Why Does Tennessee Want To Criminalize Publishers and Ban Books?

 

 

Tennessee has entered into dangerous territory, banning books and usurping powers normally left for local school boards and librarians to decide which books get to be read at school. Is there no end?  

Just to catch you up, the state legislature of Tennessee recently passed a bill (awaits governor’s signature) that follows for the Tennessee Textbook Commission to overrule local school board decisions and selectively ban certain school library books.  

Lindsey Kimery, a Nashville school librarian who used to be the president of Tennessee Association of School Librarians, is concerned that young readers could lose access to ideas and information in their schools.   

“This essentially opens up opportunities for one parent or one person to dictate what is in all school libraries in our state,” she was quoted as saying in a news story.  

The state is basically forcing all school librarians to provide a roster of its books, requiring them to screen their materials for age appropriateness, and to be ready to remove books if someone complains or if the state decides to overrule the librarians and educators that it had hired, trained, and were entrusted to do their jobs.   

One bill, that failed to pass, wanted to slap librarians with criminal penalties over some books that a handful might label as obscene. Yes, we are on the verge of criminalizing school librarians for making books available to read.   

America is losing its way. The First Amendment is taking a beating, especially in the states that purport to be filled with patriotic, Constitutional-defending, rights-supportive Americans.   

Another bill that just passed the TN legislative and awaits the governor's signature, is the worst of them all. This bill would make it illegal for a book publisher to knowingly sell obscene material to public schools in Tennessee.   

Yes, the state is treating publishers like they are drug dealers.   

Children of that state want to be safe from gun shootings. Rather than ban assault rifles or take up safety measures against guns, the state is cracking down on books. Folks, what is going on here?  

Meanwhile, PEN America just reported book removals from schools increased by 25% in the past six months. From July - December 2022, 1,477 cases of book removal occurred. The prior six months saw 1,149 cases.  

To be a school librarian today is to feel like you are a gangster.

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.