Occupied east jerusalem. The spiral of violence here seems to only be deepening. People very much concerned about what might lie ahead in the days and hours to come. Janine, of course, has been a flash point these last many months. Its been the scene of numerous is really rates near daily is really rates also in early july you had a days long assault by these really army. On the janine refugee camp, there were many officials who were concerned that things would only get worse. And in fact, many have said that 2023 is on track to be the deadliest of your on record for palestinians in the occupied westbank. A new jazz board of forces or on jaila thats off to the Regional West African block echo was issued a sunday deadline to reinstate the deposed president. All face mid attraction. Thousands have been rallying in support of the crew. Its been more fighting in sedan with the Republican Palace and the capital call to him coming under a tank by the sudanese army. The building has been under the control of a permanent too Rapid Support forces since the beginning of the conflict. At least 35 people have been killed and thousands more injured officer had framed the rail than focused on since providence rescue teams have completed the search for survivors. The army was called in to assist and investigation is underway. Russia says a miss saw the tank has damaged a bridge, linking mainland you crying to crime. In the turn, all bridge is a crucial supply route to the amex pendency though, which russia seized in 2014 russian appointed Officials Say a Ukrainian Missile supplied by france was used, says i a headlines as always you can keep up to date with old news if you head over to al jazeera, dont com till challenges hear something. Next. Respect it, janet is on the street in central concave shows you how devastating the effects of russian for me as being i can see where 2 of the bullets hit their about. My head highs name with the lead of demetrius military wanted him dead, the stealing manual beneath women a property on a road costing out indians. Proud recipient in new York Festival through the cost or of the year award for the 2nd tier. Running the United States of america a country many regard seats a pallet yet move and 13 percent of adults cant read or right above that grade level. Thats the same or less than an 8 year old child. Since a ship of Library Books is also on the rise, the American Library association reported a Record Number of demands to since the Library Books and all the materials last year. More than 1600 contested titles addressed many race and gender issues. Tracy hol, executive director of the American Library association is one of the loudest voices and promotion, freedom of publication, and book access for what drives it is the belief that free people lead freely a career has focused on slicing for the read his right to read. None of the grant, but with more calls for censorship, the issue has become increasingly politicized. So will the so called land of the free remain . So to read is the executive director of the American Library association. Tracy whole talks to alger 0, the tracy hall executive director of the American Library association. Thank you for talking to alex, is era tracy . I believe single favorite. What is abracadabra . Can you tell me why . Yes. Abracadabra suggest the incident possibility because i think this is a moment as we know where library are really caught in and, and boiled in the conversation that is an important one about our democracy. And so i think adver to deborah is, is especially important now because what we want to do, and what i want to do is to ensure that libraries remain strong and, and continue to be the bedrock of, i think, a country a nation thats really built on the notion of open access and also mobility, social mobility. I think its really appropriate that its the magic way because you discover so much as a magic of books when your, when your child and library is at that time can feel like such a postal to a, to and otherwise i believe you go up in South Central los angeles, and i know you were very close to family. Yeah. Especially your grandmother betsy. Can you tell me a little more about what books and libraries meant to you and your family at that time . Yes. Well, you know, my family is a product of the great migration. Im here in the United States which brought hundreds of thousands of, of families, many of them, most of them black african american, out of the south and into the west coast where my family went to the east coast to cities in the midwest like chicago, where i lived today and um, and many, many of those families left us out because they were in search of economic opportunity. They were in search of educational athens. And i think my grandmother saw a library in particular as a conduit to both. So my grandmother was responsible for me getting my 1st library card and really introducing me to the world of, of library because she has such a firm belief in the possibilities that they offer. How much time did you spend in libraries as it will go . What are your favorite things to do that story time . Of course i spent a lot of time um you know, all all summer, most most of the summer. Uh the weekends. Um i didnt really even think about other options and sometimes i go to the park. If my friends would, would drag me, but i was often in the library i, i loved i love story time. I love our programs. Even today, many libraries offer sometimes the only art program that young people that children might have access to, and uh, and alongside my level of libraries, i became really interested in art and art making and tracing. I know youve had a number of jobs in, in different fields, but it does feel like the one thing they will had in common has been this sense of service to your community. You worked with the homeless in l. A. I believe, and social services. And you also