Dictionaries, encyclopedias are banned books in Florida schools under a new law
I put my book blog on ice after spending 2023 not concentrating on my reading goals. Though I had entered a hiatus, I had been monitoring the changes in the publishing industry such as the litigation and politics behind book bans. The conversation around banned books has already erupted in 2024 due to Florida’s House Bill 1069, which expands the Parental Rights in Education Act, or what has been coined as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Escambia County in Florida, which includes Pensacola, made headlines last year when Penguin Random House and PEN America sued the county school district and board over the removal of books. But with H.B. 1069 in effect since last July, the school district says it added more titles to comply with the law. During a hearing in the federal court case on Wednesday, the judge rejected a motion to dismiss the case, a win for the publishers and authors, the Pensacola News Journal reports.
An updated list revealed Webster’s Dictionary & Thesaurus for Students, along with The American Heritage Children’s Dictionary, The Dictionary of Costume, The Clear and Simple Thesaurus Dictionary, and Merriam-Webster’s Elementary Dictionary also made the extensive list of 1,600+ books taken off school library shelves. Eight encyclopedias were also banned, though The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers may not be suitable for children to read anyway.
The definition for a dictionary is a “reference source in print or electronic form giving information about the meanings, forms, pronunciations, uses, and origins of words listed in alphabetical order,” according to the Kids Definition on Merriam-Webster.com. The dictionary defines an encyclopedia as a “work that contains information on all subjects or one that covers a certain subject thoroughly usually with articles arranged alphabetically.”
The fact that students may not have access to these resources shows the attack on obtaining information. The Escambia County book ban saga was documented by The Washington Post last month to show the distress on all sides of removing books from school libraries and classrooms. This year, the attention remains on this Florida county as it becomes a hotspot for book bans. With the federal court case still ongoing, the final result could become precedential for other communities in the same battle.
