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Claire Savage/Associated Press

  • CORRECTS YEAR TO 2023 - School librarian Jamie Gregory, from South Carolina, displays two books that have been repeatedly challenged in the United States, while seated at the Banned Books from the Big Chair station at the American Library Association's annual conference in Chicago, June 24, 2023. The two books are: "Gender Queer," by Maia Kobabe, and "Out of Darkness," by Ashley Hope Pérez. (AP Photo/Claire Savage)
    SC News
    Librarians train to defend intellectual freedom and fight book bans at Chicago conference
    Claire Savage/Associated Press
    The American Library Association's annual conference is underway in Chicago, where librarians are discussing topics including countering book challenges, fighting legislative censorship, and ensuring information access and the freedom to read. Authors, scholars and librarians have gathered as several states push to restrict access to books in schools and libraries — overwhelmingly those about race, ethnicity and LGBTQ+ topics. The association in March released data showing a record 1,269 demands to censor library books in the U.S. in 2022, a 20-year high.