Register now for “Defend the Freedom to Read: Reporting Challenges” Challenges to library materials take place in schools and libraries across this country every day. One of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom’s primary duties is to track challenges and to provide support to librarians, teachers, library workers, trustees, and others who are dealing with these [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘Office for Intellectual Freedom’
April 16, 2013
Amnesty International USA receives the 2013 John Philip Immroth Memorial Award
The Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) announces that Amnesty International USA is the recipient of the 2013 John Philip Immroth Memorial Award. Amnesty International USA has supported intellectual freedom for 52 years. “Of special recognition is Amnesty International’s approach to Banned Books Week, said Immroth Award Chair Charles Kratz. [...]
April 2, 2013
Planning for Choose Privacy Week? Free April 9 Webinar Offers Ideas for Programming and Outreach
Are you preparing for Choose Privacy Week? Join ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and librarians across the country next week for a free webinar to discuss how your library can observe Choose Privacy Week, ALA’s annual education and awareness campaign that invites library users into a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital [...]
February 26, 2013
Free webinar on self-service holds March 19!
Is your library considering a move to self-service holds (also known as open-shelf holds)? Such systems have enabled many libraries to successfully continue user hold services despite staff cuts and budget reductions. But some of these systems may compromise privacy and confidentiality by linking personally identifiable information with the specific materials on hold. Such practices [...]
January 16, 2013
Sweater Vest Sunday Q&A
By popular demand, below are the answers to all of your Sweater Vest Sunday questions – including the burning question, “Why sweater vests???” Q. What exactly is the point of Sweater Vest Sunday? To raise awareness – specifically among librarians, library workers, library trustees & Friends, and library supporters– about the importance of reporting challenges [...]
October 30, 2012
Glass to Make The Case for Controversial Literature at Chicago Humanities Fest
Loren Glass, University of Iowa associate professor of 19th- and 20th-century American literature and cultural studies, will make “The Case for Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer“ at the Chicago Humanities Festival on Sunday, November 8, at 2:00 p.m. Glass will recount how Chicagoan Barney Rosset and his fledgling Grove Press led the charge in the 1960s against government [...]
October 4, 2012
Carmen Tafolla for the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out!
Happy day 5 of Banned Books Week! Today, we present Carmen Tafolla, Poet Laureate of San Antonio (TX) and the author of Curandera, a book of poetry banned in the Tucson (AZ) Unified School District in 2012. For more information on the Tucson situation, please read ALA’s Resolution Opposing Restriction of Access to Materials and [...]
October 3, 2012
Sara Paretsky for the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out!
Throughout Banned Books Week, we will continue to feature videos from both the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out and the 50 State Salute to Banned Books Week. Today we present Chicago writer, Sara Paretsky, best known for her V.I. Warshawski detective novels, who honors the life of Anne Frank by reading a poem written by Chilean [...]
October 2, 2012
Dori Hillestad Butler for the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out!
Throughout Banned Books Week, we will continue to feature videos from both the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out and the 50 State Salute to Banned Books Week. This morning, we present Dori Hillestad Butler, author of My Mom’s Having a Baby! A Kid’s Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, the fourth most frequently challenged book of 2011. Butler’s [...]
September 29, 2012
Timeline Entry for 2004: King & King
Banned Books Week 2012 begins tomorrow! We hope you will celebrate the freedom to read during the week to come by reading your favorite banned/challenged book. If you need ideas on what to read, check out the timeline of banned and challenged books. Today we feature the year 2004 and “King & King,” by Linda [...]
