OIF Blog

We’re pleased to pass along this information about the ALSC Intellectual Freedom Preconference at ALA’s Annual Conference this summer! For more information, visit the ALSC event page.

Meeting the Challenge: Practical Tips and Inspiring Tales on Intellectual Freedom

2009 ALSC Preconference

Friday July 10, 2009 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Chicago, IL

Designed to shine light on intellectual freedom issues facing librarians today, this preconferece will discuss the right to read as an essential facet of library service to youth.  The day will involve practical and pragmatic advice for responding to challenges, debating with the media and dealing with legal issues.  Author Judy Blume will conclude the day offering strategies for addressing complaints, and stories to strengthen resolve.  Other librarians and intellectual freedom advocates who will be speaking include: Carolyn Caywood, bayside & special service librarian, Virginia Beach Public Library; Carrie Gardner, asst. professor, Kutztown University; John Horany, attorney in the Wichita Falls (Texas) book removal case, Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor Award recipient and Board of Trustees member; James LaRue, director, Douglas County Libraries.
Continental breakfast and lunch included.

Tickets
Advance (ends 5/22): ALA Member $240; ALSC Member $190; Non-Member $285; Student $180
Onsite (5/22 through day of program): ALA Member $300; ALSC Member $300; Non-member $300; Student $300

Register Now!

Tags: Uncategorized by Angela Maycock
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Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) has opened applications for the 2009 Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship, which will enable a library school student or new professional to attend ALA’s 2009 Annual Conference.

The scholarship’s goal is to advance two principles that Conable held dear: intellectual freedom and mentorship. The 2009 ALA Annual Conference will be held July 9–15 in Chicago.

It provides for conference registration, transportation, housing for six nights and six days per diem. In return, the recipient will be expected to attend various FTRF and other intellectual freedom meetings and programs at conference, consult with a mentor/board member and present a report about his or her experiences. The 2009 Conable Scholarship recipient also will attend the Freedom to Read Foundation’s 40th Anniversary Gala, scheduled for Sunday, July 12 at the new Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The deadline for submitting an application for the 2009 Conable Scholarship is Friday, March 20; the award will be announced in April.

Students currently enrolled in a library and information studies degree program and new professionals (those who have worked in librarianship for three years or less) are eligible to receive the Conable Scholarship. Those interested must submit an application that includes two references and an essay detailing their interest in intellectual freedom issues. Applicants also are asked to attach a résumé, particularly those who are working professionals. If the recipient is already registered for ALA’s Annual Conference, he or she will have the conference fee refunded.

To apply for the Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship, visit http://www.ftrf.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/oifprograms/ifawards/conablescholarship/Conablemain.cfm. For more information, please contact Jonathan Kelley at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4226 or jokelley@ala.org.

Gordon Conable was a California librarian and intellectual freedom champion who served several terms as president of the Freedom to Read Foundation. He was executive vice president for public libraries at Library Systems and Services (LSSI) in Riverside, Calif., and was responsible for management and performance of LSSI’s public library contracts, including the 30-branch Riverside County, Calif., system. He also served as director of the Monroe County (Mich.) Library System from 1988–1998. During his tenure there, he withstood an intense controversy over Madonna’s book “Sex.” Before that he was associate director of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library in Washington. For his efforts, Conable received the Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor Award and the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award for “intellectual freedom fighters.” In 1994 he was the first librarian recognized as Michigan’s Public Administrator of the Year.

Following his unexpected death in 2005, his wife and FTRF created the Conable Fund, which provides funding for the Conable Scholarship. To contribute to the Conable Fund, contact the Freedom to Read Foundation at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4226 or e-mail ftrf@ala.org.

The Freedom to Read Foundation, a sister organization of the American Library Association, 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.

Tags: Freedom to Read Foundation, Midwinter Meeting/Annual Conference, Office for Intellectual Freedom by Jonathan Kelley
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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:

• Attempts to remove material from library collections or shelves;
• Meeting rooms, display cases, literature distribution, and bulletin boards;
• Privacy and confidentiality of library user records, including what you need to know about the Patriot Act;
• Library computers, filtering, and 2.0 technologies; and
• Patron use and behavior policies.

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.

Tags: Censorship, Intellectual Freedom Issues, Interactive Web Applications, Privacy, Special Events by Jonathan Kelley
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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.

Tags: Censorship, Freedom to Read Foundation, Intellectual Freedom Issues, Intellectual Freedom Round Table by Deborah Caldwell-Stone
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