Author: Kelly Jensen

Several years and several states in, laws targeting library collections and library workers continue to increase. Now, thanks to a federal court, a draconian censorship law in Arkansas has the thumbs up to proceed. The law criminalizes librarians and booksellers for providing materials to their communities, resulting not only in a widespread chilling effect in Arkansas public libraries but also in the prosecution of librarians for doing their jobs. Arkansas Act 372 amends state laws by including librarians and booksellers among those who can be criminally charged for distributing or providing materials deemed “harmful to minors.” The law allows anyone…

We’ve already seen a taste of what’s to come. Last year, Ohio Republicans changed how libraries across the state were funded. Once the crown jewel of library funding models in the country, the state-level funding model was abandoned by Republicans. Instead, they moved to a local-level funding model for public libraries. An immediate result of this change was a frantic race to get library levies on local ballots so that libraries wouldn’t need to shutter their doors. Those levies ask voters whether they should pay for their library’s services and at what rate; in nearly every levy initiative since the…

What’s also concerning is how many lawmakers and board officials desire to make–or have made–these “tools” necessary ones for professionals to use to do their jobs. York County Library in South Carolina, for example, cites RatedBooks as one of the reputable sources library workers should use to make collection decisions (something that the partisan-designed site celebrates). At least two state legislatures tried to worm utilizing sites like RatedBooks as requirements for library acquisitions this year, too–Utah, where RatedBooks’s creator is cozy with some of the lawmakers, and West Virginia. Neither succeeded, but those won’t be the first nor last attempts.…

Book censorship and attacks on LGBTQ+ people from the right have been nonstop since 2021. Thanks to far-right social media that thrives off picking a victim of the day and going all in on harassment and stochastic terrorism, as well as legislators who spend more time thinking about what’s happening in the underpants of children than on solving real-world problems like children’s hunger, in many parts of the country, it is perceived as unsafe for libraries to put together a display of LGBTQ+ books in June. In some communities, like Fresno, California, as well as in states like Indiana, political…

What goes into creating a Literary Activism story? A lot of time, energy, and effort. Not every story about book censorship or library challenges makes the weekly link roundup cut, as each story is vetted for as much context and insight as possible. For news stories that are reported, time and energy goes into doing significant research, which can include interviews on or off the record, interviews and research done on background that may never make the story itself, and, where possible, utilizing public records information acquired through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. There have been many times when…

*** “Won’t Someone Think of the Children” Q&A  Literary Activism News you can use plus tips and tools for the fight against censorship and other bookish activism! Subscribe to Selected No Thanks Kelly: Creating leveled card access has been one avenue by which public libraries are “compromising” with those seeking to censor materials and hinder library access. It’s been a way to address concerns about “inappropriate material” that young people may access in the physical and/or digital library.  What should libraries consider before taking this step? What do they need to do with their policies, what should they consider in terms…

Common Reads, sometimes called One Book, One College or All Campus Reads, have been a popular project for U.S. colleges and universities for the last decade. They invite incoming students to all read the same book and spend the first weeks—or even the full first year—talking about it. It’s both a smart way to prepare students for higher education and a way to build community among new students.  At some institutions, the books rotate every few years, allowing all levels of students to connect over the same book. At others, the books change annually. Many times, students are even treated…

As the American Library Association (ALA) reported in its April 2026 State of Libraries Report, the movement to censor materials in American schools and public libraries has shifted. The number of titles targeted in 2025 that were reported to ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom has grown (nearly 2,000 more titles than 2024), but the vast majority of challenges are no longer coming from “concerned” parents. Nearly all of the censorship attempts recorded by ALA in 2025—92%—were initiated by pressure groups and government decision makers. Literary Activism News you can use plus tips and tools for the fight against censorship and…

A fundamental right for U.S. public library users is that of privacy. This means no one is monitoring what a patron is perusing, what they’re borrowing, or their library use history. It means that authorities cannot walk into a library and demand another user’s records; in many cases, library borrowing records are purged upon the return of materials, so there simply is no record. The right to privacy in the library is enshrined in the Library Bill of Rights, a foundational and essential document developed by the largest professional organization for library workers, the American Library Association (ALA). Thanks to…

The state of Utah has been on a book banning blitz in 2026. On Friday, June 5, the state added its 35th book to the list of books that must be removed from every public school in the state: Lucky by Alice Sebold. The ban comes amidst a lawsuit challenging these state-sanctioned bans filed in February, and it comes after banning 15 other books in 2026 alone. With a total of 16 books banned in Utah in 2026, this is now the busiest year for banning books in the state, surpassing the first year of the state’s book removal law, 2024, where…