OIF Blog

The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2007 Board of Trustees election, held in April. Six trustees were elected to two-year terms, beginning in June: Bernadine Abbott Hoduski, Therese Bigelow, Robert P. Doyle, John K. Horany, James G. Neal, and Judith Platt. Of these trustees, Bigelow, Neal, and Platt were re-elected; Abbott Hoduski, Doyle, and Horany are newly elected.

These trustees will join Francis J. Buckley (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Chris Finan (New York), Deborah Jacobs (Seattle, Wash.), Burton Joseph (Chicago), and Candace D. Morgan (Portland, Ore.) as elected board members. The American Library Association President (Loriene Roy), President Elect (James Rettig), Executive Director (Keith Michael Fiels), and Intellectual Freedom Committee Chair (Kenton Oliver) serve on the board in an ex-officio capacity, with vote. Judith Krug is the secretary of the board and executive director of the Foundation.

Biographical information on the election winners follows:

Bernadine Abbott Hoduski (Helena, Mont.) retired in 1997 after serving as professional librarian/staff member for the Joint Committee on Printing for nearly 25 years. Prior to joining the Joint Committee on Printing, she served as Head Librarian, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Kansas City, Mo., and as guest lecturer at Central Missouri State University and the University of Missouri, Kansas City, Library Schools. She was the founder of ALA’s Government Documents Round Table in 1972 and currently serves on the ALA Council.

Therese Bigelow (Kansas City, Mo.) is Associate Director of Strategic Planning & Community Development at the Kansas City, Mo., Public Library. She currently serves on the Marketing Public Libraries Committee of the Public Library Association and is an ALA Councilor.

Robert P. Doyle (Chicago) is Executive Director of the Illinois Library Association. From 1986–1996, Doyle was the director of ALA International Relations Office and the first director of the Library Fellows program, a joint program United States State Department and ALA. He has served as an ALA Councilor.

John K. Horany (Dallas) is an attorney in private practice. He was the ACLU’s cooperating attorney in the case Sund v. Wichita Falls, in which he won a ruling protecting public libraries from censorship. He serves on the faculty of ALA’s Lawyers for Libraries project.

James G. Neal (New York) is the Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University. He has served on the board of the Association of Research Libraries and the Executive Board of ALA.

Judith Platt (Washington, D.C.) is Director, Freedom to Read & Communications and Public Affairs, at the Association of American Publishers (AAP). As such, she is responsible for articulating AAP’s position on important free speech issues as laid down in the Freedom to Read Statement over 50 years ago.

The Freedom to Read Foundation was founded in 1969 to promote and defend the right of individuals to freely express ideas and to access information in libraries and elsewhere. FTRF fulfills its mission through the disbursement of grants to individuals and groups, primarily for the purpose of aiding them in litigation, and through direct participation in litigation dealing with freedom of speech and of the press.

Find out how (and why!) to join the Freedom to Read Foundation.

Tags: Freedom to Read Foundation by Jonathan Kelley
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If you’re coming to Annual Conference, you don’t want to miss these programs! So get them on your calendar now!

On Sunday, June 24, Theresa Chmara, Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) Counsel, Jenner & Block, Washington, D.C., will update librarians on the status of litigation and non-litigation projects recently undertaken or monitored by the FTRF. She also will provide practical information on how these court cases affect the daily operations of libraries. Cosponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) and FTRF, the program—”Status of Recent Litigation Affecting Libraries”—is from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., in the Renaissance Mayflower, Chinese Room.

On Monday morning, June 25, Sibel Edmonds, President, National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, will discuss being fired by the FBI in March 2002 for reporting shoddy work and security breaches that may have prevented the 9/11 attacks. She will explain firsthand how government secrecy can be abusive and why defending whistleblowing is a free speech issue. Cosponsored by the IFC and the Committee on Legislation, the program—”Paul Reveres or Benedict Arnolds?: Whistleblowing in the Post 9/11 Age”—is from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Washington Convention Center, Room 144A-C.

On Monday afternoon, June 25, the Hon. Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and author of “Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency,” and Geoffrey Stone, Harry Kalven, Jr. Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago, and author of “Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from The Sedition Act of 1798 to The War on Terrorism,” will discuss whether anything justifies giving up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety. In other words, they will examine whether our Constitution should be “bent” in times of war or other crises. A question-and-answer session follows their discussion. Cosponsored by the IFC, Association of American Publishers Freedom to Read Committee, and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, this program—Essential Liberty or National Security: Is It Really Necessary to Give Up the One for the Other?—is from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Washington Convention Center, Room 206.

Additional program information can be found at Select Intellectual Freedom Programs at the ALA Annual Conference.

Tags: Office for Intellectual Freedom by Don Wood
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“And Tango Makes Three” tops ALA’s 2006 list of most challenged books

Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s award-winning “And Tango Makes Three,” about two male penguins parenting an egg from a mixed-sex penguin couple, tops the list of most challenged books in 2006, due to the issues of homosexuality.

The list also features two books by author Toni Morrison. “The Bluest Eye” and “Beloved” are on the list due to sexual content and offensive language.

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received a total of 546 challenges last year. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. Public libraries, schools and school libraries report the majority of challenges to OIF.

“The number of challenges reflects only incidents reported,” said Judith F. Krug, director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. “For each reported challenge, four or five likely remain unreported.”

The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2006″ reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

“And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;

“Gossip Girls” series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;

“Alice” series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;

“The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things” by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;

“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;

“Scary Stories” series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity;

“Athletic Shorts” by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language;

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;

“Beloved” by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group;

“The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.

Off the list this year, but on for several years past, are the “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain.

A top-10 list of most challenged books is published each year as part of the celebration of the freedom to read, Banned Books Week. This year’s celebration begins on September 29 and runs through October 6.

Listen to our podcasts on Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials and Chris Crutcher, who talked about censorship and other issues at a fundraiser for the Freedom to Read Foundation in Seattle.

For more information on book challenges and censorship, please visit Challenged and Banned Books. For help with challenges, visit Support for Dealing with or Reporting Challenges to Library Materials. For ideas on how to celebrate Banned Books Week, visit Action Guide, Suggested Activities.

Tags: Banned Books Week by Don Wood
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In certain respects, there is nothing remarkable about the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund. It’s a resource, by librarians, for librarians who face problems in their jobs due to discrimination or because they took a stance in defense of intellectual freedom. Founded in 1970, it has helped many librarians pay their bills in times of need.

What is remarkable, however, is that even today, a good number of ALA members and other library types are unfamiliar with this precious resource. Perhaps even more remarkable is how much good the Merritt Fund has been able to do with relatively little money.

If you haven’t done so, please take some time to learn more about the Merritt Fund, it’s 37-year history, the man after whom it was named, and how it has been a lifeline to librarians in need.

If you or someone you know has need for assistance from the Merritt Fund, please have them apply.

And if you would like to help build the Merritt Fund into a greater resource, to be able to provide more assistance to more librarians in need, please consider donating. Every $10, $25, $50, and $100 donation helps strengthen the Fund. By doing so, you will be supporting ALA’s goals of protecting intellectual freedom and promoting diversity in librarianship. (Although the Merritt Fund is not officially an ALA fund, ALA does provide logistical help in administering it.)

“How can I donate?” you ask. The Merritt Fund is proud to announce the ability to accept credit card donations online. Just filll out the secure donor form and use your Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover Card. You can also donate by sending a check payable to LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund to 50 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611.

Tags: LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund by Jonathan Kelley
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