To kick off Banned Books Week 2009, our new Banned Books Week PSA featuring the puppets from “Crash Pad” is out!
Watch as Chad, Rustle, and Mooch misinterpret the meaning of Banned Books Week and Herb comes to the rescue. Also check it out at AL Focus.
OIF has four new videos up featuring programs from the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. Check them out!
“My, those novels certainly are… graphic!”
One of the most popular intellectual freedom programs in years, this panel discussion was sponsored by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, Association of American Publishers, and Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Speakers: Neil Gaiman, Terry Moore, and Craig Thompson. Moderated by Charles Brownstein of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
An engrossing conversation about the status of privacy under the new administration. Cosponsored by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee and the ALA Washington Office. Speakers: Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; David Sobel, Senior Counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation; and Craig Wacker, program officer for the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media & Learning initiative.
“Libraries, Librarians, and America’s War on Sex”
Sex ed advocate Marty Klein discusses the importance of having sexual information available to all library users. Sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Round Table.
“Intellectual Freedom on the Front Lines”
Librarians and library supporters from West Bend, Wisconsin share their perspective on the protracted censorship challenges going on in their community at this issues briefing session, sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Committee and the Freedom to Read Foundation. (See a blog post on the session from American Libraries’ Inside Scoop here.)
The American Library Association, the McCormick Freedom Museum, and the Newberry Library invite you to join us along with ALA President Camila Alire and frequently challenged author Chris Crutcher, in a FREE event to celebrate your freedom to read! The Banned Books Week Read-Out! will take place Saturday, September 26, from noon to 2:00 PM in historic Bughouse Square, located at 901 N Clark St., in Chicago, IL.
The event features authors from the top ten most frequently challenged books of 2008, who will talk about their experiences as targets of censors and will also read from their works. Authors scheduled to appear are Sarah Brannen, author of Uncle Bobby’s Wedding; Cecily von Ziegesar, author of the Gossip Girl series; Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower; Lauren Myracle, author of ttyl, ttfn, and l8r g8r (internet girl series); and Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, co-authors of And Tango Makes Three. The CityLit Theatre Company and the Chicago Public Library’s Teen Volume Reader’s Theatre Troupe will perform dramatic readings of some of these works.
Immediately following the program, we will host a book signing and an open mic (2:00 pm to 3:00 pm). The authors and their publishers have graciously donated 100 copies of their works to give away to attendees. Musician Matt Ryd will kick-off the open mic portion of the event with censored music. If you would like to participate in the open mic portion of the event, please contact Jen Hammond at jhammond@ala.org for more information.
For more information about Banned Books Week, please visit www.ala.org/bbooks. We hope to see you at the Read-Out!
Have you ever wondered where challenges to books in the United States actually occur? A new book censorship map featured on the BannedBooksWeek.org site illustrates that censorship efforts take place all across the country. The Google map displays more than 120 book challenges—from Maine to Florida and from Long Island, New York, to San Francisco, California—that have occurred since the beginning of 2007. These challenges represent a small portion of those recorded, and have been culled from cases documented by the Kids’ Right to Read Project, which is sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and the National Coalition Against Censorship, and the American Library Association’s “Books Challenged or Banned in 2007-2008″ (pdf) list, by Robert P. Doyle.
ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom provides confidential support to teachers and librarians and tracks challenges that occur. ALA recorded 513 challenges in 2008 but estimates that this reflects only 20-25% of actual incidents, as most challenges are never reported.
For assistance with challenges to library materials, services, or programs, please contact Angela Maycock, Assistant Director, Office for Intellectual Freedom, 800-545-2433, ext. 4221, or the Office for Intellectual Freedom, 800-545-2433, ext. 4223 or visit the Challenges to Library Materials page on the ALA Web site.
Banned Books Week 2009 runs from September 26-October 3.
Here are some intellectual freedom-related activities happening on Monday, July 13, 2009 at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. Check out the conference wiki for more:
8:00 – 10: 00 a.m.
IFC/FTRF Issues Briefing Session: “Intellectual Freedom on the Front Lines: West Bend Library Supporters Share Their Story”
McCormick Place West, W-194a
The West Bend Community Library in West Bend, Wisconsin, faced an onslought of challenges earlier this year — including a lawsuit demanding that Lia Francesca Block’s Baby Be-Bop be publicly burned. We have invited some of the library’s key supporters to share their insights.
10:30 a.m.– noon
IFC/Washington Office program: “Privacy in an Era of Change”
McCormick Place West, W-474
We have assembled a panel of thought-leaders on privacy – Mary Ellen Callahan (Department of Homeland Security), Craig Wacker (MacArthur Foundation), and David Sobel (Electronic Frontier Foundation) – to discuss the balance of privacy, security, and civil liberties in today’s digital age.
1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
IFC/AAP/CBLDF program: “My, Those Novels Certainly Are … Graphic!”
