Two Los Angeles County supervisors will propose Tuesday that the county library system make its eBooks available to all California teens and residents.
The goal, said supervisors Lindsey P. Horvath and Janice Hahn, is to mount a challenge to what they call a spike in efforts to ban books from school and public libraries, particularly those with LGBTQ+ themes. The eBooks to be made available would include publications banned in other jurisdictions.
Horvath and Hahn cite a recent report from the nonprofit PEN America that found a 28% increase in book bans enacted across the country in the first half of the 2022-23 school year, compared to the previous six months.
“The number of banned books in California is on the rise,” they state. “In 2020, the Burbank Unified School District banned inclusion of classics such as `Huckleberry Finn’ by Mark Twain and `Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck from their curriculum.”
They cited the San Ramon Valley Unified School District in the Bay Area and Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District in the Central Valley, where the book challenge policy allows for a book’s immediate removal in response to a single parent’s objection.
They also noted that Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond have issued a letter to school districts statewide cautioning against book bans.”
They also pointed to the recent firing of the Temecula Valley Unified School District superintendent for “including LGBTQ+ civil rights icon Harvey Milk in the school curriculum.”
Horvath and Hahn said that according to the American Library Association, “almost all of the top 10 books targeted for censorship last year in California schools and libraries included LGBTQ+ themes.”
If approved by the board, their motion would instruct county library officials to report back in 30 days with a plan to make digital county library cards available to all residents and teens in California – with the goal of launching the program during Banned Books Week Oct. 1-7.
They also want the library system to identify a funding source for purchasing eBooks, “including commonly banned books.”
“Now, more than ever, as Pride Month comes to a close, the county of Los Angeles must stand with the banned – the students who are deprived of the literature that reflects the diversity of our great state – and make our eBook resources available to all California teens and residents,” Horvath and Hahn stated.
If the motion carries, Los Angeles would join the Brooklyn Public Library in New York in attempting to provide access to books banned in other jurisdictions. The Brooklyn library opened digital access to youths ages 13-21 throughout the country.
– City News Service
