Hanover Girl Scout commended by American Association of School Librarians for banned book project

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Girl Scout Kate Lindley, who has been vocal about the Hanover County Board of Supervisors’ “censorship” of her Gold Award recognition , has been recognized by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) for her Free to Read Project.

Lindley was given a Girl Scout Gold Award for her project detailing her creation of “Banned Book Nooks” and a “Free-to-Read” app, the latter of which is designed to help users access banned books.

She was publicly commended for this work at a board meeting in late April , where Lindley claims the summary of the project that she submitted was “censored.” The word “banned” was removed entirely and other parts of the description of her project were reportedly cut from what was read at the meeting, according to Lindley.

On Tuesday, Aug. 13, the American Library Association published an announcement on its website with a formal commendation of Lindley’s Free to Read Project, approving a resolution made by the Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL).

“VAASL chose to nominate Kate Lindley and the Free to Read Project for an AASL Chapter Resolution to shine a light on an amazing young woman and her work to provide local access to books banned by Hanover County Public Schools,” said Connie Piper, VAASL Executive Director.

According to the announcement, the focus of Lindley’s project was to bring awareness and to provide student access to the 91 books banned by the Hanover County School Board .

Lindley created an app that included book reviews, information on why the book was banned and locations to find the books online and in the community.

According to the announcement, Lindley also established Banned Book Nooks in community businesses and created a QR code for checking out materials.

Additionally, the association said that a Free to Read Project online wish list has generated donations of more than 2,050 books and a value of more than $12,000.

In May, Lindley was awarded a Presidential Citation by the Virginia Library Association for her advocacy efforts.

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