McCormick Place West, W-184
From the Comics Code to recent cases involving obscenity and child pornography charges, graphic novels seems to always be under the censors’ microscope. Neil Gaiman, Terry Moore, and Craig Thompson will discuss the effect of censorship on comics. Moderated by Charles Brownstein, director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Cosponsored by the Association of American Publishers and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Merritt Fund “Reception for a Cause”
Hilton Chicago (720 S. Michigan Ave.), DuSable Suite #2567
Please join other supporters of the LeRoy C. Merritt Fund as we celebrate another year of assisting librarians who are facing discrimination or defending intellectual freedom. Appetizers and wine will be served. $25.00 suggested donation.
The ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, the Association of American Publishers, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund invite you our program, “My These Novels Certainly Are . . . . GRAPHIC!,” on Monday, July 13, at 1:30 PM, in McCormick Place W-184. This program will address the uniquely complex censorship issues that comic books face, both within and outside of libraries.
We have gathered together three of the best working comic artists today: Newbery Award winner Neil Gaiman, Strangers in Paradise author Terry Moore, and Eisner Award winner Craig Thompson. The panel will be moderated by Charles Brownstein, Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Following the program, we will host a signing with the panelists. Stay tuned for more information!
Meet the librarians and community members who are fighting to keep library materials on the shelves in West Bend, Wisconsin!
A special panel sponsored by the the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee and the Freedom to Read Foundation at ALA’s Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois will feature West Bend Community Library director Michael Tyree, young adult librarian Kristin Pekoll, library board president Barbara Deters, former library board member Mary Reilly-Kliss, and community organizer Maria Hanrahan. The panelists will share their unique experience and insights gained in addressing multiple challenges to young adult and GLBT materials in the West Bend Community Library, including a demand to publicly burn (!) Francesca Lia Block’s Young Adult novel, Baby Be-Bop.
The panel, part of the IFC Issues Briefing, will take place on Monday, July 13, at 8:00 a.m. in Room W194a in McCormick Place West convention center. You must be registered for the ALA Annual Conference to attend.
The controversy arose in February 2009 when a West Bend couple filed a request to reconsider books included in the library’s “Out of the Closet” bibliography aimed at youth interested in GLBT issues, as well as books deemed “sexually explicit.” Over the following weeks and months, the couple helped to form a citizens’ group, West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries, and circulated a petition asking the library to move young adult books to the adult section, label certain material as objectionable, and restrict access to categories of online content. A second citizens’ group, West Bend Parents For Free Speech, was formed to oppose the requested restrictions and to support the library’s existing policies. A third organization, the Christian Civil Liberties Union, eventually filed a widely-reported claim with the City of West Bend that asserted that the library had injured its members by placing the young adult novel, Baby BeBop, in the library’s collection. The group asked for money damages and demanded that Baby Be-Bop be publicly burned “as a deterrent to repeating this offensive conduct.”
In June 2009, the West Bend Community Library Board voted unanimously to retain the challenged books in its YA Zone, “without removing, relocating, labeling, or otherwise restricting access.” The five panelists, all librarians, trustees, and community members directly involved with the challenges, will discuss their experiences and their plans to continue the ongoing work of maintaining unrestricted access to information for everyone in their community.
See also: ALA President Issues Statement Concerning the Library Controversy in West Bend, WI
Office for Intellectual Freedom Letter to the West Bend Common Council
Links:
The following is a statement issued by American Library Association President Jim Rettig regarding efforts to remove Library Board members and to restrict materials in the West Bend (Wisconsin) Community Memorial Library:
“Last week, the West Bend, Wisconsin Common Council voted to deny reappointment to four Library Board members, based on objections to these members’ ‘ideology’ and their adherence to library policy concerning challenges to materials in the library collection. This move appears to be motivated largely in response to an ongoing campaign that seeks to restrict access to books in the West Bend Community Memorial Library’s young adult collection of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender fiction and nonfiction.
“We are dismayed by and deeply concerned about these developments. Libraries connect people and ideas, by providing access to a diverse array of information to meet the needs of everyone in the community. Whatever their personal beliefs, library board members have an obligation to support this unique role of the public library. When individuals or groups attempt to block access to library materials in the name of their own particular beliefs, we must all oppose such efforts and we must preserve the intellectual freedom rights of the entire community.
“Fanning the flames of this controversy, opponents of open access in libraries have launched a campaign spreading fear and misinformation. Newspaper and radio ads call on the community to ‘protect our children,’ and have compared the removal of books from the library to buckling a child’s seat belt. A city Alderman has even gone so far as to compare the West Bend Community Memorial Library to a porn shop.
“The materials in question are not pornography. They include award-winning novels and acclaimed works of nonfiction. To advocate for the removal or restriction of these materials on the basis of partisan or doctrinal disapproval is censorship, pure and simple. Parents who believe a book is not appropriate for their own children are free to make that decision—for their children; they do not have the right nor the authority to make it for anyone else’s children.
“Because it supports intellectual freedom, the American Library Association (ALA) opposes book banning and censorship in any form, and supports librarians and library board members whenever they resist censorship in their libraries. Since our society is very diverse, libraries have a responsibility to provide materials that reflect the interests of all of their patrons.
