LibGuides: Hot Topics: Censorship & Book-Banning: Social Aspects

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Library Central This link opens in a new window
Library Central combines SAU's book catalog and most of our databases into one unified searching interface. Use Library Central if you're looking to find a wide variety of sources with a minimum amount of searching. The sheer volume of results can be overwhelming, however, so use lots of search filters!

Censorship
Censorship AND Prohibited books
Textbooks -- Censorship -- United States
Critical race theory
LGBTQ AND censorship

Selected titles found in SAU Library

Rainbow Family Collections : selecting and using children's books with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer content by Jamie Campbell Naidoo
Call Number: Third Floor Stacks Z1037 .N24 2012
ISBN: 9781598849608
Publication Date: 2012
"Highlighting titles for children from infancy to age 12, each entry in Rainbow Family Collections supplies a synopsis of the content, lists awards it has received, cites professional reviews, and provides suggestions for librarians considering acquisition. The book also provides a brief historical overview of LGBTQ children's literature along with the major book awards for this genre and a list of criteria for selecting the best books with this content. Interviews with authors and key individuals in LGBTQ children's book publishing are also featured"

SAU users only

subject("Critical race theory") AND censor*
ProQuest Central article search: Scholarly articles list.
abstract("critical race theory" ) AND education
ProQuest Central articles, SAU users only
abstract(("book band" OR "book bank" OR "book banned" OR "book banning") ) AND education
ProQuest Central articles, SAU users only
"book banning"
Ebscohost article search, SAU users only
"critical race theory" AND censorship
Ebscohost article result list, SAU users only

Databases at SAU

Education Database This link opens in a new window
This creatively-named education database from ProQuest contains over 1,100 full-text scholarly journals and over 100 full-text magazines.
Education Research Complete This link opens in a new window
This education database from EBSCO contains over 1,000 full-text scholarly journals.
ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) This link opens in a new window
This education database from EBSCO contains nearly 300,000 scholarly full-text articles, 350,000 full-text reports, and nearly 3,500 full-text eBooks. Coverage is from the early 1900s-present. A highly regarded database in Education.
Chronicle of Higher Education This link opens in a new window
The Chronicle of Higher Education is the premier source of news, information, and employment postings for the higher education sector.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
This interdisciplinary database contains over 2,800 full-text scholarly journals, 30,000 full-text eBooks, and 40,000 full-text research reports from various organizations and policy institutes. Beoved by many old-school professors in the humanities and social sciences.

Persuasive/Argumentative paper resources

Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
This current events database from Gale contains viewpoints, news, reference content, scholarly articles, and video on 100s of today's hottest topics. Each topic is presented in a pro/con format with balanced and comprehensive resources. A great resource for speeches and debates.
CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Researcher This link opens in a new window
This background and reference database contains over 4,500 full-text reports on a variety of topics and current affairs. The reports are scholarly and well-referenced, but also quite readable. If you find a report on your topic you will have a great source!

Selected Web sites

Banned and Challenged Books
A resource page from the American Library Association
Attempts to Ban Books Doubled in 2022
"A new report from the American Library Association showed a spike in censorship efforts, with 1,269 attempts."
Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools
From PEN America
Index of School Book Bans (July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022)
A spreadsheet of book titles and states
With Rising Book Bans, Librarians Have Come Under Attack
"Caustic fights over which books belong on the shelves have put librarians at the center of a bitter and widening culture war."
Example of a Conservative parental rights group that advocates banning.
"The group lobbied for a bill banning “sensitive materials” in schools. Such measures have helped push books bans to record levels in the last two years..."
What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?
From 'Education Week'
‘Us vs Them’: A Toxic Vision of Parent Engagement
from the National Education Association
H.R.5 - Parents Bill of Rights Act
118th Congress (2023-2024) (Introduced 03/01/2023) House of Representatives
more...less...
Primary Source: Full-text of the bill before Congress: "Specifically, the bill requires schools to notify parents and guardians of their rights regarding the education of their children. These rights include the right to

review (and make copies of at no cost) the curriculum of their child's school;
know if the state alters its challenging academic standards;
meet with each teacher of their child at least twice each school year;
review the budget, including all revenues and expenditures, of their child's school;
inspect the books and other reading materials in the library of their child's school;
address the school board of the LEA;
receive information about violent activity in their child's school; and
know if their child is not grade-level proficient in reading or language arts at the end of 3rd grade."
Standridge files bills to address indoctrination in Oklahoma schools
A Primary source (press release) : An example of the sort of legislative action being introduced in many states. This is from Oklahoma.
Articles on Censorship
From The Conversation: " trustworthy and informative articles written by academic experts for the general public and edited by our team of journalists."
Articles on Book Bans
From The Conversation: a unique collaboration between academics and journalists that is the world’s leading publisher of research-based news and analysis.
BOOK CHALLENGE RESOURCE CENTER
From the National Coalition against Censorship: An example of the pushback against banning.
Why are states banning critical race theory?
from the Brookings Institute
Florida Is Looking to Expand 'Don't Say Gay' Law. What Does This Mean for Educators?
from "Education Week"
more...less...
"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration wants to expand the controversial measure critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” law, aiming to ban instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, potentially putting teachers at risk of losing their credentials if found in violation of it."
First Amendment and Censorship
from the American Library Association

SocIndex with Full Text

SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window
This sociology database from EBSCO contains over 850 full-text scholarly journals. Widely considered the premier database in sociology.
Research Library: Social Sciences This link opens in a new window
This social sciences database from ProQuest contains nearly 1,900 full-text scholarly journals and nearly 350 magazines pertaining to the fields of social sciences (the 5 most prominent social science fields being economics, education, political science, psychology, and sociology).

Legal Journals and News

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
This interdisciplinary database includes over 17,000 full-text news sources. Also includes a wealth of company/financial information and a variety of legal cases. Can be tricky to search, but useful under the right circumstances.

Full-Text e-book collection

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
This background and reference database contains over 1,200 encyclopedias, handbooks, and other reference works. Contains nearly 3,500,000 full-text articles and/or chapters. Think of it as a Wikipedia you can use in your papers!

SAU Users Only

Interlibrary Loan - Obtaining materials

SAU Library Interlibrary Loan portal
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