E-reader apps that expand access to books for students are now under fire by conservative parents in a culture war over book bans in schools.
Highlights
- E-reader apps that expand access to books for students are now under fire by conservative parents in a culture war over books in schools and public libraries.
- Some parents want the apps to be banned for their children or even for all students.
- The apps often market themselves to schools and libraries as a way to diversify their digital shelves, especially after racial justice protests in spring 2020 drew attention to the lack of diversity in many traditional institutions.
- But convenience is a double-edged sword: Parents can easily search digital collections for content they object to and ask school administrators to censor or limit access with a few mouse clicks.
- The American Library Association says it’s now so easy to pull the plug on thousands of book titles