“We stand in support of the librarians and Library Board members of the West Bend Community Memorial Library and the community members who defend intellectual freedom and open access to ideas. By resisting calls to censor potentially controversial materials, they promote and protect true education and learning, and uphold the cherished freedoms that we, as Americans, hold most dear.”
See also: Letter to the members of the West Bend Common Council from the Office for Intellectual Freedom (PDF file)
See also: Joint Letter from Free Speech Groups Criticizing Library Board Dismissals (PDF file)
See also a statement from UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies (PDF file).
It’s not too late to register for Lawyers for Libraries in Los Angeles—the only Lawyers for Libraries training planned for 2009! The institute will take place on Friday, February 27 at the Westin LAX. To register, call (800) 545-2433 x4226 or visit www.ala.org/lawyers.
The Westin LAX is offering a discounted rate for attendees. **Note: The deadline to receive the discounted rate is February 11.** For room reservation details, visit the Lawyers for Libraries hotel page.
The Lawyers for Libraries institutes are intended for library trustees and attorneys who work with libraries. Librarians also are encouraged to attend, as long as they attend with their library attorney. The workshop is designed to teach participants how to create and implement policies that are in accordance with the law, and that protect the rights of library users, in the following areas:
Participants are eligible for CLE credits for this all-day program. The cost is $395.00 for one attendee; $745.00 for 2.
For more information, contact Jonathan Kelley at jokelley@ala.org or (800) 545-2433 x4226.
Yesterday, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed down its decision in Miami-Dade School Board v. ACLU of Florida, the lawsuit challenging the Miami-Dade School Board’s decision to remove from its classrooms and libraries all copies of the book A Visit to Cuba and its Spanish language companion book, Vamos a Cuba. The board argued that the picture book, aimed at four- to six-year-olds, fails to accurately convey the harsh political realities of life in Cuba. It also decided that the perceived inaccuracies of “A Visit to Cuba” justified removing the entire “A Visit to…” series from the school district’s libraries, even though no formal challenge was filed against the remaining books in the series.
A panel of three judges on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held, 2-1, that the school board’s decision did not violate the First Amendment.
The Freedom to Read Foundation filed an amicus brief in this case, in cooperation with the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of Booksellers for Children, Reforma, Peacefire.org, and the National Coalition Against Censorship. Freedom to Read Foundation General Counsel Theresa Chmara has summarized the history of the lawsuit and the Eleventh Circuit’s 177 page decision:
The Miami-Dade School Board voted to remove the book “A Visit to Cuba” and the entire “A Visit To” series from the elementary and secondary school libraries in the district. The School Board decided to remove the books despite the fact that two independent bodies consisting of professional educators, administrators and community leaders had reviewed the books and concluded that the series was educationally significant and developmentally appropriate for the audience of four to six year olds to which it was directed. The removal decision was challenged in federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, the Miami-Dade County Student Government Association, a parent of an elementary school student and the student.
School board members defended their removal decision by arguing that the books were factually inaccurate in failing to portray the poverty and government oppression that is present in Cuba. On July 24, 2006 the district court concluded that the removal decision was unconstitutional, holding that the removal decision was couched in terms of “inaccuracies,” but was instead a “guise and pretext for ‘political orthodoxy.’” ACLU v. Miami-Dade Cty. Sch. Bd., 439 F. Supp. 2d 1242 (S.D. Fla. 2006).
On February 5, 2009, the Eleventh Circuit reversed that decision with one judge dissenting. The Appellate Court did not reach the issue of whether school censorship complaints should be evaluated under the standards enunciated in the plurality decision in Board of Education v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982) nor whether school library books can be considered part of the “curriculum” pursuant to the standards set forth in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260, 108 S. Ct. 562 (1988). Instead, the Eleventh Circuit majority conducted a de novo review of the factual evidence and concluded that the district court erred in finding that the book was removed for political reasons. The majority concluded that the school board had the discretion to remove the series of books if it determined that the books were educationally unsuitable due to factual inaccuracies in the books. After conducting its own review of the factual evidence, the Appellate Court concluded that the series of books was factually inaccurate and the school board acted within its discretion in removing the books. The majority opinion also rejected the claim that board violated due process by removing an entire series of books when only one complaint was filed about one book in one library. The majority panel concluded that the School Board has the discretion to make removal decisions for the entire district regardless of whether a complaint was filed.
In his dissenting opinion, Judge Wilson strongly argues that “[t]he record provides palpable support for the district court’s conclusion that School Board members banned the book not because of inaccuracies per se but because the book failed to make a negative political statement about contemporary Cuba.” Slip Opinion, at 137. Moreover, Judge Wilson posited that “[t]he banning of children’s books from a public school library under circumstances such as these offends the First Amendment.” Id. at 174. The plaintiffs challenging the book removal at issue will now have to decide whether to petition the United States Supreme Court to review the Eleventh Circuit decision.
Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, told the Miami Herald that the ACLU will appeal the decision.
“We are naturally disappointed with this decision, and we will continue to support the ACLU’s efforts to return the books to the shelves of the Miami-Dade school libraries,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Deputy Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom.
The full decision of the court can be found here: http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200614633.pdf.
