Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
Book Industry Coalition Opposes Federal Book Banning Effort
Nearly 150 book organizations, ranging from publishers to librarians, booksellers to advocacy groups, and more, have all signed on in opposition to HR 7661, the proposed national book banning bill. The statement emphasizes that the bill’s language is intended to further harm queer youth (“It confuses obscenity with identity and stigmatizes vulnerable young people, particularly trans children and teens, based on who they are”) and that it would drain more necessary funds from already-hurting public education institutions.
Bill Would Mandate More School Librarians in Rhode Island
There is legislation in Rhode Island right now that would mandate a full time school librarian for every building with 250 or more students. In buildings with fewer students, it’d require a half time librarian. Bills like these are essential, especially in a world where there is a literacy crisis. School librarians are a crucial part of helping teach young people how to navigate a world of mis- and dis- information, artificial intelligence, propaganda, and more. It is always interesting to hear the low budget numbers that make law makers balk–meeting the requirements of this bill would come in at a little over two million dollars. That for the cost of ensuring crucial education for young people in public schools feels low, especially compared to other things that state governments cover.
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Character.ai Launches AI-Powered ‘Books’ Feature Letting Users Play Inside Classic Literature Like ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ ‘The Great Gatsby’
On the plus side, it sounds like this is using characters already in the public domain, as opposed to stealing the intellectual property of authors. On the other side, I’m not sure how allowing self-insert game playing of classic characters will “make classic literature more accessible and interactive for modern audiences. By lowering the barrier to entry, the company is betting that participatory storytelling can serve as a gateway to traditional texts, particularly for younger users more accustomed to interactive media.” It feels like an overly cynical view of young people and an overly optimistic view of the value of the AI. Likewise, how diverse are these books, if they’re focused on the classics? Do we really want teens interacting with a chatbot as a means of “solving” a problem of them not reading “traditional” texts? (Also, to bring it back around: a school librarian might be a way to get young people into the classics and introduce them to more contemporary and diverse classics).
The Battle Over Funding Imagination Library Grows
The last several years have been a nonstop barrage of bad legislation and targeted attacks on public libraries and public schools. Another program which has been under assault at the state level is one whose benefits are well-researched and whose cost is so low that it’s clear the attempts to revoke funding are about cruelty, rather than budget challenges: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
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