Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Libraries topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tulare County proclaims October 2025 Banned Books Week, library urges protection of reading access
Summary
The county presented a proclamation recognizing October as Banned Books Week and the county librarian warned against routine challenges to library materials, citing a 1982 county library policy and American Library Association figures.
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 7 presented a proclamation recognizing October 2025 as Banned Books Week and heard from Darla Wagner, the Tulare County Librarian, about censorship challenges facing libraries.
Wagner told the board the national Banned Books Week initiative—observed by libraries and bookstores—“calls attention to the harms of censorship” and promotes the value of free and open access to information. She said the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 821 efforts to censor books and other resources in libraries in 2024 and noted that over 2,400 unique titles were targeted, figures she offered to illustrate a national trend.
Wagner reminded the board of an older county policy, citing a Tulare County Library policy adopted in 1982 (resolution 82‑20‑33) that opposes the addition or deletion of library materials at the request of individuals or groups and states that selection should follow established material‑selection criteria rather than outside censorship. She said the library’s approach is to provide materials and allow parents and guardians to determine what is appropriate for their children.
Supervisor Dennis Townsend read the county proclamation recognizing “October 2025 as Banned Books Week in Tulare County” and the board thanked Wagner and county library staff for their work. Several supervisors praised the library’s outreach and events; no formal action beyond the proclamation was taken.
