill is explicitly intended to rebuff efforts by parents and Republican lawmakers to remove sexually explicit content from school libraries, according to a press release from the lawmakers.

Openly ‘Marxist’ Library Group Chief Stunned by Backlash, Withdrawal of Funding

August 9, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

After the head of the American Library Association (ALA) declared herself to be an open “Marxist,” the group has faced severe backlash that has led to at least one state pulling its funding altogether.

As reported by Fox News, Emily Drabinski celebrated her own election as head of the ALA last year by tweeting “I just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of @ALALibrary. I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity! And my mom is SO PROUD. I love you mom.”

Commentary: Montana Leaves Marxist-Led American Library Association

July 25, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Local libraries have become a fierce battleground in the cultural revolution sweeping America.

“Drag Queen Story Hour” and the promotion of pornographic materials in children and teens sections have prompted parents around the nation to push back—and some families to withdraw entirely.

Library Group’s ‘Intellectual Freedom’ Director Tells Libraries How to Censor Christian Story Hours

June 29, 2023 Just the News

The American Library Association is offering guidance to public libraries on how to prevent events like an upcoming one by leading Christian children’s book publisher and marquee author Kirk Cameron, arguing they’re an attempt to “censor” or “silence” LGBTQIA library-users and their materials.

The guidance came from Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the association’s director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, during a virtual library conference earlier this month.

Massachusetts Public Libraries to Host Virtual Drag Queen Tutorial for Teens

May 31, 2023May 30, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

More than 30 Massachusetts public libraries are joining together to host a virtual drag queen event, targeted for teens aged 13-18, in which New England-based drag queen “Giganta Smalls” will teach the young people about the life of a drag performer and help them “pick up some advice on costuming and make-up.”

According to a Westhampton Public Library Facebook post for the June 10th event called “Dishing Out Drag with Giganta Smalls,” over 30 Massachusetts public libraries are “co-hosting this PRIDE event,” that has been “made possible by a discretionary fund of the Trustees of Rowley Public Library.”

‘Gender Queer’ Tops List of Most Challenged Books for a Second Year

April 25, 2023 The Center Square

The graphic novel Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe was the most challenged book of 2022, according to an annual list of the most controversial books as assessed by the American Library Association.

The list was published Monday during the start of National Library Week. The American Library Association said 2022 was a record year for books “targeted for censorship.” There were 2,571 unique titles challenged, of which 58 percent were in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula.

Wyoming Library Board Cuts Ties With American Library Association Over Support for Sexually Explicit Books for Children

December 9, 2022December 8, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A Wyoming library board has cut its ties with the American Library Association (ALA) and its state affiliate over support of sexually explicit books in the children’s sections of local libraries that include indoctrination in gender ideology and other aspects of radical LGBTQ activism.

The Campbell County Library Board in Gillette, Wyoming, voted 4-1 to break ties with the ALA after months of parental outcry about the books, promoted by the national organization, that have been viewed as pornographic and an attempt to normalize a transgender lifestyle, The Epoch Times reported last week.

Michigan Parents of Different Faiths Organize to Protect Children from Radical Left Ideology in Government Schools

September 29, 2022September 28, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

More than 800 parents, including Christians, Muslims, and Jews, organized in Dearborn, Michigan, to fight back against the radical left’s sexualization of their children in government schools.

The parents’ goal is “simple,” reported Patty McMurray at 100PERCENTFedUP.com, a conservative site run by moms McMurray and Leisa Audette.

Self-Described ‘Marxist Lesbian’ Elected Next President of American Library Association

April 26, 2022April 25, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

The same American Library Association (ALA) that promotes Drag Queen Story Hours for young children, and has bestowed awards on books containing explicit descriptions of sexual behavior for children as young as 12 years, has now elected a self-described “Marxist lesbian” as its next president.

Idaho native Emily Drabinski, interim chief librarian at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, posted to Twitter following her victorious election bid she “just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of” ALA.”