Little Rock, Arkansas – The national historic site of Little Rock Central High School was the venue for a panel discussion concerning book banning. This event took place on Saturday at the main branch of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS).
Prominent panel members included the CALS director and the executive director of the American Library Association. The principal objective of the discussion was to delve into the history and current scenario of book banning, examining the implications of laws and regulations that limit access to literary works.
Tiffeni Fontno, who helms the Peabody Library at Vanderbilt University, raised a notable concern regarding the tendency to censor books without actually reading them. She asserted, “People need to get together and actually look and read these books. Most of the time these books aren’t actually getting read, and they’re being censored, let’s have the conversation to see why these things exist, because that means we’ll better be able to understand each other when we have these conversations.”
It’s worth noting that CALS is currently involved as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit. This lawsuit challenges certain parts of Act 372, enacted into law in the recent session of the assembly. Currently, a federal judge has intervened, preventing the disputed provisions of the Act from being implemented while the lawsuit is pending.