at one point set up a secret Literacy Program in the basement of the library. Well, why can you tell me more about love . Yeah, its in the basement of the library that i was working in. Absolutely. Um, shortly after i receive my masters degree and Library Information sciences, i became the Branch Manager of a branch in the community that um you know, had a number of people who hadnt finish high school or who were blue collar workers. And many, many of them confided their hopes and dreams and me, but i remember a few in particular with them by that they didnt know how to read well. And they also didnt know were programs were that they could receive literacy instruction. And when i fired, i realized that there were no programs on our side of town. So i, i became a certified literacy instructor along with what is my staff members. And we began to offer programs in, in the basement of, of the library because we didnt have a lot of resources even for the traditional Library Services. And, and, and so it was important that we do this, but because it wasnt exactly st. And i, we, we did do it sort of covertly, but we, we, in, in the end, were actually received an award for the, the impact that the program they. And thats amazing. It reminds me a little bit of a story that youve also shared about your father telling you that you were meant to be a librarian because i believe your great grandmother. Lena ran a one room schoolhouse with colored children in east texas all those years ago. Single gays of libraries too. I mean, not wasnt so long ago. Eva, a lot of change, a lot has changed since then, but it feels like an equity hasnt really changed. Do you feel like, like america is less segregated these days, or is it just a different form . I think that democracy is a process, right. And i think that nations go through all type of periods and, and changes as they, as a work to reach their goals. And i definitely think that libraries, whether theyre school or Public Library are a part of our reaching those goals the back way for equity. And i think that library have moved over time to not only reflect, but i think the anticipate of the goals of our community. I am so happy that school and public and academic libraries are often the 1st restores that many people in our community a utilize. And we know that before the pandemic libraries all over this country were responsible for 1000000000 visit. So to me today, i believe the library are a part of our Critical Infrastructure and, and, and that their accessibility, we depend on that and billions of people. Um, i think all over the world should be able to rely on libraries as a 1st resource and tracing your talk about libraries there, spaces for convening. And i know youre recently visited a library that i believe was one of the fast areas where there was a fit in during, during civil rights era. So they all spaces but convening certainly. But do you feel that that will say perhaps spaces or resistance . Absolutely. You know, the 1st youre referring to the Barrett Branch of uh, the Public Library in alexandria, virginia, which was the sight of one of the 1st civil rights sit in in 1939 when 5 young men who were resisting and protesting the fact that black taxpayers in virginia and alexandria were paying for Library Services that they themselves couldnt use. Theyve visited the library, they asked to register for library card. And when they were denied, they began to read books in the library as a side of protest. They were arrested and it wouldnt be another 20 years before black people would be able to access that library equitably. So when i visited, i, i remember thinking that my being there as the head of the American Library association and being greeted by a young black woman who was working there. That, that in and of itself was a side of how far weve come from. And how important their sacrifice is in 1939 were to both of our being there in that library on that day. And you say how far weve come, how far america has come, tracy. But you also eluded earlier in the and ill chat to a fight thats ongoing right now. In america. In the past 2 years, i was having to look at the numbers. The organization has registered the highest numbers of censorship challenges since you began tracking them pen america recorded the school book. Bonds are on a state prize. 28 percent on just the 1st half of this year. Then in the previous 6 months, what does that say to about the america of today . Well, one thing is that we know that reading and it will again, that conversation, you know, that were just having about access to, to library. Thats another form of censorship. And when we see today many times, people havent read the book that they are centering and, and theyll say that what we have to understand is that this is the, the letter sedation of, of read a. There is a far more pernicious agenda behind censorship. Of the people who want to censor who want to eliminate a freedom of expression, which is of course, a part of our 1st amendment right are not patriots. They are not defending the democracy of this country. In fact, they are working against it. And we have to understand it and call it out if thats the majority of people in this country. Believe that free people read freely and that that is the bedrock of democratic engagement. So it is really important for us to understand, stand up and call out what we seeing for me of one of the most patriotic activities that i have the, which is to bam. Fundamentally the, the right to read the right to write freely. And of course the right to dream and to i the, and the right to self expression, which is a baseline that baseline, a human right tracy. It does seem as well even within the context of the, the divisiveness that we see in america right now. The topics of the banned books and now also expanding. So race racism, eligibility to themes, we know that thats been very