A Livingston Parish school librarian who has publicly fought against efforts to restrict books in libraries has received a national recognition.
The American Association of School Librarians announced Monday that it had given Amanda Jones its Intellectual Freedom Award.
“Amanda is an example that we must all stand together and stand strong,” AASL President Kathy Lester said in a statement. “When a public library is challenged, all libraries are challenged. When a school or district in a state is challenged it is only a matter of time before other schools and districts are challenged. To unite and protect the rights of all learners is inspirational.”
Jones has been an outspoken advocate at Livingston Parish library board meetings against restricting content in the children’s section of libraries — a controversial subject in Louisiana as fiery debates over what’s inappropriate for children have cropped up in Livingston, Lafayette and St. Tammany parishes.
As president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians, Jones also created a “Censorship Toolkit” with resources for librarians to inform themselves regarding censorship debates and founded Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship, a statewide coalition of groups against censoring books.
“It’s humbling to be recognized on a national level like that. It’s such an honor,” Jones said in an interview. “A year ago, I never thought I’d be facing what I’m facing, but at least something good came out of it.”
Jones filed a defamation lawsuit last year against Michael Lunsford, executive director of the Lafayette-based group Citizens for a New Louisiana, which lobbies for more restrictions on books available for children, and Ryan Thames, a Denham Springs resident and owner of a Facebook page called “Bayou State of Mind,” for their posts about her after she spoke at the first Livingston Library Board of Control meeting in July 2022.
Lunsford accused Jones of fighting “to keep sexually erotic material and pornographic materials in the kids section”; Thames said Jones was “advocating teaching anal sex to 11-year-olds.” The lawsuit also said Jones received numerous threats of violence and one death threat following their posts.
Judge Erika Sledge of the 21st Judicial District Court dismissed the lawsuit the following September, saying the two’s statements were matters of opinion, not fact. Jones filed an appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeal on March 13.
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