Lauren (she/her)
@laurenstro.bsky.social
Elementary school librarian & avid reader. Always learning. Thoughts/opinions belong only to me. #ClearTheAir #LibCollab #TheBookChat
Pinned
Lauren (she/her)
@laurenstro.bsky.social
· Apr 15
Had a conversation with a friend today about censorship and book banning as it relates to my job as a school librarian. They asked if that was a hill worth dying on.
Unequivocally and without reservation: YES.
Unequivocally and without reservation: YES.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
May every single human being on this planet be safe.
May every single person be protected from harm.
May we bring into being a time in which we are all free from those who do evil— together, speedily and in our days.
May every single person be protected from harm.
May we bring into being a time in which we are all free from those who do evil— together, speedily and in our days.
June 22, 2025 at 1:44 AM
May every single human being on this planet be safe.
May every single person be protected from harm.
May we bring into being a time in which we are all free from those who do evil— together, speedily and in our days.
May every single person be protected from harm.
May we bring into being a time in which we are all free from those who do evil— together, speedily and in our days.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
As a classroom teacher it's frustrating that my intellectuality and my perspective are systematically overlooked while my labor, my pedagogy & my time are never enough
I feel this is even more true because I teach elementary.
I feel this is even more true because I teach elementary.
I wanna see more classroom teachers delivering keynotes, facilitating workshops, and given space and larger platforms to talk about what’s working/not working with students in this moment.
Too many educator conferences, not nearly enough current teacher voices and experiences.
Too many educator conferences, not nearly enough current teacher voices and experiences.
May 26, 2025 at 4:22 PM
As a classroom teacher it's frustrating that my intellectuality and my perspective are systematically overlooked while my labor, my pedagogy & my time are never enough
I feel this is even more true because I teach elementary.
I feel this is even more true because I teach elementary.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
If you care about libraries, and the stories they hold dear, you should be following Kelly. She’s been reporting what’s happening from the beginning and we are so blessed she has been.
"What can we do to stop book censorship and destruction of libraries in the US? How can we push back against the dismantling of public education?"
This is over four years of how-tos, guides, insights, and more. Resources are beyond plentiful.
This is over four years of how-tos, guides, insights, and more. Resources are beyond plentiful.
A massive thread of resources, history, information, and material to help you not only fight and understand book censorship but protect the incredible democratic institutions of public libraries and public education.
This is updated regularly!
This is updated regularly!
May 25, 2025 at 1:40 PM
If you care about libraries, and the stories they hold dear, you should be following Kelly. She’s been reporting what’s happening from the beginning and we are so blessed she has been.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Remember that every time you deride "red" states you deem "bad," you're deriding the thousands of folks doing unbelievably hard, tireless work to stop these brutal anti-literacy/library/school bills.
CONGRATS, Alabama library advocates and thank you <3
CONGRATS, Alabama library advocates and thank you <3
For the past 3 months, thousands of Alabamians have joined Read Freely Alabama to work tirelessly to ensure that two bills that would have had devastating effects on libraries, HB4 and SB6, did not pass.
Read our post-legislative session statement here:
www.readfreelyalabama.org/2025_legisla...
Read our post-legislative session statement here:
www.readfreelyalabama.org/2025_legisla...
Anti-library bills dead in 2025 Alabama Legislative Session
Supporting the Right to Read in All Alabama Libraries
www.readfreelyalabama.org
May 16, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Remember that every time you deride "red" states you deem "bad," you're deriding the thousands of folks doing unbelievably hard, tireless work to stop these brutal anti-literacy/library/school bills.
CONGRATS, Alabama library advocates and thank you <3
CONGRATS, Alabama library advocates and thank you <3
I’ve been a @katemessner.com fan for a long time, but even I wasn’t prepared for her newest book, THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES. Absolutely blew me away. 😭😭😭 Don’t miss it!!!
(Also, the audiobook is excellent & @libro.fm is offering it to teachers/librarians for free this month thru their ALC program!)
(Also, the audiobook is excellent & @libro.fm is offering it to teachers/librarians for free this month thru their ALC program!)
May 16, 2025 at 1:04 AM
I’ve been a @katemessner.com fan for a long time, but even I wasn’t prepared for her newest book, THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES. Absolutely blew me away. 😭😭😭 Don’t miss it!!!
