Community organization Voice of Westmoreland will hold a panel discussion on the impact of book bans and challenges both locally and nationally at the Greensburg YWCA on Thursday.
Titled “What Do We Lose By Banning Books,” the event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Founders Room at 424 N Main Street, Greensburg. It will feature testimony from Pennsylvania educators and activists on the effects of limiting access to books in schools and libraries.
The moderator is David Von Schlichten. Panelists Liz Jones, an English literature professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Keisha Jimmerson, the dean of students and diversity officer at Seton Hill University, Renee Kiner, a public services librarian at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, and Dennis McDaniel, English professor at Saint Vincent College, will all be present.
The discussion comes nearly a full school year after Hempfield Area School District’s board voted to adopt new rules governing books and other library materials.
The policies dealt with how books are evaluated and which ones can be added to the library. They set restrictions on sexual content and nudity in texts and formalized procedures for book challenges.
Related:
• Hempfield school library book policies approved at heated meeting
