Intellectual Freedom News 1/12/2024
Highlights
- In the Fight Against Book Bans, Retired Librarians Are Making a Difference | From the Editor | School Library Journal
- From Iowa to Florida, national lawsuits against local book bans begin to gain traction | Los Angeles Times
- PLA announces Dr. Joy Buolamwini as opening session speaker for 2024 conference | ALA
Censorship
- How a Drag Queen Event That Never Happened Forced a Library to Shut Down | New York Times (NY)
- Educators Fight Book Bans Through Their Union | NEA Today (IA)
- School district bans the dictionary to comply with Ron DeSantis’s book-ban law | LGBTQ Nation (FL)
- Plattsmouth school board member recalled over book removals | Omaha World-Herald (NE)
- New Laramie County Library System director shares thoughts on improving library, book ban controversy | Wyoming Tribune Eagle (WY)
- Laurel school board flags six books for review as book ban trend spikes nationwide | KTVQ (MT)
- Jacksonville groups rally to end book bans ahead of first Duval school board meeting of 2024 | WTLV (FL)
- What makes a book ‘sexually explicit’? Carroll County schools are about to decide | Baltimore Banner (MD)
- No more ‘sexually explicit’ books in Carroll County schools, new policy says | Baltimore Banner (MD)
- ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ proves prescient as it’s removed from Iowa schools | Des Moines Register (IA)
- ‘Don’t read these books’: Nashville author reacts to books being banned by Florida school system | WKRN (FL)
- Bookseller says it’s giving away books removed from Duval schools | JaxToday (FL)
- NCAC recommends policy improvements for a Wisconsin school district that received over 400 book challenges | NCAC (WI)
- Ketchikan library’s advisory board will vote on more book challenges in 2024 | KRBD (AK)
- 1,600+ Escambia school library books pulled for review, including dictionaries. See the list | Pensacola News Journal (FL)
- Florida school district removes dictionaries from libraries, citing law championed by DeSantis | Popular Information (FL)
- ACLU seeks more info on book bans from school districts | Wisconsin Examiner (WI)
- Library policy discussions continue at special meeting today | Coeur d’Alene Post Falls Press (ID)
- Indiana University Cancels Major Exhibition of Palestinian Artist | New York Times (IN)
- Book event disinvites queer author because his disability aid makes others “uncomfortable” | LGBTQ Nation (TX)
- TLA Statement Regarding Author Chuck Tingle | Texas Library Association (TX)
- Washoe library board meeting results in hourslong public comment | Sparks Tribune (NV)
- The great silencing: Censorship and the loss of women’s voices | Storm Like Times Pilot (IA)
- Rockingham County School Board Votes To ‘Temporarily Remove’ List Of 57 Books | Daily News-Record (VA)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- ACLU Urges Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Protect Right to Privacy in Internet Searches | ACLU (PA)
- China claims it cracked Apple’s AirDrop encryption to identify senders and monitor ‘inappropriate speech’ | Business Insider
- EFF Unveils Its New Street Level Surveillance Hub | EFF
- U.S. Privacy Landscape: 2023 and Beyond | Disruptive Competition Project
- New ways that law enforcement spies: push notifications | Cybernews
- Your employer is watching: How surveillance is undermining the future of work | Toronto Star
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- Federal lawsuit against Florida school district that banned books can move forward, judge rules | AP (FL)
- ACLU to Defend NRA Before Supreme Court, to Uphold Advocacy Groups’ Right to Free Speech | ACLU
- Appeals Court Finds DeSantis Violated Prosecutor’s First Amendment Rights | New York Times (FL)
- Panel of judges says a First Amendment challenge to Maryland’s digital ad tax should be considered | AP (MD)
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
- The Censors’ Next Target | Inside Higher Ed
- ‘Direct assault on academic freedom’: New bill would eliminate tenure for university and college professors | KETV (NE)
- Following Harvard, Penn presidential resignations, DEI will continue to be attacked, experts say | MassLive
- Harvard President’s Ouster Makes Visible the Rising Power of the Far Right | Truthout
- New laws fueling fear at college campuses, causing some faculty to leave state | San Antonio Report (TX)
Legislation
- Lawmakers consider plan to restrict book banning | Eagle-Tribune (MA)
- State bill would allow only educators to select school library materials | Spectrum News 1 (MA)
