RuPaul Is Sending a Rainbow Bus to Give Away Books Targeted by Bans | The New York Times
The star of RuPaul’s Drag Race is one of the founders of a new online bookstore, Allstora, promoting underrepresented authors. The giveaways on a bus traveling from the West Coast to the South are part of its outreach.

Beaufort, South Carolina, Schools Return Most Books to Shelves After Attempt to Ban 97 | 60 Minutes
60 Minutes goes to South Carolina to report on book banning, Moms for Liberty, and people fighting back.

Georgia GOP Senator Pushes to Cut Ties with American Library Association | WABE
GOP-pushed Senate Bill 390 would sever ties between the American Library Association and state public and school libraries, as well as libraries at public universities. The overhaul would stop libraries from spending public funds and private donations on services offered by ALA, dissolve the state board for the certification of librarians, and provide new guidelines for those who would lead public libraries.

Maryland’s Freedom to Read Act Would Protect Books from Censorship | WMDT
Maryland lawmakers are pushing to protect books and other reading materials from censorship in public libraries and schools. The bill would require public libraries to have policies in place for how books and other materials are added to a collection and how members of the public could challenge a book.

Former Llano County Librarian Files Lawsuit Over Termination After Book Ban Controversy | TPR
Former Kingsland, TX, librarian Suzette Baker has filed a lawsuit against Llano County over her employment termination in 2022. Baker was fired after she refused to remove books deemed as “pornographic” in her library. The books were centered on race, sexuality, and identity, which was clear discrimination and censorship, said Baker.

Teachers are Limiting Lessons on Political, Social Issues, Report Finds | The Washington Post
A majority of American teachers are circumscribing lessons on political or social topics due to worries over parental complaints and amid a wave of legislation that has reshaped how educators are allowed to discuss race, history, sex, and gender in the classroom, according to a national study. A report by Rand Corp. found that of a nationally representative sample of 1,400 K–12 teachers, 65 percent reported restricting instruction on “political and social issues.”

SXSW EDU Tackles Topic of Book Bans | CBS Austin
The “How to be a Freedom Fighter” session featured The Hate U Give author Angie Thomas, Texas district library coordinator and FReadom to Read cofounder Becky Calzada, and advocate and former Texas high school student Cameron Samuels.

Teacher Resigns Over Book Ban | Lehigh Acres Citizen
Mike Andoscia, a North Fort Myers (FL) High School teacher who had earned commendations as a Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction in the district, resigned from his job in January after he said he refused to cover up more than 600 of the books in his classroom library while they were undergoing district review, a new state requirement. At the time of his resignation, Andoscia was also under an administrative investigation for what he believes was the way he addressed another controversial state law governing the use of preferred pronouns for students in the classroom.

City Attorney Talks Libraries and Law Amid Content Controversy in Alaska | Alaska’s News Source
A contracted attorney for the city of Palmer, AK, gave an informational presentation cautioning members of legal concerns regarding the potential banning of books in public libraries. It’s a topic that’s been at the forefront of public testimony for the better part of a year after a 56-item list of challenged titles was published by the Matanuska-Susitna (AK) Borough School District in April 2023.