Category: General Interest
A Censored Science Book for Banned Books Week
Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species is the most commonly banned science book and is important in laying the foundation for evolutionary biology. Darwin’s widely accepted theory of natural selection is the key to understanding genetics, pathogens, and epidemiology – critically important topics as misconceptions about science influence politics and public health policy.
Restricted Reading: New Original Audio Series on Prison Censorship
Restricted Reading is a new original series of short personal audio narratives that examines access to information in prison and the right to intellectual freedom for the more than 2.2 million people incarcerated in America today.
Banned Books Week 2021 Events Across the Country
Banned Books Week is just around the corner (Sept. 26 – Oct. 2, 2021)! Here’s how some libraries, bookstores, and museums are celebrating!
Redlining Takes Digital Form: How Can Libraries Help?
Historically, redlining refers to the practice of banks using maps to withhold loans for certain areas, usually poor communities of people of color. Now redlining takes digital form as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) get to choose where to build their networks and what types of plans are available. In today’s society, a reliable internet connection is a necessity, often required for job applications, scheduling travel, connecting with others, online education, and more recently working remotely from home. Those without an affordable high speed internet plan are at a distinct disadvantage, and communities with limited ISP options will again face obstacles for growth. Poor communities, often people of color, are being denied options for reliable internet plans when compared to white communities in the same area.
How and Why Libraries Should Strive to Create Safe, Culturally Responsive Spaces
Although diversity and representation have long been core tenets of the library profession, recent research in racial trauma and lasting physical, psychological, and social effects reinforces the unique role of the librarian in serving youth communities.
15 Unforgettable Responses to the 2020 Banned Books List from Authors, Librarians, Readers
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom recently released the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020. Here are some reactions and responses from authors, librarians, and readers.
Library Workers Who Saved the Day from Censorship
Today is National Library Workers Day! Library workers are crucial in defending everyone’s right to access information. Here are five stories of amazing librarians who stood up against censorship.
An Invitation to Danger: Perspectives on Intellectual Freedom and Information War
The first task of information warfare is to recognize when you’re in one, because you might not be fighting the information war, but the information war is fighting you. This essay revisits the wartime writing of Archibald MacLeish, poet-warrior, playwright-propagandist, and Librarian of Congress from 1939 through 1944. It explores whether we’re experiencing an information war now, and how the library community can respond.
Apostasy!
The Republican Right humiliated and punished all but its true believers, in a purge that left it less responsive to a changing world, and undercut broad support. Is the Left repeating the play?
Intellectual Freedom News 7/27/20
Highlight Holding Space: A national conversation series with libraries Privacy and Cybersecurity Private ways to access books on sensitive subjects at Tiffin-Seneca Public Library | Advertiser-Tribune (OH) Building Anti-Surveillance Ed-Tech […]