Information Today, Inc. Corporate Site KMWorld CRM Media Streaming Media Faulkner Speech Technology Unisphere/DBTA
PRIVACY/COOKIES POLICY
Other ITI Websites
American Library Directory Boardwalk Empire Database Trends and Applications DestinationCRM Faulkner Information Services Fulltext Sources Online InfoToday Europe KMWorld Literary Market Place Plexus Publishing Smart Customer Service Speech Technology Streaming Media Streaming Media Europe Streaming Media Producer Unisphere Research



News & Events > NewsBreaks
 



Back Index Forward
Twitter RSS Feed
Weekly News Digest

April 6, 2021 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today. For other up-to-the-minute news, check out ITI’s Twitter account: @ITINewsBreaks.

CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.

ALA Releases Report on the Effects of COVID-19 on Libraries—Plus Banned Books

ALA published “State of America’s Libraries Special Report: COVID-19,” which serves as “a snapshot of the library communities’ resilience, determination, and innovation in unprecedented circumstances. The State of America’s Libraries report is released annually during National Library Week, April 4–10, and this year’s issue focuses on the impact of the novel coronavirus on all types of libraries during the previous calendar year.” An example of the findings: “Coronavirus opened a floodgate of misinformation. Library staff worked to eradicate misinformation about COVID-19, which was infused with xenophobia and especially Sinophobia, resulting in a surge of bigotry against Asian or Chinese people. Throughout 2020, librarians responded to misinformation about vaccines, the census, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the 2020 Presidential Election.”

Additionally, “attempts to remove library materials continued during the pandemic, despite many libraries and schools closing or moving their activities and services online. …  In 2020, more than 273 books were challenged or banned. Demands to remove books addressing racism and racial justice or those that shared the stories of Black, Indigenous, or people of color grew in number. At the same time, books addressing themes and issues of concern for LGBTQIA+ people continued to dominate the list.” The top 10 most challenged books of 2020 were the following:

  1. George by Alex Gino
  2. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
  3. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
  4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
  5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
  6. Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin
  7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  8. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  9. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
  10. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

For more information and explanations for why each book was banned, read the press release.



Send correspondence concerning the Weekly News Digest to NewsBreaks Editor Brandi Scardilli

Related Articles

3/2/2021Beyond Coping: Libraries Stepping Up to Meet Community Needs During the Pandemic
5/5/2020Combating Misformation and Disinformation on the Web: A Roundup
9/17/2020Banned Books Week Goes Virtual
10/20/2020IFLA Signs Documents for Promoting Digital Inclusion and Access
1/26/2021Against the Barbarians: A Few Resources Toward Truth and Justice
4/20/2021'Libraries and Pandemics: Past and Present' by Julia Skinner
5/13/2021ALA Spreads Awareness of the FCC's Emergency Connectivity Fund Program
7/29/2021ALA Requests Input on Its Librarian Learning Objectives Document
8/31/2021The Scholarly Kitchen: 'Enabling Your Organization to Be Antiracist'
9/28/2021Pennsylvania School District Reverses Its Ban on Race-Related Books
12/2/2021ALA Leadership Decries the Uptick in Attempted Censorship of Library Books
2/1/2022Beyond Banning: New Challenges to the Right to Read
2/24/2022'How the New Banned Books Panic Fits Into America's History of School Censorship' by Constance Grady
4/5/2022ALA Celebrates National Library Week
4/28/2022Jason Reynolds, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Is Going to Underserved Schools
5/2/2023Some Good News for Libraries


Comments Add A Comment

              Back to top