- In Florida, New School Laws Have an Unintended Consequence: Bureaucracy | New York Times (FL)
- Iowa House speaker hints at new law on “sexually explicit” books in schools | Bleeding Heartland (IA)
- State Sen. Elliott files bill to allow local authorities to remove library board members at will | 1819 News (AL)
- Moms for Liberty sends letter to lawmakers urging action on libraries | Alabama Political Reporter (AL)
- The Utah Board of Ed’s ‘educational equity’ rule is likely up for a repeal vote | KUER (UT)
- House, Senate Republicans file bills to ban minors under 16 from having social media accounts | CBS47 (FL)
- Yet another attempt to control libraries — it’s the opposite of freedom | Journal Gazette (IN)
- Report details ‘discriminatory censorship’ laws targeting schools and students | WYFI
- In Temecula, a fragile alliance wants to recall school board culture warriors | KNOCK LA (CA)
State & Local Governance
- Pleasant Valley Community School District School Board approves Children’s Internet Protection Act | KWQC (IA)
- Educators question Iowa’s new school book rules after court blocks enforcement | Ottumwa Courier (IA)
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- FCC Unveils Plans to Phase Out Affordable Connectivity Program | Broadband Breakfast
Social Media
- Supreme Court rejects decade-old Twitter First Amendment case | Verve
- Tech trade group sues Ohio over social media parental consent law | Ohio Capital Journal
Disinformation & Information Literacy
- How online misinformation exploits ‘information voids’ — and what to do about it | Nature
- AI-powered misinformation is the world’s biggest short-term threat, Davos report says | AP
- Elections and Disinformation Are Colliding Like Never Before in 2024 | New York Times
- The New Digital Dark Age | WIRED
- The new Jeffrey Epstein files have set off a fresh round of conspiracy theories | NPR
International
- Israeli group claims it’s using big tech back channels to censor “inflammatory’ wartime content | Intercept (Israel)
- ‘You can resist much more than it seems’ St. Petersburg librarians on Russia’s book bans and the ways they fight back | Meduza (Russia)
Around the Web
- SLJ Reviews Penguin Random House Banned Books Database | School Library Journal
- “Untold Story of Black Librarians” Documentary Shines Spotlight on Library Workers | Black News
- How a Conservative Christian College Got Mixed Up in the 2020 Election Plot | New York Times
- A Side Effect of Anti-CRT Campaigns? Reduced Trust in Local Schools | EducationWeek
- Oral arguments set for 1/10 on groundbreaking federal lawsuit challenging book bans in Florida | PEN America
- North Carolina’s Firestorm Books Offers Free Books Banned in Florida | Publishers Weekly
- Replacing Social Studies With STEM Is a Terrible Idea | Bucks County Free Beacon
- Reading is the reward: Bastrop ISD sees benefits after installing book vending machines in schools | KUT News
- Family-friendly drag queen faces hate and threats in hostile Florida | Washington Post
- As States Limit Black History Lessons, Philly Gets it Right, Researcher Says | 74
- Derefe Kimarley Chevannes: America seems intent on repeating its history of Black oppression with book bans | Chicago Tribune
- Our Opinion: Why we should be alarmed when police search classrooms for books | Berkshire Eagle
- Books for Young Readers Addressing Book Banning | Publishers Weekly
ALA News
- Revised Competencies for Cataloging & Metadata Professional Librarians
- Core Webinar – Best of Core Forum: Getting Our Money’s Worth with eBook Acquisitions
- ALA Store at ALA’s 2024 LibLearnX in Baltimore
- David Delmar Sentíes to keynote and Dr. Claudette McLinn to present call-to-action at the 25th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance and Sunrise Celebration
- Core Webinar – Best of Core Forum: Data Visualizations and Dashboards; Lessons Learned
- Dawn Shirk selected as 2024 AASL Emerging Leader
- Mia Gittlen selected as 2024 AASL Emerging Leader
- Core Webinar – Best of Core Forum: Creating an Inclusive Metadata Policy
- Building representative community archives
- AASL Collaborate Project selected for ALA Emerging Leader Work
- Library of Congress and ALA announce new educational series
- Virtual panel discussion on January 16 in recognition of National Day of Racial Healing 2024
- New from ACRL – “Unframing the Visual: Visual Literacy Pedagogy in Academic Libraries and Information Spaces”
- The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (PA) will host Rita Williams-Garcia on April 17 for the 2024 Children’s Literature Lecture
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