It’s been such a weird, stressful week that I started having high school stress dreams again. Last night I dreamed I was late for the AP Lit test and a friend had started writing one of the essays for me and I had angst over whether I had time to start over because it wasn’t my work.
Image of the 4 new statewide banned books in Utah: The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold Breathless by Jennifer Niven
As you may have heard, Utah banned 4 more books statewide.
Keep reading and talking about these books.
And join us tomorrow at Elevate Utah and Better Utah's Action Fair at 6 p.m. at Church & State to learn how you can help us fight back against book bans.
We still owe it to them to fix this mess. I heard a shocking number of stories about how books like 13 Reasons Why and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (both banned statewide in Utah) helped countless kids contemplating suicide. Books don’t create porn addicts. They save lives.
Tabled at StoryCon yesterday with @letutahread.bsky.social and met so many smart and insightful teens. They took one look at Utah’s statewide banned book list and immediately saw through the book banners’ BS.
![A call script for elected representatives: U.S. attack on Iran:
YOU: Hi, my name is [NAME]. I’m a constituent from [ZIP CODE].
YOU: I’m calling to demand [MOC/SENATOR] take urgent action after the United States joined Israel in launching strikes on Iran today.
YOU: The Trump administration has again taken military action without any specific Congressional authorization. President Trump has also confirmed that the U.S. has undertaken “major operations” in Iran and has also said “U.S. lives might be lost.”
YOU: I am calling on [MOC/SENATOR] to call for the following actions immediately:
- Public clarification on the scope of U.S. involvement
- Call for and support support the Khanna–Massie War Powers Resolution in the House.
- Oppose ANY funding for military escalation without Congressional authorization.
YOU: Are we or are we not at war with Iran? Congress needs to answer this question, and do it quickly.
YOU: [OPTIONAL COMMENTS – e.g. Clarify you’d like a written response]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vdabazxnghujbebpi2ektqgi/bafkreihe6g2l2zn2cx4pblvsgmdykxykwi44mqhd7jeqyv57qclqkbv6mq@jpeg)
A call script for elected representatives: U.S. attack on Iran: YOU: Hi, my name is [NAME]. I’m a constituent from [ZIP CODE]. YOU: I’m calling to demand [MOC/SENATOR] take urgent action after the United States joined Israel in launching strikes on Iran today. YOU: The Trump administration has again taken military action without any specific Congressional authorization. President Trump has also confirmed that the U.S. has undertaken “major operations” in Iran and has also said “U.S. lives might be lost.” YOU: I am calling on [MOC/SENATOR] to call for the following actions immediately: - Public clarification on the scope of U.S. involvement - Call for and support support the Khanna–Massie War Powers Resolution in the House. - Oppose ANY funding for military escalation without Congressional authorization. YOU: Are we or are we not at war with Iran? Congress needs to answer this question, and do it quickly. YOU: [OPTIONAL COMMENTS – e.g. Clarify you’d like a written response]
Do it now.
Yes, you can leave a message. Yes, call the DC offices.
Script here again.
At the best bookstore, no less! We love The Kings English!
I'm missing the trees in my childhood backyard today. The two sappy peach trees I first learned to climb, the apple and pear whose branches I cut too early (sorry, Dad), and the cherry tree standing over them all. That tree was our playhouse, our jungle gym, our pirate ship. She was everything.
As hard as we are fighting, book bans are having an impact on the books being written and published. To put this another way, a very small number of well-funded people who don't write books, don't teach books, don't work in libraries are trying to decide what books are available for everyone else
blue graphic with an outline of the United States. Red and white text reads: Call. National Book Banning Bill Proposed in US House of Reps. Tell your rep: Vote no on H.R. 7661.
We've had a day to pull a few things together, so here's a thread some more targeted info opposing the potential national book ban just proposed in the House of Representatives.
To the people who have said this bill has no chance of passing: it is moving to committee!
I DO NOT care if you think it’s impossible to pass! I live in a state where a law like this DID PASS! DON’T BE COMPLACENT AND CALL!!!
Thank you to @authorsabb.bsky.social heroes @beccacoffindaffer.bsky.social and Ed Underhill, we have some slides that can be shared by anyone about this, with particular reps to target. Let's kill this bill in committee.
Don't be fooled by this bill's name-- this is a book banning bill that will exclude LGBTQ books from all public schools NATIONWIDE.
Call your congresspeople and tell them to VOTE NO on this nakedly bigoted book banning bullshit.
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
A nationwide book ban bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives. Here's what you need to know about HR7661, including who is behind it, the history behind such bills, and what you need to do to stop it.
bookriot.com/hr7661-book-...
I wrote a piece for an Utah paper about why books that deal with sex and assault are important for teens and shouldn't be labeled as pornography and banned. This is a major issue in my home state where many do not believe sex scenes in books are ever justified.
www.sltrib.com/opinion/comm...
Image 1
After another title was added to Utah’s growing list of books banned from public schools, we want to hear from you: Who do you trust to decide what books are age-appropriate for Utah’s students?
