Louisiana HB 777 : Criminalizing #Librarians and the #ALA

Over at Book Riot, this unbelievable piece of news:

HB 777 was introduced March 25 by Representative Kellee Dickerson, who helped fund the Louisiana Freedom Caucus. The bill would criminalize library workers and libraries for joining the American Library Association.

The American Library Association (ALA) is the largest and oldest professional organization for library workers in the nation. It was founded in 1876, and this Twitter thread is a fantastic resource on the history and purpose of the organization. Read more

Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. Looks like I’ll have to go pay dues to ALA simply to help support them. I encourage you to do the same.

I wholeheartedly agree with the American Library Association’s (ALA) Freedom to Read statement. Here is an excerpt:

We believe rather that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.