Online/Virtual Event
Monday, May 8th from 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Coordinated book banning efforts have been underway for nearly two years, and each week brings with it new tactics from the censors to accomplish their work. This presentation will look at how these groups are organizing, the tools they’re using, and what potential next targets may be. The entire ecosystem of books, publishing, reading, and knowledge are under attack, threatening to make books and access to books a luxury.
Join us to explore the reality of why book bans are going to continue and how books represent the bigger agenda of erasure and eradication of marginalized people. The presentation will include how to respond to these challenges, how book bans are contributing to trauma in library workers, and ways to counter the mental health impact of the cultural assault on library workers and educators.
Attendees can expect to:
- Understand the background on several of the groups coordinating nation-wide book bans, including Moms For Liberty and No Left Turn in Education, and discover the tools they use in order to prepare for countering their agenda
- Develop language around the mental health impacts of book bans and library work in the era of heightened censorship and scrutiny
- Consider where and how to implement policies and practices to protect library workers and colleagues impacted by book bans
About our presenter: Kelly Jensen is an Editor at Book Riot, the largest independent book website in North America. She covers all things young adult literature and has written about censorship for nearly ten years. She is the author of three critically-acclaimed and award-winning anthologies for young adults. She was named a person of the year in 2022 by Publishers Weekly and a Chicagoan of the year in 2022 by the Chicago Tribune for her anti-censorship work. Prior to her work at Book Riot, she was a public librarian for children, teens, and adults in several libraries in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin.
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