Willamette Writers Coast Presents

Book Banning and Censorship with Laura Kimberly

Join us in-person (only) on Saturday, March 18 from 2:00 pm-3:30 pm in the McEntee Meeting Room of the Newport Public Library,

Many books are banned and challenged today. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based on the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. The efforts to censor state and local boards of education, libraries, and librarians and the minds of the citizenry have an ominous impact on our individual freedoms and our right to be educated, to know, and to make our own decisions. In this time of intense political polarization, library staff in every state are facing an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books.

The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021<https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10>, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals.

Most current targeted books are by or about Black or LGBTQIA+ persons. However, George Orwell’s 1984, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and recently in the state of Kansas, E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, are among the thousands of books banned someplace in this country.

About Laura Kimberly

Laura Kimberly earned her MLIS from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in December 2013. She is a member of the American Library Association, the Oregon Library Association, and the Mountain Plains Library Association. She currently works as the Library Director of the Newport Public Library.

Prior to her current position, Kimberly was employed in Jackson County Library Services as the Assistant Director of Public Services, Medford Branch Manager, and Library Media Specialist for the Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada. In her spare time, she enjoys running, reading, volunteering, the great outdoors, and spending time with her husband and children.

Join the Willamette Writers Coast Chapter as Laura Kimberly, the Newport Public Library Director, provides an interactive presentation on book challenges, banning, and efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books and information on Saturday, March 18 from 2:00 pm-3:30 pm in the McEntee Meeting Room of the Newport Public Library, 35 NW Nye Street Newport, OR 97365. This presentation is co-hosted by the Newport Public Library. This will be an in-person meeting only.

The WW Coast Chapter hosts presentations, a mix of in-person and virtual events, from September through June. Willamette Writers, the parent organization of the Coast Chapter, is the largest writer’s association in Oregon and one of the largest in the nation.  Programs are free and open to all writers eighteen and up. There are Young Willamette Writer chapters for those under 18.   Those interested in becoming a member of a chapter and the parent organization can join Willamette Writers at their website, https://willamettewriters.org.

About your chapter meetings

Willamette Writers meetings are open to all writers, 18 and up. Guests are welcome to make a donation to help support the cost of the meeting (we believe in paying our speakers for their time and skills). This meeting is run by volunteers. We look forward to seeing you there!

Young writers are encouraged to join our Young Willamette Writers meetings. Sign Up! Any high school or middle-grade writers are welcome to join us. Sign up for our email list at: http://eepurl.com/hRubBf  A registration link will be sent to our email list before our next meeting.

MASKING: Willamette Writers continues to require mask-wearing at our in-person, indoor meetings. If you are unable to mask, we invite you to join us at one of our online Chapter Meetings. Here is a link to our policies.