For Banned Books Week (which concluded on September 28), I was asked by my friends at Open Books to say a few words about LGBTQ+ books in particular. Given that those books are one of the largest groups being banned, I was happy to do so.

(Video courtesy of Open Books.)

From the Bay Area Reporter:

“California’s public libraries will no longer be able to pull books off the shelves because they talk about race or sexual orientation. And those receiving state funding will now be required to have a written policy governing how they add titles and remove titles from their collections.

It is due to Governor Gavin Newsom signing into law on Sunday Assembly Bill 1825 by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance). Known as the California Freedom to Read Act, the legislation takes effect January 1 and does not apply to libraries at public schools.”

For the rest of the article, go to Bay Area Reporter.

As librarians and educators, improving our craft and choosing quality resources are two pieces of the career puzzle. If you want to learn how to use the best resources and how to find the best books, you often end up in one of Deborah Salyer’s many presentation.

Deborah Salyer is an international speaker with 30 years of experience in the classroom and school libraries. Deborah spent a handful of years in the bookseller market and professional development with Media Source.

She is currently the California TeachingBooks Implementation and Training Specialist, which brings her back to work with her former librarian colleagues. She is also a senior presenter with 21  years of experience at the Bureau of Education and Research. Her current seminar is the annual, What’s New in Children’s Books, K-6 where she travels across the country doing book reports.

You can register for her seminars at ⁠BER.org⁠. Contact her about your TeachingBooks access at ⁠dsalyer(at)overdrive.com (insert the @ symbol)⁠.