Intellectual Freedom News – 02/16/18
February 16, 2018 – Collated by OIF Staff and News Editors
Intellectual Freedom Highlights
- Protecting Your Pages with Policy: Office for Intellectual Freedom debuts new toolkit | American Libraries;
- Community-centric Advocacy: A recap of the Advocacy and Intellectual Freedom Bootcamp | American Libraries; “While the bootcamp primarily focused on library advocacy, the presenters also argued for placing intellectual freedom at the center of the library brand. Intellectual freedom has been a core value of librarianship since the Library Bill of Rights was adopted in 1939. Battles over censorship of library materials often place librarians in the community spotlight, which can be an opportunity to demonstrate the value of librarians as trusted experts on intellectual freedom issues and a building block of democracy in their communities.”
- Are Libraries Neutral? President’s Program tackles heavy subject from multiple angles | American Libraries; “LaRue began by stating, “Neutrality does not mean librarians have no values—we do.”
- Incombustible ideas: The subtle bigotry of book banning | The Nerdy Book Club blog
Censorship
- Beaverton School District bans book from middle schools | KATU News (Oregon); ‘Stick’; “A popular young-adult novel is now banned from Beaverton School District middle schools and is only allowed in junior and senior high-school classrooms. Deputy Superintendent Steve Phillips made the decision at the end of a formal review process initiated by a parent and student with concerns about the book “Stick,” by Andrew Smith. The district said it was due to vulgar language.”
- Student journalists in Missouri would be shielded from censorship under proposal | St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Publisher files censorship suit against Illinois Dept. of Corrections | CBS Chicago
- Committee votes to keep ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in class curriculum | WISC-TV (Wis.)
- CHS book could be removed | Cody Enterprise (WY); ‘A Bad Boy Can be Good for a Girl’
- Parents upset over racy magazines in Las Vegas public libraries | 13 Action News
- Law center names local man for opposition to LGBT display | TDT News
- ‘P is for Palestine’: A NY bookstore and a synagogue | OIF Blog
- Journalist uncovers censorship attempts in Missouri schools and libraries | CBLDF
- NY backs down on “draconian” censorship of prisoners’ right to read | OIF Blog
- Be wary of “self-censorship” | OIF Blog; “Conservatives who decry the evils of political correctness often attack it for demanding self-censorship. Progressives argue that they’re just asking for civil discourse, not enforcing self-censorship. So, who’s right?”
Privacy
- The Future of Data Privacy: How two new European laws will help US libraries | American Libraries
- It’s time to stand up to Facebook, Google and the NSA and take back our data | Newsweek
- Supreme Court fight to stir up fears of US spying overseas | Yahoo Finance
- African-Americans, surveillance, and the Freedom of Information Act | OIF Blog
See this week’s additional privacy news and updates on the Choose Privacy Week blog.
Net Neutrality and Broadband Access
- House Dems seek net neutrality docket answers | Multichannel
- Internet Association calls for undoing net neutrality repeal | Android Headlines
- America needs more fiber | Wired
- SHLB releases new fiber cost estimate and a strategy to connect rural communities | SHLB News
- Ajit Pai faces investigation into moves that benefit Sinclair Broadcasting | Ars Technica
- While states try to implement strong ‘net neutrality’ regulations, the real power lies in the courts | Inside Sources
Access
- Imagining a fine-free future | American Libraries; “Sarah Houghton, director of San Rafael (Calif.) Public Library, said fines get in the way of a library’s mission to serve the entire community, regardless of socio-economic standing. Barriers exist for some populations to pay fines, and by enforcing them, libraries are subverting their core values.”
- Legal Issues; PLA-sponsored forum surfaced contentious constitution situations in public libraries | American Libraries; Tomas Lipinski, dean of the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, moderates the “Legal Issues in Public Libraries Forum” at the American Library Association’s 2018 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Denver.
Free Press, Social Media, and Fake News
- Inside the two years that shook Facebook and the world | Wired
- Instagram gives in to Russian censorship demands | Cnet
- New session—Fake News, Real Concerns: Developing Information Literate Students Workshop | ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions
Academic Freedom and Campus Speech
- White nationalist’s planned Cincinnati campus visit off | The New York Times
- Princeton professor who used slur cancels free speech course | The New York Times
- Political artists excluded from faculty show at Polk State College | NCAC
- UCLA Republicans cancel Milo Yiannopoulos ’10 Things I Hate About Mexico’ speech | The Washington Times
First Amendment and Free Speech
- ‘Free speech absolutism’ is the 1A debate du jour | OIF Blog
- Opinion: Trump wants British libel laws. America does not | The New York Times
- Indiana fails to restore student’s first amendment rights | CBLDF
- Podcast: The First Amendment and symbolic speech | The Newseum
Around the Web
- Contemporary book challenges: What you need to know today | Knowledge Quest
- Children’s book industry has its #metoo moment | The New York Times
- Board decides cat can’t stay in Michigan Public Library | US News & World Report
International Issues
- YouTube and Instagram face Russian bans | BBC News
- Azerbaijan: State’s theological review bans book on Islam | Forum 18
- Georgina Molloy Anglican School drops booklist censorship plans | News.com.au (Australia)
- High Court grants cartoonist Zunar leave for judicial review of book ban | The Sun (Malaysia)
- Ban it, bin it, close it: Lebanon and the growing climate of censorship | The Arab Weekly
- 25 books banned at the 24th International Book Fair in Casablanca | Morocco World News
ALA News
- ALA President issues statement on White House budget | American Libraries
- American Library Association announces 2018 youth media award winners
- New eCourse—Online Privacy & Security: Best Practices for Librarians. 5-week facilitated eCourse starting on Monday, March 12, 2018.
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2 comments
Associate Professor Christine Jenkins and Assistant Professor Emily Knox share their perspectives on intellectual freedom and censorship in the context of the library. They first discuss, “What motivates people to ban books?” Jenkins and Knox teach at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois.
Are Libraries Neutral? President’s Program tackles heavy subject from multiple angles | American Libraries; “LaRue began by stating, “Neutrality does not mean librarians have no values—we do.”