The Power of Many Voices

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You may have noted on March 30  the decision by Follett Learning to develop technology to allow parents to monitor - and restrict - their child's reading. Book Riot wrote a strong informational piece about this effort on Friday April 1. [Technology for Parent Monitoring of Student Library Use is Being Developed by Follett: This Week's Censorship News, April 1, 2022. Danika Ellis. Book Riot. April 1, 2022.]

The response on the Twitterverse to this information from Follett was swift and impactful - spreading the word and prompting strong pushback from the library community, including boycotts of the company and cancellation of their library management products and systems. A petition was started and librarians in school and public libraries responded through that as well.

By the end of the day Friday April 1, Follett had walked back their planned module development according to a School Library Journal update published on April 2. [Follett Changes Course on Proposed Destiny Changes in Response to Library Outcry. Kara Yorio. School Library Journal. April 2, 2022].

It speaks to the power of many voices rising together to fight back efforts to censor speech and materials. It's a powerful example of how librarians together can effect change through advocacy.