42. Interview with Librarian and Author Amanda Jones

We were thrilled to interview librarian and author Amanda Jones. Amanda Jones has been an educator for twenty-three years. She has served as president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians and won numerous awards for her work in school libraries, including School Library Journal Librarian of the Year. A sought-after keynote speaker, Amanda is a frequent volunteer for state and national library associations, as well as founder of the Livingston Parish Library Alliance and founding member of Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship. She lives in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. Amanda’s book, That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America, comes out on August 27, 2024.In the interview, we discussed how Amanda became a school librarian, decided to speak up against censorship at her local public library in 2022 and dealt with the resulting harassment, chose to sue two of the harassers for defamation, and educated herself about injustices. We also learned how she has been taking action with other librarians recently and discussed ways that we can take action in our own communities.To learn more about Amanda Jones, please visit:  her website: librarianjones.com ⁠X/Twitter: @abmack33 Linktree: ThatLibrarian⁠⁠⁠⁠Thanks to Chris for our music, Heather and Lizzie for their assistance, Dorothy for her editing skills, and our patrons for their financial support. Please visit our website for a⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠transcript⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠of this episode. If you would like to join our conversation, please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠theroguelibrarians.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on social media. Please consider supporting our podcast on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠. We appreciate your support! Linktree: ⁠⁠@roguelibrarianspod⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@roguelibrarianspod⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠@roguelibrarianspod⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠patreon.com/roguelibrarians