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Mississippi libraries ordered to delete academic research in response to state laws
Hat tips, Jess Calarco and Ken White
Reposted by Soaring Eagle Hat
Jess Calarco
@jessicacalarco.bsky.social
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This is the literal destruction of knowledge.
Mississippi libraries are being ordered to remove academic research on race and gender from library databases.
https://mississippitoday.org/2025/04/08/mississippi-libraries-ordered-to-delete-academic-research-in-response-to-state-laws/
Mississippi libraries ordered to delete academic research in response to state laws - Mississippi Today
The two research collections state officials ordered for deletion included material from professional journals, conference papers, books, student dissertations, periodicals and newspaper articles.
mississippitoday.org
@jessicacalarco.bsky.social
Follow
This is the literal destruction of knowledge.
Mississippi libraries are being ordered to remove academic research on race and gender from library databases.
https://mississippitoday.org/2025/04/08/mississippi-libraries-ordered-to-delete-academic-research-in-response-to-state-laws/
Mississippi libraries ordered to delete academic research in response to state laws - Mississippi Today
The two research collections state officials ordered for deletion included material from professional journals, conference papers, books, student dissertations, periodicals and newspaper articles.
mississippitoday.org
https://bsky.app/profile/jessicacalarco.bsky.social/post/3lmdu2a7ork25
Legislature
Mississippi libraries ordered to delete academic research in response to state laws
Lawmaker says the removal of scholarly material from library databases would provoke backlash in a state where minorities have fought for equal access to education.
by Michael Goldberg and Candice Wilder
April 8, 2025
A state commission scrubbed academic research from a database used by Mississippi libraries and public schools — a move made to comply with recent state laws changing what content can be offered in libraries. ... The Mississippi Library Commission ordered the deletion of two research collections that might violate state law, a March 31 internal memo obtained by Mississippi Today shows. One of the now deleted research collections focused on “race relations” and the other on “gender studies.”
The memo, written by Mississippi Library Commission Executive Director Hulen Bivins, confirmed the scrubbing of scholarly material from a database used by publicly funded schools, libraries, community colleges, universities and state agencies. The database, MAGNOLIA, is funded by the Mississippi Legislature.
“In this challenging time with many different viewpoints concerning library materials and material content your willingness to work with these issues is appreciated,” Bivins wrote. “The deletion of these two databases shall be permanent until such time as when the Legislature changes their position regarding the content of materials made available in Mississippi libraries.”
{snip}
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Michael Goldberg
mgoldberg@mississippitoday.org
Michael joined Mississippi Today after more than two years with The Associated Press. Goldberg is a California native and is an alumnus of Western Washington University and University of Southern California. His work has been published in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, ESPN, The Los Angeles Times and PBS.
More by Michael Goldberg
Candice Wilder
cwilder@mississippitoday.org
Candice Wilder covers higher education for Mississippi Today.
An Ohio native, she was one of 19 founding staff members of Signal Cleveland, an inaugural nonprofit newsroom part of Signal Ohio. There, she developed a beat that provided accessible health news and information to residents of Cleveland. Her work has led to recognitions from the Cleveland Press Club and the Association of Healthcare Journalists.
Wilder works in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom that has helped 17 outlets around the country put reporters on the higher-ed beat. Open Campus and Mississippi Today have partnered together on higher-ed coverage since 2021.
More by Candice Wilder
Mississippi libraries ordered to delete academic research in response to state laws
Lawmaker says the removal of scholarly material from library databases would provoke backlash in a state where minorities have fought for equal access to education.
by Michael Goldberg and Candice Wilder
April 8, 2025
A state commission scrubbed academic research from a database used by Mississippi libraries and public schools — a move made to comply with recent state laws changing what content can be offered in libraries. ... The Mississippi Library Commission ordered the deletion of two research collections that might violate state law, a March 31 internal memo obtained by Mississippi Today shows. One of the now deleted research collections focused on “race relations” and the other on “gender studies.”
The memo, written by Mississippi Library Commission Executive Director Hulen Bivins, confirmed the scrubbing of scholarly material from a database used by publicly funded schools, libraries, community colleges, universities and state agencies. The database, MAGNOLIA, is funded by the Mississippi Legislature.
“In this challenging time with many different viewpoints concerning library materials and material content your willingness to work with these issues is appreciated,” Bivins wrote. “The deletion of these two databases shall be permanent until such time as when the Legislature changes their position regarding the content of materials made available in Mississippi libraries.”
{snip}
Republish This Story
Creative Commons License
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Michael Goldberg
mgoldberg@mississippitoday.org
Michael joined Mississippi Today after more than two years with The Associated Press. Goldberg is a California native and is an alumnus of Western Washington University and University of Southern California. His work has been published in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, ESPN, The Los Angeles Times and PBS.
More by Michael Goldberg
Candice Wilder
cwilder@mississippitoday.org
Candice Wilder covers higher education for Mississippi Today.
An Ohio native, she was one of 19 founding staff members of Signal Cleveland, an inaugural nonprofit newsroom part of Signal Ohio. There, she developed a beat that provided accessible health news and information to residents of Cleveland. Her work has led to recognitions from the Cleveland Press Club and the Association of Healthcare Journalists.
Wilder works in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom that has helped 17 outlets around the country put reporters on the higher-ed beat. Open Campus and Mississippi Today have partnered together on higher-ed coverage since 2021.
More by Candice Wilder
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