(Also, the audiobook is excellent & @libro.fm is offering it to teachers/librarians for free this month thru their ALC program!)
(Also, the audiobook is excellent & @libro.fm is offering it to teachers/librarians for free this month thru their ALC program!)
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Dr. Carla Hayden will always be our Librarian of Congress ❤️🩹
1st woman, 1st African American Librarian of Congress. Your presence is a blessing to libraries. We love you! ✨
Thank you for your service 💜
apnews.com/article/donald-trump-library-of-congress-carla-hayden-20a1862ce6d2e0d51a84a37b264ce2ef
1st woman, 1st African American Librarian of Congress. Your presence is a blessing to libraries. We love you! ✨
Thank you for your service 💜
apnews.com/article/donald-trump-library-of-congress-carla-hayden-20a1862ce6d2e0d51a84a37b264ce2ef
President Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden
President Donald Trump has abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those perceived to oppose the president and his agenda.
apnews.com
May 9, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Dr. Carla Hayden will always be our Librarian of Congress ❤️🩹
1st woman, 1st African American Librarian of Congress. Your presence is a blessing to libraries. We love you! ✨
Thank you for your service 💜
apnews.com/article/donald-trump-library-of-congress-carla-hayden-20a1862ce6d2e0d51a84a37b264ce2ef
1st woman, 1st African American Librarian of Congress. Your presence is a blessing to libraries. We love you! ✨
Thank you for your service 💜
apnews.com/article/donald-trump-library-of-congress-carla-hayden-20a1862ce6d2e0d51a84a37b264ce2ef
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
a friendly reminder never to buy your books from Amazon, where they are used as a loss leader so that you'll buy a flatscreen TV and your toilet paper instead-- and then use that money to send Katy Perry to space.
Books aren't just products. They're culture. Buy them from those who understand that.
Books aren't just products. They're culture. Buy them from those who understand that.
Tomorrow, a certain online mega-retailer launches a book sale, just days before Indie Bookstore Day on 4/26. This is no coincidence; Bookstore Day is one of the largest revenue drivers for indies.
Indies need our support to thrive & build community spaces for all...mega-retailers do not.
Indies need our support to thrive & build community spaces for all...mega-retailers do not.
April 22, 2025 at 11:47 PM
a friendly reminder never to buy your books from Amazon, where they are used as a loss leader so that you'll buy a flatscreen TV and your toilet paper instead-- and then use that money to send Katy Perry to space.
Books aren't just products. They're culture. Buy them from those who understand that.
Books aren't just products. They're culture. Buy them from those who understand that.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
This.
And here's the thing - we need joy. We need connection. If we can't find that, even in these times, it makes fighting THAT much harder.
And here's the thing - we need joy. We need connection. If we can't find that, even in these times, it makes fighting THAT much harder.
No, I’m sorry, if you’re telling people posting cat photos is a distraction from the real issues, you’re a Fed and you’re trying to make the movement eat itself.
April 22, 2025 at 7:59 PM
This.
And here's the thing - we need joy. We need connection. If we can't find that, even in these times, it makes fighting THAT much harder.
And here's the thing - we need joy. We need connection. If we can't find that, even in these times, it makes fighting THAT much harder.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
When we silence books, we silence voices—and we risk raising a generation without the tools to think freely and compassionately.
Because the real danger isn't in the pages of a book—it's in a world where people stop reading them.
#FreedomToRead #StopBookBans #ReadBannedBooks
Because the real danger isn't in the pages of a book—it's in a world where people stop reading them.
#FreedomToRead #StopBookBans #ReadBannedBooks
April 21, 2025 at 1:15 PM
When we silence books, we silence voices—and we risk raising a generation without the tools to think freely and compassionately.
Because the real danger isn't in the pages of a book—it's in a world where people stop reading them.
#FreedomToRead #StopBookBans #ReadBannedBooks
Because the real danger isn't in the pages of a book—it's in a world where people stop reading them.
#FreedomToRead #StopBookBans #ReadBannedBooks
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Do not normalize children dying from measles. Measles was previously eliminated in the US, thanks to vaccines.
When children die from measles, it means that adults have catastrophically failed to protect them because they have rejected basic science.
When children die from measles, it means that adults have catastrophically failed to protect them because they have rejected basic science.
April 7, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Do not normalize children dying from measles. Measles was previously eliminated in the US, thanks to vaccines.
