Today we release a major new report on book bans and restrictions in Tennessee that highlights, not only the problem, but the ways local advocates are organizing to oppose these measures.

Prepared by TEP Knox, Anderson, and Blount Counties Chair Aly Chapman, the report can be found at this link.

Aly has performed a valuable service for the community by assembling this toolkit that can be used as cities and counties around the state face surging efforts to restrict access to books and other materials in school and public libraries. As well as providing general resources, the report looks at how advocates in Anderson, Maury, Wilson, Rutherford, and McMinn Counties are organizing against book bans and restrictions.

We consider research on the solutions to be vitally important. We are frequently confronted with the numbers and the news reports of attacks on books without getting a sense of how to address the issue. One path forward is looking at what local advocates have actually done, what they say works, and what they say that they need.

We hope that advocates around the state will use this toolkit in the months ahead to protect their libraries and the freedom of information so vital for our democracy.