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Posts by Martha Hickson

Poster for The Librarians at the Doc10 festival, Chicago, April 25, 6 pm, Davis Theater. Theme: Speak the truth. Moderated by Laura Murphy, state senator. Post-screening Q&A featuring Kim Snyder (director/producer,) Martha Hickson (film participant/librarian), Chris Brown(Chicago Public Library commissioner), Henry Winkler (actor & children’s book author).

Poster for The Librarians at the Doc10 festival, Chicago, April 25, 6 pm, Davis Theater. Theme: Speak the truth. Moderated by Laura Murphy, state senator. Post-screening Q&A featuring Kim Snyder (director/producer,) Martha Hickson (film participant/librarian), Chris Brown(Chicago Public Library commissioner), Henry Winkler (actor & children’s book author).

Ayyy, Chicago, I’m excited to visit again this weekend with @thelibrariansfilm.bsky.social … and Henry Winkler! doc10.eventive.org/schedule/699...

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I was a big homework fan, too. I loved learning. Plus, homework let me extend the structure of school to a *chaotic* childhood home. Book open, scraping my graphite onto the blue-lined paper, I was in control in a world of my own.

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Nah, I’ll just keep my eyes peeled. But when the day comes, I do look cute when I dress up and I love to dance at weddings 😉

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They used to sell these in the Signals catalog … about 25 years ago. I bought a couple as wedding presents for two librarian friends who got married.

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Such a cute story! One of the highlights of my last awful year at school was a jock-bro boy who read Looking for Alaska just to impress a girl he liked. Plot twist: He LOVED the book and kept coming back for read-alikes. And he got the girl. A win-win.

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Cute!

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Dolly is stalking you. Time for a restraining order.

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I see that 😂

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Hedgehog made of folded book pages. The hedgehog is wearing blue cats-eye glasses and a pink flower.

Hedgehog made of folded book pages. The hedgehog is wearing blue cats-eye glasses and a pink flower.

Today in retirement: Made a folded book hedgehog at the Stafford Library. My husband thinks it’s crazy, but I think it’s cute.

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I had a blast chatting with Jennifer and Dan on the special Banned Camp podcast for National Library Workers Day. Take a listen, and be sure to subscribe to hear their regular (and hilarious!) episodes featuring banned books.

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So now I gotta ask: What was the prompt?

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Learn More About Read. Lead. Run! Democracy needs library supporters and readers in office. Democracy needs you!

Democracy needs library supporters and readers in office.

Democracy needs you!

buff.ly/JIfQri0

#NationalLibraryWeek #library #libraries #librarianship #Read #Reading

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American Library Association releases 2025 Most Challenged Books List as National Library Week Begins State of America’s Libraries Report reveals 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, marking the second-highest total on record

Just remember, whatever stats ALA drops, the reality is even worse. A not insignificant number of schools don't report to ALA, and ALA doesn't have the staff in OIF to go out and track down this information. This looks bad, but it's likely worse.
www.ala.org/news/2026/04...

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The c*nt pigeon painting is a museum-worthy masterpiece. I adore it 😍

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He may have *personal* reasons for wanting women out of the picture

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Be careful what you wish for. The other “ladies,” who have nothing better to do than lunch, would ruin your appetite while planning their next M4L attack.

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These feminist books risk being banned in UK schools. We must fight to defend them The freedom to read is under threat.

“Any move to censor books in school libraries, based on misinformation and fearmongering, should ring alarm bells.”

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American Library Association Shares Book Ban Data, List of ‘Most Challenged’ Titles of 2025 - Publishing Perspectives U.S. librarians tracked 4,235 unique book challenges in 2025, nearly matching the record of 4,240 recorded in 2023, and almost double last year's count.

“2025’s censorship campaigns weren’t about protecting children—they were about erasing realities. A tiny cohort of people are trying to remove people’s lived experiences from library shelves.”

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Compelling comeback, but — really — you had me on board at “doofus”

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It's normal in libraries to see a small number of book challenges by parents & patrons who have concerns about content. Today, however, 92% come from organized groups, including officials and dark money groups like Citizens for a New LA. It's time we reclaim our libraries for the people they serve.

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Worth naming what book bans actually do: they don’t erase ideas, they concentrate shame on the kids whose stories get pulled. A child who sees their family, their body, or their history removed from the shelf learns something. Laws like this interrupt that lesson.

#HumanTogether

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a woman in a red coat and beret says you 're the one who started it Alt: a woman in a red coat and beret says you 're the one who started it

Thank you, Gov. Pritzker! You got the ball rolling, and now 13+ states have enacted or are working on Freedom to Read legislation. As described in @thelibrariansfilm.bsky.social, our NJ Freedom to Read law was sparked by Illinois. We owe you a pizza or pork roll; you pick.

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Love libraries? Run for office! Find out more at ReadLeadRun.org

#NationalLibraryWeek #library #libraries #librarianship #Read #Reading

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Wow! These are fantastic! Mo better watch his back.

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NJ friends: Speak out against Asm. Erik Peterson’s hateful rhetoric, Board of Commissioners meeting, April 21, 5:30 pm, 71 Main St, Bldg 1, Floor 2, Flemington

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RIGHT TO READ DAY. April 20, 2026. Everywhere. FOR YOUR FREEDOM TO READ. FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION. FOR UNDERSTANDING OUR PAST. FOR OUR COMMUNITIES. FOR OUR LIBRARIES. Logos for Unite Against Book Bans and ALA150 American Library Association

RIGHT TO READ DAY. April 20, 2026. Everywhere. FOR YOUR FREEDOM TO READ. FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION. FOR UNDERSTANDING OUR PAST. FOR OUR COMMUNITIES. FOR OUR LIBRARIES. Logos for Unite Against Book Bans and ALA150 American Library Association

From Jan. 2025 - March 2026, 100+ pro-censorship bills were introduced in state legislatures. At least 40 bills would penalize libraries and library workers with lawsuits, fines, or even jail time for protecting people’s the right to read.

This #RightToReadDay, take action: https://bit.ly/43D9Dtw

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Top 11 most challenged books of 2025. Book cover: Sold by Patricia McCormick. Why this book matters bit.ly/soldBR

Top 11 most challenged books of 2025. Book cover: Sold by Patricia McCormick. Why this book matters bit.ly/soldBR

Book banners, who claim to oppose child trafficking, made Sold — a book ABOUT child trafficking — the #1 challenged book of 2025. A National Book Award finalist published 20 years ago, it’s being used by extremists now as a tool to manufacture outrage and gain political power. bit.ly/soldBR

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Top 10 Most Challenged Books Every year, the American Library Association compiles a list of the books most frequently targeted by censors based on reports from the field and media coverage.

“In 2025, 92% of all book challenges were initiated by pressure groups … Less than 3% originated from individual parents ... They were part of a well-funded, politically-driven campaign to suppress the stories & lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ & BIPOC individuals & communities.”

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“Many of the books removed are titles were likely sitting on shelves when the people who are banning them were themselves students. That they weren’t a problem them only speaks to the manufactured panic around “inappropriate” books.”

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