When children die from measles, it means that adults have catastrophically failed to protect them because they have rejected basic science.
When children die from measles, it means that adults have catastrophically failed to protect them because they have rejected basic science.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
I wrote an open letter to my fellow book ppl because no one is coming to save us.
We have to save us.
And I am weary of waiting for my colleagues to join the fight. Any fight. I chose book bans, but you don't have to
www.prettyokmaggie.com/blog/2025/4/17/an-open-letter-to-my-fellow-book-creators
We have to save us.
And I am weary of waiting for my colleagues to join the fight. Any fight. I chose book bans, but you don't have to
www.prettyokmaggie.com/blog/2025/4/17/an-open-letter-to-my-fellow-book-creators
An Open Letter to My Fellow Book Creators — Pretty Ok Maggie
Inside me there are two wolves: the one that understands that the best activism happens behind closed doors and that everyone does what they can and that not everyone can be asked to do the same thing...
www.prettyokmaggie.com
April 17, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I wrote an open letter to my fellow book ppl because no one is coming to save us.
We have to save us.
And I am weary of waiting for my colleagues to join the fight. Any fight. I chose book bans, but you don't have to
www.prettyokmaggie.com/blog/2025/4/17/an-open-letter-to-my-fellow-book-creators
We have to save us.
And I am weary of waiting for my colleagues to join the fight. Any fight. I chose book bans, but you don't have to
www.prettyokmaggie.com/blog/2025/4/17/an-open-letter-to-my-fellow-book-creators
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
My god she sucks. How many trans people read HP fervently and with wild delight under the covers as children. How can she have such disrespect, such contempt and outright hatred for the young adults whose imaginations she nurtured and fed? It's unacceptable.
You all need to treat Harry Potter IP like we’re treating the Tesla brand.
April 17, 2025 at 10:28 PM
My god she sucks. How many trans people read HP fervently and with wild delight under the covers as children. How can she have such disrespect, such contempt and outright hatred for the young adults whose imaginations she nurtured and fed? It's unacceptable.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Banning books is not about books.
Banning books is about the erasure of stories.
Banning books is about the erasure of identities.
Erasure is the precursor to eliminationism.
Silence is complicity.
Resist this regime.
Resist this regime of monstrous evildoers.
Banning books is about the erasure of stories.
Banning books is about the erasure of identities.
Erasure is the precursor to eliminationism.
Silence is complicity.
Resist this regime.
Resist this regime of monstrous evildoers.
April 17, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Banning books is not about books.
Banning books is about the erasure of stories.
Banning books is about the erasure of identities.
Erasure is the precursor to eliminationism.
Silence is complicity.
Resist this regime.
Resist this regime of monstrous evildoers.
Banning books is about the erasure of stories.
Banning books is about the erasure of identities.
Erasure is the precursor to eliminationism.
Silence is complicity.
Resist this regime.
Resist this regime of monstrous evildoers.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
We had a Holocaust survivor speak at the school today. He told the kids 1930s-40s Germany was inspired by Jim Crow here in the USA.
I know I keep saying this, but it is incredible important to understand that the Nazi playbook was US policy. So much of the anti intellectualism has been to erase the fact that the US was on this road before the Germans and is simply reverting to the original horrors that were in motion.
I must say I no longer believe that this is reminiscent of the Nazi playbook, I believe they’re using the Nazi playbook - offshore extermination and concentration camps, targeting people on basis of race and manufactured legality, academic onslaught, media, gender policing it’s all there.
April 15, 2025 at 9:06 PM
We had a Holocaust survivor speak at the school today. He told the kids 1930s-40s Germany was inspired by Jim Crow here in the USA.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Authors Speak Up About Their Books Being Misrepresented in a Lawsuit Headed to the Supreme Court buff.ly/xecdhKZ
April 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Authors Speak Up About Their Books Being Misrepresented in a Lawsuit Headed to the Supreme Court buff.ly/xecdhKZ
Had a conversation with a friend today about censorship and book banning as it relates to my job as a school librarian. They asked if that was a hill worth dying on.
Unequivocally and without reservation: YES.
Unequivocally and without reservation: YES.
April 15, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Had a conversation with a friend today about censorship and book banning as it relates to my job as a school librarian. They asked if that was a hill worth dying on.
Unequivocally and without reservation: YES.
