Ban on Book Bans Set to Advance in Maryland Legislature
From The Daily Record:
State Democrats plan to prohibit book banning, combating campaigns by conservative groups to remove books from public schools and libraries that are often written by or about LGBTQIA+ people and communities of color.
Lawmakers are pushing for guardrails against challenges to books with content “contrary to the belief systems of a very small group of people,” state Senate Majority Leader Nancy King said during a press conference Friday.
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Lawmakers in both the state Senate and House of Delegates are expected to debate the Freedom to Read Act on Tuesday and pass the proposal by March 18, the date by which bills typically must cross to the opposite chamber to have a shot at reaching the governor’s desk.
Lawmakers plan to prohibit libraries from excluding a book because of its author’s origin, background or views, and from removing a book because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
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