A.R. Ortega-Flor

Librarian || Writer || She/Her || “Reading is not walking on the words; it's grasping the soul of them” Paulo Freire

[NY Public Library @nypl]

SO BASICALLY PUBLIC LIBRARIES ARE JUST 0.4% OF THE NEW YORK CITY BUDGET, BUT THE MAYOR IS TRYING TO CUT THE LIBRARY'S BUDGET WAY BACK. I’M TALKING $58.3 MILLION! LIBRARIES ARE ALREADY CLOSED ON SUNDAYS BECAUSE OF PREVIOUS CUTS AND MOST BRANCHES WILL BE OPEN FOR JUST FIVE DAYS A WEEK IF THESE CUTS GO THROUGH!! WE ONLY HAVE UNTIL THE END OF JUNE TO TELL @NYCMAYOR #NOCUTSTOLIBRARIES AND SAVE THE LIBRARY.

[NowThis Impact @nowthisimpact]

Louisiana Bill 777 would criminalize any librarian who joins the American Library Association — here’s why you should care

(via archaicnoise on TikTok)

[A.R. Ortega-Flor @ComoTheFlor]

@POTUS So long as you continue to send weapons and military aid to continue this horrific violence, you are complicit in EVERY DEATH. So please, stop with the insincere expressions of “outrage” and “heartbreak.”

[Judd Legum @JuddLegum]

1. @Scholastic hosts 120K school book fairs annually

Facing pressure from the right, @Scholastic has created a collection of books w/LGBTQ characters or that discuss racism

Schools are then given the options of excluding these books

One librarian calls it a "bigot button"

🧵

[A.R. Ortega-Flor @ComoTheFlor]

My horror reading roots began here

[Damon Beres @dlberes]

NEW: This summer, we reported on the contents of a controversial database used to train generative AI products from Meta, Bloomberg, and others. Many people requested an ability to search it. Today, @_alexreisner delivers. https://t.co/usPOEMp19D

[Chasten Glezman Buttigieg @Chasten]

"Are we removing books from any school or media center, Prek-12 if a character has... two mothers or because there is a gay best friend or a main character is gay?" the librarians asked. Charlotte County Superintendent Mark Vianello answered, "Yes."
https://t.co/6ppOf3Mq7E

[anthony christian ocampo 🇵🇭🏳️‍🌈 @anthonyocampo]

holy shit i am crying

[chris evans @notcapnamerica]

Greg Abbott has imitated a hostile takeover of the local school district in Houston, TX — taking control away from the local school board so that it’s now run by the state.

Parent and activist Lauren Ashley read the superintendent for FILTH

[Boze Herrington, Library Owl 😴🧙‍♀️ @SketchesbyBoze]

Regular reminder that libraries are much more than just books—although that would be valuable in itself. Libraries provide research databases, games, classes, clubs, movie screenings and a hundred other services.

[MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch]

A TikToker who works in a Florida school exposes the books being removed by the state for being "inappropriate." The banned books cover topics such as hate groups, Judaism, the Holocaust, Pocahontas, African Americans in aviation, and more.

This needs to go viral.

[Chris Tackett (aka See It Name It Fight It) @cjtackett]

They tell us “we don’t want these books in school libraries” and “people can get them at public libraries”

Then it’s “we don’t want them in public libraries” and “people can get them at book stores”

Now they are going after the book stores

[Chris Murphy 🟧 @ChrisMurphyCT]

Ok - here we go. We were able to create a link to give to both Justin Pearson and Justin Jones.

The Republicans can kick them out, but they can't stop them from running in the special election.

Let's go!

https://t.co/pnL9sQLw9H

[Olivia Julianna 🇺🇸🦅🗳️ @0liviajulianna]

From @brotherjones_ on the ground in Nashville— the Tennessee legislator is planning to expel lawmakers who stood with gun control advocates today.

They have been stripped from committee assignments and their member ID’s have been shut off.

THIS IS NOT DEMOCRACY.

[Azi™️ @Azi]

How some textbook publishers are trying to get approval in Florida, via @smervosh:

https://t.co/5FlVf11Ut5

[Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com on Bsky @ErinInTheMorn]

We told you that gay people were next.

Texas SB1443 would ban from school libraries any books that have characters who are of the same sex in a relationship. It also bans trans characters.

It bans website access with the above too.

Don't think they'll stop with trans people.

[Judd Legum @JuddLegum]

This is a lie.

The video DeSantis claims is a hoax is accurate. The video shows that Mandarin Middle School removed THE ENTIRE FICTION SECTION from its library.

In Duval County more than 1.5 MILLION books have been taken out of circulation.

Receipts: https://t.co/ppvyQSe5g6

[Judd Legum @JuddLegum]

UPDATE: Brian Covey, a full-time substitute teacher in Duval County, Florida, was FIRED for posting a video of empty bookshelves.

This is the REAL STORY about why those shelves were empty and why Covey was let go

[Judd Legum @JuddLegum]

1. This high school English teacher is trying to ban 150 books from school libraries in Florida

I talked to her to find out why

Buckle up

This one gets a bit wild

🧵