contentious for some time now, but now were also seeing book bands around violence, health desk in grief. What do you make of that kind of trajectory . Well, many of the books are being there are some of the scientists work and the of literature. And what were seeing is people taking one passage, one sentence, one line from one page and saying to people, oh, dont you think we should band is . Dont you think we should protect your children when in fact, what literature helps us to do is allows us to learn from our history so that we dont repeat the parts of it that we shouldnt. It allows us to gain empathy and compassion for other people and their struggles and the things that they have been through. And so when we begin to restrict the literature up and, and sometimes when you read the reason why some of these books are being censored, you just shake your head because you cant believe it. We saw most recently the hill we climb, being restricted in the state of florida, a book written by the youngest, a nodule, a poet laureate amanda gorman. The book is all about how we must come together as a nation to Work Together to honor each other story. For me when you see book like that, books about equity of civil rights. When you see books like that being bad, it means that we have to stop at this moment and resist because that elimination of, of that civil, right, the right to read, present the slippery slope for the elimination of other constitutional right. Well Amanda Coleman spoke. I was literally about to ask you about that because that was bands in florida and also in florida. Some School Teachers and thoughts of the stage. Ive also been told to clear out the classroom libraries, especially if a books that havent been individually betted. And by a library technician, i believe this is the phrase, but these are, these are teachers who have both books and that they want to share with the students. And theyre not allowed to use them in classrooms. This is obviously changing the way that teachers are able to teach as well. Absolutely. Right. And one thing that we have to understand is that we are talking about librarianship school, librarianship, public librarianship, academic librarianship as a profession. These are individuals, just bringing in books that they like were talking about literature reviews, were talking about the fact that before we order or buy books for libraries, were looking at how well this book supplement, especially in schools, the curriculum or in terms of the public. How will this book respond to the local needs of my community . So this isnt about individuals just bringing in books they like. And i think that we have to honor the fact that librarianship that teaching healthcare were talking about profession and profession know that no one im trained to member anywhere of of thats assigned should be able to step in for um, and so thats one thing that i think is being lost in this conversation from what were doing is the professional. I think a profession that has been around since the beginning of, of this country. What we know is in the beginning of the country, one of the 1st act was to establish a Congressional Library and Public Library. The notion of the free Public Library has its origin story here in the country. And that is built on the professionalization of a sector of people who are trained in the art of information retrieval and storage and dissemination, collection development. And so i, i really take a deep pause and when all of us to because i again believe that there is the larger and more pernicious agenda at, at, at, and t or. But the other thing i think that it is really important for us to understand. Ready is that the book banning is also a part of a larger effort many times to be fund the public libraries. If you look at some of the legislation and to be fond of school library, some of the legislation in some states, some places where we are seeing book banning. Were also seeing attempts to cut back or diminish other forms of educational and Library Services. I want to get to the initial aspect of, of what you would just the leading to that and a 2nd, tracy, but let me pick up on something that you mentioned because it feels like you said, there are lots of Different Reasons why people are wanting books spend, but it does feel like some of that stems from a fit of what could be dangerous. And i one that is it, that people now feel that additional themes, electric to, especially in childrens books, could be dangerous. Or is it just that theyve always felt that way and now they, they feel more able to speak about that openly . I feel like we have to always to guard against the notion that knowledge is dangerous. Because again, were talking about individuals who, by and large, havent read the book. If you look at some of these challenges there, theres a lot of copy and pasting as opposed to people who are deeply reading many times i may get emails from people say, you know, why are these 164 book band and a couple of times i will respond if youve read any of these books in their entirety, im happy to speak with you about them. And i never, i never get a response back. Honestly, because unfortunately what we need to do, if not then, but we need to re book, right . Because i think theres another statistic that says that for people once they graduate high school or college, depending on what their terminal degree is, many times people will not read books in their entirety ever again. And thats something that i, i dont want this a bad. This way of book banning to have a Chilling Effect on our Lifelong Learning because that is so important to us of being contributing members of our society. You have advocation very strongly for self expression, but also for anti racism. And you know, that had been some controversial childrens books, dr. Serious. Well dial whos the states of actually taking their books back or c