TX FReadom Fighters

I was so glad to be here to this moment. Congratulations, Frank, and here’s to all the good work to come from those you’ve inspired!

A great audience for @thelibrariansfilm.bsky.social at Sie Film Theater in Denver today! And an excellent panel discussion.

A well deserved honor for our colleague @frankstrong.bsky.social for his work with @txfreedomread.bsky.social ! #NCTE25

So well deserved for your tireless efforts to support the freedom to read! Congratulations!!

This coming week, take a minute to drop a note to your school district thanking them for your librarians!

“ONCE A PBS STAPLE WITH LeVAR BURTON, THIS KIDS' SERIES HAS BEEN REBOOTED WITH VIRAL LIBRARIAN MYCHAL THREETS AS THE HOST” jeopardy! Clue

“What is Reading Rainbow?” 📚🌈

Library joy was featured as a Jeopardy! clue, alongside LeVar Burton and PBS 🤯🥹

💙 @jeopardyofficial.bsky.social
💚 @pbs.org

Another reminder that the anti-censorship work is happening at #NCTE2025!

@hcodymiller.bsky.social
@uabookbans.bsky.social
@freadomfighters.bsky.social
@amlibraryassoc.bsky.social

Thank you! A hero!

In this era where just being a librarian can be stressful, please help us affirm the importance of our local library heroes!  

Thank you for helping us let Texas librarians know how much Texans appreciate and support them!

Things you could express thanks for:
💙A well trained librarian who cares about your family members
💜A diverse collection of books
💛A book collection that appeals to different interests of your family
💚Library programming that keeps your child/teen engaged
🧡…the list keeps on going!

We are joining with @txfreedomread.bsky.social to ask you to take an action this week and thank a librarian 💕. See how you can help below!

Censorship related sessions - NCTE Convention 2025 Thursday 11:30-12:45 Intellectual Freedom Dreams Deferred: Banned in the "Blue(ish) States" Room 203 2:30 English/ELA Department Chairs Facing Tough Topics Together Room 402 Friday 9:30a-11a The...

Headed to #NCTE2025? This doc has the sessions related to censorship! The bolded sessions feature members from @ncte.org's Committee Against Censorship.

The book banners are on the wrong side of history, but we need community, solidarity, and strategy to make that happen. Join us in the work.

Promotional poster for the I Love My Librarian Award 2026, offering a $5,000 prize, sponsored by the American Library Association and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

If you know a librarian who has gone above and beyond for their community, thank them for their work by nominating them for the #ILoveMyLibrarian Award! ilovelibraries.org/love-my-librarian Nominations are accepted online now through Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.

Speech in the Machine Speech in the Machine notes the free expression issues at stake with generative AI, which has the potential to supercharge misinformation.

"In the hands of bad actors—whether public or private—generative AI tools can supercharge existing threats to free expression." @penamerica.bsky.social thoughtful report on A.I. still rings true as we see A.I. tools used to remove library books.
pen.org/report/speec...

It’s Back. Congress Gears Up for Year-End Fight Over Moratorium on AI Laws. | TechPolicy.Press A proposed federal moratorium on enforcement of state AI laws failed last summer, but lawmakers have resurrected the idea, writes Cristiano Lima-Strong.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) told Punchbowl News on Monday that the chamber is “looking at” tucking the language into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a yearly defense spending bill widely viewed as must-pass and often used to attach other policy measures.

Missouri court strikes down book ban law that pushed libraries to remove hundreds of titles A law creating a misdemeanor offense for school employees who supply ‘sexually explicit material’ to students is now void.

We are thrilled that reason has prevailed in Missouri and library books will be returned to the shelves!. www.stlpr.org/government-p...

Exactly!

The whole list is linked below. For now, these titles are only under review, which means they've been pulled from shelves, but may yet return to circulation. Meanwhile, please let NBISD know what you think of their AI censorship, and tell Texas legislators how dumb SB13 is. nbisd.org/library-mate...

Image of cover of Richard Wright's Native Son

10. Native Son, Richard Wright (1942)

Read this in class in my conservative Catholic Texas high school. In 1996.

Actually not obscene.

Image of cover of Matthew McConaughey's Greenlights.

4. Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey (2020)

New Braunfels is 30 minutes south of Austin, but UT's minister of culture is not alright, alright, alright in NBISD.

Thread. When Ai or other software tools are used to review books, this sort of mayhem results. When are we going to stop demonstrating to kids that books are somehow dangerous?

We are seeing a sudden flurry of censorship activity in smaller towns in central Texas. If you are a parent or librarian in this area, please reach out to us or @txfreedomread.bsky.social if you need support.

'Antivirus for libraries': How a Texas startup is capitalizing on book bans The company Bookmarked, whose cofounder advocated for SB 13, describes itself as a neutral player in the censorship debate. Critics disagree.

‘Antivirus for libraries’: How a Texas startup is capitalizing on school book bans www.statesman.com/politics/art...
@frankstrong.bsky.social @freadomfighters.bsky.social @txfreedomread.bsky.social

Read the article ⬇️ and thread about companies taking advantage of new censorship laws in states like Texas. @oif.bsky.social @penamerica.bsky.social @everylibrary.bsky.social @ftrf.bsky.social @txfreedomread.bsky.social @aabbri.bsky.social @ncacensorship.bsky.social

Using A.I. to vet library materials flags many titles that are not accurate and matches titles against "challenged" books or reviews which could include anything. This practice is problematic. Districts should not be using A.I. to vet materials, since A.I. does not include the context or full text.

We have especially noticed in the data that the company is preying on small rural school districts. Is that by coincidence?

Have thoughts, tips, comments? My DMs are open, and you can reach me on Signal at bwagner.46.

'Antivirus for libraries': How a Texas startup is capitalizing on book bans The company Bookmarked, whose cofounder advocated for SB 13, describes itself as a neutral player in the censorship debate. Critics disagree.

And in @houstonchronicle.com: www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/art...

'Antivirus for libraries': How a Texas startup is capitalizing on book bans The company Bookmarked, whose cofounder advocated for SB 13, describes itself as a neutral player in the censorship debate. Critics disagree.

For Austin American-Statesman readers: www.statesman.com/politics/art...