Intellectual Freedom 3/27/20
Highlights
- ALA cancels Annual Conference due to COVID-19
- ALA recommends libraries leave WiFi open during closures while continuing to follow any applicable local, state and federal health and safety guidelines
- Henry Reichman Receives IFRT Oboler Memorial Award
- ALA welcomes LinkedIn Learning ‘s new terms of service
Library Services & COVID-19 Resources
- Pandemic Preparedness: Resources for Libraries | American Library Association
- Staying open during COVID-19 | American Libraries
- Delivering impact with digital resources
- ASGCLA COVID-19 resources
- United for Libraries opens online discussion forums to non-members to help provide COVID-19 resources
- Covid-19’s Impact on Libraries Goes Beyond Books | Wired
- School Libraries
- Pubic libraries
- Public Libraries Respond to COVID-19: Survey of Response & Activities | Public Library Association
- Coronavirus continues to spread, but a handful of Louisiana public libraries remain open | The Advocate
- LJ Survey: U.S. Public Libraries Mostly Closed, But No Consensus on Who Works and Where | Library Journal
Censorship
- The right’s new target: LGBTQ children | Slate
- Unconstitutional efforts to ban Drag Queen Story Hour | NCAC Blogging Censorship
Privacy and Cybersecurity
- Privacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Choose Privacy Everyday
- Green-Dots Mean Go, Part Two: An Interview with Kate Klise, Author of Don’t Check Out This Book! | Intellectual Freedom Blog
- Senators urge Trump administration to protect student data in rush to online schooling | Washington Post
- What are the rules wrapping privacy during COVID-19? | TechCrunch
- Government efforts to track virus through phone location data complicated by privacy concerns | Washington Post
- Global pandemic incites concerns about data-sharing overreach | IAPP
- Washington State Passes Bill Limiting Government Use of Facial Recognition | Inside Privacy
Additional privacy posts, news, and updates are available at the Choose Privacy Every Day blog.
Access
- Public access to information suffers under coronavirus | Columbia Journalism Review
- Some California cities suspend public records requests because of coronavirus | Los Angeles Times
- Free Online Books for Elementary Students | Knowledge Quest
- Inside Khan Academy’s Emergency Plan To Educate America’s Stay-At-Home Kids | Forbes
- Austin company gives away kids books at AISD meal pickup spots | KXAN (TX)
- You can now access 1.4 Million books for free thanks to the Internet Archive | Vice
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- With Schools Closed, Library Parking Lots Are Some Families’ Only Place For Internet | Wisconsin Public Radio
- While Schools Are Closed, Illinois District Uses Buses As Wi-Fi Hotspots | Illinois Public Media
- Libraries Want to Turn Bookmobiles Into Free WiFi Trucks During Coronavirus Lockdown | Vice
- FCC: Closed Schools, Libraries Can Still Get E-Rate Funding | Multichannel News
- COVID-19 Relief: Schools Can Accept Gifts from E-Rate Service Providers for Limited Time | JD Supra
- Students, Schools Navigate the Inequity of the Digital Divide | Center for Digital Education
- She’s 10, Homeless and Eager to Learn. But She Has No Internet. | New York Times
- US students are being asked to work remotely. But 22% of homes don’t have internet | The Guardian
- As classes move online during COVID-19, what are disconnected students to do? | Brookings
- Here’s What Schools Can Do For the Millions of Students Without Internet Access | EdSurge
- Schools are shutting down for the year—here’s how the FCC can get kids online now | Daily Dot
- Coronavirus Bill Buttresses Rural Broadband Buildout Funding | Broadcasting Cable
- The FCC should let itself do more to keep Americans connected through the pandemic | The Verge
- Go Ahead, Stream All You Want. The Internet Is Fine—for Now | Wired
- With Our New ‘Work From Home’ Life, Could You Say The Internet Is A Luxury? | Forbes
- Surging Traffic is Slowing down Our Internet | New York Times
Copyright
- Copyright implications in the COVID-19 world | Knowledge Quest
- Supreme Court rules states are immune from copyright law | Ars Technica
Academic Freedom & Campus Speech
- A Side Effect of Remote Teaching During Covid-19? Videos That Can Be Weaponized | Chronicle of Higher Education
- ‘Zoombombing’ attacks disrupt classes | Inside Higher Ed
Fake News, Free Press, Social Media
- Youth and Digital Citizenship+ (Plus) | Berkman Klein Center
- How One Particular Coronavirus Myth Went Viral | Wired
- Americans who primarily get news through social media are least likely to follow COVID-19 coverage, most likely to report seeing made-up news | Journalism
- Coronavirus misinformation makes neutrality a distant memory for tech companies | NBC News
- Twitter Blocks The Federalist for Promoting Coronavirus Parties | New York Times
- How China Built a Twitter Propaganda Machine Then Let It Loose on Coronavirus | ProPublica
- OK, Fine, Let’s All Get Back on Facebook | Wall Street Journal “All it took was a pandemic to make Facebook’s privacy-challenged products seem highly appealing”
First Amendment & Free Speech
- Supreme Court last chance for Trump to block Twitter critics | Associated Press
- Trump cannot block critics on Twitter, federal court affirms in ruling | Washington Post
Around the Web
- Advocating for our patrons | Intellectual Freedom Blog
- Libraries Promoting Reflective Dialogue in a Time of Political Polarization: A Conversation with the Editors | Intellectual Freedom Blog
- DC Launches DC Kids Camp with Videos and Activities from Minh Lê, Gene Luen Yang, Shannon Hale, and More | School Library Journal
- Food Safety and Coronavirus: A Comprehensive Guide| Serious Eats
International Issues
- Trudeau leaves door open to using smartphone data to track Canadians’ compliance with pandemic rules | CBC
- The UK could slow the spread of coronavirus using your phone | Wired UK
- South Africa enacts regulations criminalizing ‘disinformation’ on coronavirus outbreak | Committee to Protect Journalists
- Commission tells carriers to hand over mobile data in coronavirus fight | Politico
- Apple Pulls Keyboard App Used to Bypass Coronavirus Censorship in China | PC World
- Quarantine Press Pass Amounts to Censorship, Philippine Journalists Say | Voice of America
- China’s media censorship could have cost thousands of lives by preventing early coronavirus warning, journalism watchdog argues | Newsweek
ALA News
- ALA announces 2020 Policy Corps members
- ALSC and ACM accepting applications for Forum on Service to Immigrants/Refugees; due March 31
- LLAMA webinar explores how to respond to a new generation of public relations challenges; April 1
- ALA calls for 2020 L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award nominations; due April 1
- ALA seeks proposals for 2020 Diversity Research Grants; due April 15
- Learn how to build your own digital scholarship/humanities curriculum with this LITA webinar; April 22
- K-8 libraries invited to apply for $5,000 award recognizing outstanding programming; due May 4
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