News & Announcements - Santa Cruz Public Libraries

Banned Books Week + United Against Hate Week

United Against Hate Week

September 21-27, 2024

United Against Hate was created by civic leaders in direct response to the sharp rise in expressions of hate in our communities. Our organization, Santa Cruz County United for Safe and Inclusive Communities (SCCUSIC), a program of the Resource Center for Nonviolence, wants to empower local residents to take action in our communities and alter the course of this growing intolerance. When we come together to work against hate, we can restore respect and civil discourse, embrace the strength of diversity and build inclusive and equitable communities for all.

United Against Hate Week (Sept 21-27, 2024) is a call for a week of local civic action by people in every community to stop the hate and implicit biases that are a dangerous threat to the safety and civility of our neighborhoods and community. We have extended the week to incorporate additional opportunities to connect and learn.

Programs

Bystander Intervention Training - Saturday, September 21

Aptos Branch Library

Bystander Intervention Training teaches bystanders about the principles of nonviolence and de-escalation techniques. In this training participants learn hands-on skills about how to de-escalate a hate incident before it leads to violence, how to create a safe space, and how to support the person being targeted.

Resource Center for Nonviolence and Santa Cruz County United for Safe and Inclusive Communities (SCCUSIC) Event information and resources for United Against Hate Week

Online Resources:

Santa Cruz County of Education

United Against Hate Week School Toolkit: sccoe.link/uahw24

This digital toolkit empowers educators and families to incorporate UAHW themes into classrooms and homes. It includes classroom activities, resources, social media graphics, and details on local events, providing a comprehensive guide for community and educational engagement.

Santa Cruz County United for Safe and Inclusive Communities

Download Resources for Survivors of Hate and Bias Incidents or Crimes in English: https://bit.ly/hbrg-eng

Descarga Recursos para sobreviventes de incidentes o crímenes de odio y prejudicio en Español: https://bit.ly/hbrg-esp

United Against Hate Week Website

Download the United Against Hate Week Community Toolkit or visit their website for more resources.

Santa Cruz Public Libraries

Start an anti-racism book group with our Book Discussion Kits featuring Ibram X. Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist. Each kit comes with 8 paperback copies of the book and a discussion guide, all neatly packed in a blue bag.

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. Download The Book Report Titles Targeted for Censorship 2023

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country. See the links below for information on censorship and challenged books for 2023:

Library Programs

Unite Against Book Bans, Unite Against Hate: Panel Discussion

Thursday, September 26 Capitola Branch Library

Join a diverse panel including a local teen, young adult, researcher, and librarian for an informal discussion about the ways reading challenged and banned books positively influence well being, reduce hate and bias, and even save lives. Presenters include:

Zak Keith, Diversity Center Graduate Student Researcher and Program Coordinator
Amber Baumbach, Capitola Branch Library Youth Services Librarian
Madeline Aliyah, speaker, poet, author, and Santa Cruz Queer Trans Youth Council member
Alex Trask, Delta High School Junior

Resources

There are many organizations working to fight censorship, protect intellectual freedom, and preserve our right to read and think. Learn more and get involved with these organizations:

Unite Against Book Bans has a toolkit and a report of the censorship landscape shaping up in 2024.

The American Booksellers Association (ABA) has also created a Right to Read Toolkit.

The Freedom to Read Foundation protects and defends the First Amendment to the Constitution and supports the right of libraries to collect - and individuals to access - information through advocacy, education, and litigation.

Fight for the First is a petition website made just for book challenges. Campaigns on Fight for the First will allow you to take action against book bans in your community and gain direct support from EveryLibrary.

The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.

The Banned Books Week website is the one-stop-shop for all things Banned Books Week.

Tell Congress to Stand with School Libraries! The Right to Read Act will provide more resources so that every child has access to an effective school library staffed by a certified school librarian. It will ensure that teachers and librarians are legally protected for doing their jobs. We need your member of Congress to co-sponsor this important school libraries bill!

CIF Censorship by the Numbers