Unequivocally and without reservation: YES.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Free Palestine and free all the people being kidnapped for saying free Palestine.
(And, of course, free. them. all.)
(And, of course, free. them. all.)
April 14, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Free Palestine and free all the people being kidnapped for saying free Palestine.
(And, of course, free. them. all.)
(And, of course, free. them. all.)
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Disappearing people without any due process is fascism — full stop. I’m sick to my stomach and we all should be.
April 13, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Disappearing people without any due process is fascism — full stop. I’m sick to my stomach and we all should be.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Pressure groups. Ask yourselves why and what do they get out if it. Follow the money. @la-cac.org @oif.bsky.social @ifrt-ala.bsky.social @uabookbans.bsky.social
April 13, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Pressure groups. Ask yourselves why and what do they get out if it. Follow the money. @la-cac.org @oif.bsky.social @ifrt-ala.bsky.social @uabookbans.bsky.social
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Pennsylvania says schools already comply with civil rights laws and are not ordered to scrap DEI
https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2025/04/09/pennsylvania-not-ordering-schools-to-eiliminate-dei-per-trump-order/
https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2025/04/09/pennsylvania-not-ordering-schools-to-eiliminate-dei-per-trump-order/
Pennsylvania signals it is not ordering schools to adhere to Trump’s anti-DEI order
Pennsylvania says the state is already in compliance with civil rights laws and is not ordering schools to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
www.chalkbeat.org
April 9, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Pennsylvania says schools already comply with civil rights laws and are not ordered to scrap DEI
https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2025/04/09/pennsylvania-not-ordering-schools-to-eiliminate-dei-per-trump-order/
https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2025/04/09/pennsylvania-not-ordering-schools-to-eiliminate-dei-per-trump-order/
Shoutout to @ebonyteach.bsky.social for filling my feed with such beautiful blooms in such ugly times. 🌺🌸
April 9, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Shoutout to @ebonyteach.bsky.social for filling my feed with such beautiful blooms in such ugly times. 🌺🌸
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
Kidnapping.
Capturing a person against their will without due process is called kidnapping.
Transporting them to another country without due process is called human trafficking.
A squalid extrajudicial prison for people found guilty of no crime is called a concentration camp.
Capturing a person against their will without due process is called kidnapping.
Transporting them to another country without due process is called human trafficking.
A squalid extrajudicial prison for people found guilty of no crime is called a concentration camp.
stop calling things deportation just because they call it deportation.
-You cannot legally deport people without due process.
-You cannot legally deport citizens.
-They are defining down deportation to break the law.
-You cannot legally deport people without due process.
-You cannot legally deport citizens.
-They are defining down deportation to break the law.
Leavitt confirmed that the WH is working on deporting US citizens to El Salvador
April 8, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Kidnapping.
Capturing a person against their will without due process is called kidnapping.
Transporting them to another country without due process is called human trafficking.
A squalid extrajudicial prison for people found guilty of no crime is called a concentration camp.
Capturing a person against their will without due process is called kidnapping.
Transporting them to another country without due process is called human trafficking.
A squalid extrajudicial prison for people found guilty of no crime is called a concentration camp.
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
The logic of filling in public swimming pools with dirt or cement instead of racially integrating them, applied to the whole country
A Black man won the presidency and they decided to burn the entire country to the ground so it won’t be something worth winning anymore.
April 9, 2025 at 1:53 AM
The logic of filling in public swimming pools with dirt or cement instead of racially integrating them, applied to the whole country
Reposted by Lauren (she/her)
NEW: ALA is going to court to stop the President’s attempts to illegally dismantle the Institute of Museum & Library Services.
The President does not have the authority to destroy a federal agency. That's why we're taking action with our co-plaintiff @afscme.bsky.social. #ForOurLibraries (1/3)
The President does not have the authority to destroy a federal agency. That's why we're taking action with our co-plaintiff @afscme.bsky.social. #ForOurLibraries (1/3)
April 8, 2025 at 1:57 AM
NEW: ALA is going to court to stop the President’s attempts to illegally dismantle the Institute of Museum & Library Services.
The President does not have the authority to destroy a federal agency. That's why we're taking action with our co-plaintiff @afscme.bsky.social. #ForOurLibraries (1/3)
The President does not have the authority to destroy a federal agency. That's why we're taking action with our co-plaintiff @afscme.bsky.social. #ForOurLibraries (1/3)