Fill out this form to share your perspective.
https://forms.gle/ZEAxKLb4z7Ca5rkC6
Just a reminder as we look forward to this weekend...
We're going to win. There's a ton of hard work ahead of us & a lot more really bad days, but we've won before, with less resources & more capable foes. So we will win again.
Every reader of every age will have access to the books they need.
“There is no such thing as porn for kids, and there is no obscene material available for teen readers, period. It would be against the law to publish, let alone purchase for a library.”
A golden retriever sprawling on a snowy wood deck
Snow sploot!
I saw a flock of 15 at the park I like to write at in Davis County, Utah last week.
I also love how visually coup and coop look so similar even though they sound so different.
Utah's banned a book published in 1998 from every single public school in the state.
You know, a book those banners probably had on shelves when they were in high school and it wasn't an issue then.
A completed Rivendell lego set sitting on top of a black bookshelf where it will still likely be broken by one of our rambunctious children.
It took us over two years, but it’s finally finished!
The light pink is so pretty! Well done (as always)!
Tbh, this is one of my biggest concerns with SB253, the library collection policy bill kicking its way through the Utah legislature. It seems harmless on its face, but I’m worried about how book banners will be able to weaponize its language to ban books that *don’t* have sensitive materials.
Members of Let Utah Read and Let Davis Read standing behind a swag table with bookmarks.
More readers gathered in the rotunda for the read-in.
It was also great to be with some of the other founding members of Let Davis Read and see so many people joyfully protesting, especially when the right to read is on the legislative agenda. There's still more work to do, but it's nice to know I'm in good company! #freadom #utpol #bannedbooks
At least 100 people (one news site reported 300!) gathered in the Utah State Capitol rotunda with books listening to a speaker talk about protecting the right to read.
Hundreds of readers sitting on chairs and on the floor of the rotunda for the Let Utah Read read-in.
The Read-In at the Utah State Capitol yesterday was a smashing success! So grateful to all the hard work that @letutahread.bsky.social, the ACLU of Utah, and so many others put in to make this event so fantastic. Readathons make the best protests!
HB197 is going to be heard in committee at 2:00 today! Please write your reps before then to tell them to vote no on this bill!
vpeterson@le.utah.gov
cpierucci@le.utah.gov
jthompson@le.utah.gov
dwelton@le.utah.gov
And here's a link to information about how Rep. Peck has been trying to take down EBSCO and other educational databases since at least 2018: www.letutahread.org/badlibrarybi...
#bannedbooks #freadom #utpol
Education Standing Committee Members’ Email Addresses:
nwalter@le.utah.gov
adefay@le.utah.gov
tauxier@le.utah.gov
jelison@le.utah.gov
shayes@le.utah.gov
karilisonbee@le.utah.gov
mmacpherson@le.utah.gov
tmiller@le.utah.gov
csmoss@le.utah.gov
npeck@le.utah.gov
kpeterson@le.utah.gov
(cont.)
With that, please call or email the members of the committee and urge them to vote no on HB197. You’ll need to contact them before the meeting on Feb. 12 at 2 PM. I've posted their contact info in the comments. And if you're available, please attend the committee meeting this Thursday and provide public testimony against this bill. You can attend either in person or virtually over Zoom.
And thank you! All of our emails to legislators have been making a difference. We wouldn't have a watered down version of this bill without all of your voices. Let's keep up the pressure and finish it off!
Check out the slides for more info and ways you can help. Let's take down this bad bill!
HB197 is back with a *third* substitute. The good news is that it has been significantly watered down. The bad news is that HB197 is still kicking its way through the House Ed Committee and will likely be heard this Thursday (February 12) at 2:00 in Room 120 of the Senate Building.
The current bill now focuses on two main things: (1) placing restrictions on digital instructional materials (e.g., databases like EBSCO); and (2) requiring schools to screen instructional materials for sensitive materials. As part of this, schools will be required to adopt policies using AI tools, but unlike prior versions of the bill, there is no express mandate that schools use RatedBooks (this is a win!).
Both of these things are still bad, and we should still fight this bill. Most importantly, HB197 is completely unnecessary. Databases in Utah schools are already heavily regulated and filtered. We already have laws that address this! And auditors have never been able to find sensitive materials in EBSCO or other educational databases. (This is a windmill that Rep. Peck has been tilting at for years—I'll post a link in the comments outlining her history trying to take down school databases).
As for the AI part, using AI tools to screen library books is unworkable. AI has been known to hallucinate the existence of sensitive materials in books and is a poor substitute for the professional expertise of teachers and librarians. Not only that, AI tools are inherent with bias. Tools like RatedBooks only feed AI cherry-picked excerpts from books to see if they violate the so-called "bright-line" rule. They do not consider books as a whole to determine whether the book has value to students.
Utah friends! HB197 is back with a *third* substitute.
The good news is that it's been significantly watered down. The bad news is that it's still kicking its way through the House Ed Committee and will likely be heard this Thursday (February 12) at 2:00 in Room 120 of the Senate Building.
