Lauren (she/her)

May every single human being on this planet be safe.

May every single person be protected from harm.

May we bring into being a time in which we are all free from those who do evil— together, speedily and in our days.

As a classroom teacher it's frustrating that my intellectuality and my perspective are systematically overlooked while my labor, my pedagogy & my time are never enough

I feel this is even more true because I teach elementary.

If you care about libraries, and the stories they hold dear, you should be following Kelly. She’s been reporting what’s happening from the beginning and we are so blessed she has been.

Remember that every time you deride "red" states you deem "bad," you're deriding the thousands of folks doing unbelievably hard, tireless work to stop these brutal anti-literacy/library/school bills.

CONGRATS, Alabama library advocates and thank you <3

The cover of Kate Messner’s newest book, THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES. It features a white boy looking at the sky from the summit of a mountain. A happy, shaggy black dog sits at his feet.

I’ve been a @katemessner.com fan for a long time, but even I wasn’t prepared for her newest book, THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES. Absolutely blew me away. 😭😭😭 Don’t miss it!!!

(Also, the audiobook is excellent & @libro.fm is offering it to teachers/librarians for free this month thru their ALC program!)

President Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden President Donald Trump has abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those perceived to oppose the president and his agenda.

Dr. Carla Hayden will always be our Librarian of Congress ❤️‍🩹

1st woman, 1st African American Librarian of Congress. Your presence is a blessing to libraries. We love you! ✨

Thank you for your service 💜
apnews.com/article/donald-trump-library-of-congress-carla-hayden-20a1862ce6d2e0d51a84a37b264ce2ef

a friendly reminder never to buy your books from Amazon, where they are used as a loss leader so that you'll buy a flatscreen TV and your toilet paper instead-- and then use that money to send Katy Perry to space.

Books aren't just products. They're culture. Buy them from those who understand that.

This.

And here's the thing - we need joy. We need connection. If we can't find that, even in these times, it makes fighting THAT much harder.

Quote by Lyndon B Johnson that says books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance

When we silence books, we silence voices—and we risk raising a generation without the tools to think freely and compassionately.

Because the real danger isn't in the pages of a book—it's in a world where people stop reading them.

#FreedomToRead #StopBookBans #ReadBannedBooks

Do not normalize children dying from measles. Measles was previously eliminated in the US, thanks to vaccines.

When children die from measles, it means that adults have catastrophically failed to protect them because they have rejected basic science.

I wrote an open letter to my fellow book ppl because no one is coming to save us.

We have to save us.

And I am weary of waiting for my colleagues to join the fight. Any fight. I chose book bans, but you don't have to

www.prettyokmaggie.com/blog/2025/4/17/an-open-letter-to-my-fellow-book-creators

My god she sucks. How many trans people read HP fervently and with wild delight under the covers as children. How can she have such disrespect, such contempt and outright hatred for the young adults whose imaginations she nurtured and fed? It's unacceptable.

Banning books is not about books.

Banning books is about the erasure of stories.

Banning books is about the erasure of identities.

Erasure is the precursor to eliminationism.

Silence is complicity.

Resist this regime.
Resist this regime of monstrous evildoers.

We had a Holocaust survivor speak at the school today. He told the kids 1930s-40s Germany was inspired by Jim Crow here in the USA.

Two children at school in uniforms and it looks like Japan, both of them look like girls or femmes. One is holding a giant tuba so that it's stuffed over the face of the other one that's pinned up against the wall. The one holding the tuba is labeled every company. The tuba is labeled unwanted AI And the one against the wall is labeled me

Authors Speak Up About Their Books Being Misrepresented in a Lawsuit Headed to the Supreme Court buff.ly/xecdhKZ

Book Bans - PEN America PEN America found more than 10,000 book bans in the 2023-2024 school year, more than double the banned books in the previous year.

It’s no accident that the most commonly banned books frequently feature LGBTQIA+ folx and people/characters of color. pen.org/book-bans/

Also: many many attempts to ban & censor books have nothing to do with the books themselves, but with the targeted, systematic erasure of marginalized and oppressed groups of people.

Please support the librarians in your life and in your community. We need it now more than ever. 💛

Stay informed about book bans and censorship across the country, but especially in your community.

@heykellyjensen.bsky.social has been doing amazing work around that for YEARS if you’re not sure where to start. bsky.app/profile/heyk...

Challenge Reporting Reporting censorship and challenges to materials, resources, and services is vital to developing the best resources to defend library resources and to protect against challenges before they happen. He...

Related: if attempts are being made to ban or censor books where you live, speak up against it however you can.

You can anonymously report to ALA OIF and PEN America using the links below. Both also offer help if requested.

www.ala.org/tools/challe...

pen.org/book-bans/re...

Everyone has the right to put down a book that isn’t right for them. But banning a book or removing it from library shelves makes that decision for others and for others’ children.

Children absolutely deserve to see themselves, their families, and their identities represented and affirmed in the books they read.

Had a conversation with a friend today about censorship and book banning as it relates to my job as a school librarian. They asked if that was a hill worth dying on.

Unequivocally and without reservation: YES.

Free Palestine and free all the people being kidnapped for saying free Palestine.

(And, of course, free. them. all.)

Disappearing people without any due process is fascism — full stop. I’m sick to my stomach and we all should be.

Pressure groups. Ask yourselves why and what do they get out if it. Follow the money. @la-cac.org @oif.bsky.social @ifrt-ala.bsky.social @uabookbans.bsky.social

My school library hosted a joyful, magical author visit with the wonderful @aramkimart.bsky.social 💞

Pennsylvania signals it is not ordering schools to adhere to Trump’s anti-DEI order Pennsylvania says the state is already in compliance with civil rights laws and is not ordering schools to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Pennsylvania says schools already comply with civil rights laws and are not ordered to scrap DEI
https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2025/04/09/pennsylvania-not-ordering-schools-to-eiliminate-dei-per-trump-order/

Shoutout to @ebonyteach.bsky.social for filling my feed with such beautiful blooms in such ugly times. 🌺🌸