Banned Books Week has thrown a spotlight on the rise of book bans and challenges in 2023 and unfortunately that light is shining especially bright in the South. According to PEN America, over 40% of all book bans in the 2022-2023 school year occured in Florida. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama all also rate among the highest in the country in the number of book bans and challenges, but the truth is, no state in SIBA territory is untouched:
Book Banning attempts are usually focused on schools and public libraries, but booksellers are integrally involved and impacted by what are well-funded and organized efforts to influence local communities and state legislation. They are finding their relationships strained with local school systems, and sometimes events or contracts canceled as schools attempt to navigate vague directives from school boards about what books are or are not allowed on their shelves.
"On September 1, Gov. Kay Ivey sent an official letter to Nancy Pack, director of the Alabama Public Library Service, saying that she is “concerned” about "the environment our Alabama libraries are providing to families and children," says Lady Smith of Snail on the Wall Books in Huntsville, AL, "The heart of the issue seems to be the exposure of children and youth to inappropriate, sexually suggestive materials without adequate means of parental supervision.” She notes that a group called "Clean Up Alabama" has targeted books like "If You're a Kid Like Gavin" and is sending people to library board meetings to challenge materials."
A Facebook group called Read Freely Alabama has been created to share information about banning issues and network to oppose book banning attempts.
Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, which hosts the largest book festival in North Carolina and has an active, year-round "Authors in Schools" program, reports that this year they faced protests from groups of parents. Liz Noland, the store's Interim Youth & Schools Coordinator, wrote that "In the leadup to our 18th annual Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors, a small but vocal group of parents objected, via social media and at a school board meeting, to school visits from 6 of our middle grade and young adult authors. One middle school visit was canceled by the school after confirming the visit, due to what they stated were “anticipated parental concerns,” but thankfully we were able to reschedule this author at a different middle school who was happy to have them."
Noland also noted that the 6 authors targeted by the group were all authors of color, and three were members of the LGBTQ+ community. "The school district decided to implement a new opt-out form to be sent home with every student scheduled to attend an author visit, in order to err on the side of compliance with North Carolina’s new parental “bill of rights'' legislation that recently passed our General Assembly, and it is our understanding that this will be their procedure going forward, in addition to reviewing copies of the books being featured in future visits coordinated through Bookmarks."
Confronting these challenges is an on going, year-round effort. Especially in the South, which is central to so many egrigious attempts to remove books from school and library bookshelves.
To help and support its member bookstores, SIBA is building a searchable resource list for communities facing book bans, with an emphasis on tools for galvanizing community action:
https://sibaweb.com/page/BannedBooks
The list includes links and information from advocacy groups and organizations like PEN America, the American Library Association (ALA), and American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE), but also materials from SIBA programs, and tools and guides developed by SIBA bookstores to fight book challenges in their own communities.
Booksellers who would like to contribute to it can email nicki@sibaweb.com.
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