Presenting a bold challenge to the increasing efforts to ban books with LGBTQ+ themes from school and public libraries, two Los Angeles County supervisors are proposing a groundbreaking plan. They aim to make the county’s eBooks, including banned publications, accessible to all California teens and residents.
The motion, spearheaded by supervisors Lindsey P. Horvath and Janice Hahn, highlights a recent report by PEN America, a non-profit organization, which reveals a concerning 28% surge in book bans across the country during the first half of the 2022-23 school year compared to the previous six months.
The motion states, “The number of banned books in California is on the rise.” It provides an example of the Burbank Unified School District banning literary classics such as Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” and John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” from their curriculum in 2020.
The motion goes on to highlight other instances of book banning in different parts of the state, citing the San Ramon Valley Unified School District in the Bay Area and Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District in the Central Valley. These districts have book challenge policies allowing for immediate removal of books based on a single parent’s objection. The concerning trend has received attention from Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who issued a letter cautioning against book bans in school districts statewide.
In addition, Horvath and Hahn mention the recent dismissal of the Temecula Valley Unified School District superintendent for including LGBTQ+ civil rights icon Harvey Milk in the school curriculum. They note the American Library Association’s findings that “almost all of the top 10 books targeted for censorship last year in California schools and libraries included LGBTQ+ themes.”
If approved, the motion would require county library officials to develop a plan within 30 days to provide digital library cards to all California residents and teens. The goal is to launch this program during Banned Books Week, which runs from October 1 to October 7. The motion also emphasizes the need to identify a funding source for purchasing eBooks, specifically including commonly banned books.
Concluding the motion, it states, “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 literature that reflects the diversity of our great state—and make our eBook resources available to all California teens and residents.”
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