Intellectual Freedom News 1/14/2022
Highlights
- Freedom to Read Foundation seeks nominations for Board of Trustees
- Athlete, activist, philanthropist, and author Colin Kaepernick to close LibLearnX
Censorship
- ‘Gender Queer’ back in Wake County Public Libraries as revisions being made to book removal process | CBS17
- Iowa legislative preview: Iowa lawmakers likely to look at school library book selection process this session | Quad City Times
- Reynolds’ new school rules | Daily Iowan
- ACLU Indiana on Critical Race Theory bill, other legislative issues | 95.3 MNC
- Indiana lawmakers get pushback on partisan school board bill | Indianapolis Business Journal
- Missouri lawmakers debate critical race theory, allowing parents to censor materials | Newsweek
- Kemp endorses restoring education budget, teacher raises, anti-CRT legislation | 11 Alive (GA)
- Kentucky Republicans ignore people’s needs, push anti-critical race theory bills instead | People’s World
- By pulling library books, NEISD danced to the tune of a demagogue | San Antonio Express News
- Tennessee prison rejects book donations because ‘Malcolm X not allowed’ | Vice
- Opinion: Prison systems insist on banning books by Black authors. It’s time to end the censorship. | Washington Post
- Board votes to remove book from high school library | Siloam Springs Herald Leader (AR)
- Texas employee course removed after GOP governor candidate alleged critical race theory | Dallas Morning News
- A Texas charter school had to remove an anti-racist quote from its website before it could open | Texas Tribune
- Black authors censored as anti-CRT rage sweeps through school districts | NBC News
- Revised anti-CRT policy for schools contains similarities to vetoed bill | Reflector (NC)
- Movement would ban LGBTQ books, online materials from Georgia school libraries | Denver Gazette
- Florida school bans teaching CRT, gender fluidity, and ‘mainstream narrative surrounding COVID’ | New York Post
- Threats from Gov. Abbott among reasons why Keller ISD keeps book challenges secretive | NBC Dallas Fort Worth
- Pennridge to vote on one textbook; further review on other one. | Reporter Online (PA)
- Don’t discuss the Jan. 6 insurrection with students, a Bucks school district tells teachers | WHYY (Pennridge, PA)
- Amid talk of banning books, NCSD student observes: ‘The world is not censored or protected’ | Oil City News (WY)
- Racial concerns prompt Mukilteo to consider removing classic novel from required reading list | KING5 (WA)
- Librarians harassed in El Paso, TX; ‘Heather Has Two Mommies’ back in the spotlight–Censorship roundup | School Library Journal
- Natrona School Board meeting sees a variety of voices on banning books | K2 Radio (WY)
- Concerned parents, citizens speak out on Greenville book-ban request [paywalled] | Daily News (MI)
- Parents protest Farmington High school board meeting over CRT, 21-day equity challenge | Center Square (MI)
- Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to let parents sue schools that teach critical race theory | Business Insider
- Hate group marches from Maine to New Hampshire to protest a drag queen performing in empty theater | LGBTQ Nation
- Bristow Public Schools returning some books to shelves after internal review: 47 books were part of the review | KJRH (OK)
- Noon Wednesday: Prohibiting race discussions in schools | PBS Wisconsin
- It’s Perfectly Normal and In the Night Kitchen removed from Llano County Library in Texas | National Coalition Against Censorship
- Monett High School removes social justice book ‘Dear Martin’ after parent complaints | Springfield News-Leader
- Northridge parent group raises concern about books | Goshen News (IN)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Four more consumer data privacy bills introduced in US | JD Supra
- Parents suing Facebook allege it profited from kids’ biometric data | BioimetricUpdate.com
- Federal law enforcement keeps signing new facial recognition contracts | FindBiometrics
- The year in privacy — 2021 popular reads on JD Supra | JD Supra
More privacy news is available at the Voices for Privacy blog.
First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties
- How book bans in Texas schools could be a violation of students’ First Amendment rights | Houston Chronicle
- New York Times ruling raises serious First Amendment concerns | New Jersey Law Journal
- One year later, our democracy is still in crisis: Voter suppression is rearing its head at every turn | ACLU
- Whole Foods says its First Amendment rights will be violated if it’s forced to allow employees to wear Black Lives Matter insignia | Yahoo! News
- The First Amendment may not help Jan. 6 defendants as much as they think it will | Washington Post
- Republican leadership bars journalists from Iowa Senate floor, worrying press advocates | Washington Post
- Ending nation’s polarization begins with understanding First Amendment | The Hill
- Redistricting: Ohio Supreme Court strikes down state House and Senate maps | Columbus Dispatch
Academic Freedom & Campus Speech
- Regis Jesuit High School fires teachers after pro-choice column runs in student magazine | Sentinel Colorado
- When professors offend students: Classroom norms are changing. Where’s the line, and who decides? | Chronicle of Higher Education
- Law prof’s remarks about ‘Asian elite’ put her back at center of controversy | ABA Journal
- Crisis in the classroom: Gay high school senior censored by school publication | CNY Central (NY)
Access
- Visually challenged students will have access to user-friendly durable Braille maps using advanced technology | IBG News
- Castor, Schakowsky seek information on children’s online safety program | The Hill
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- Roger Timmerman: If you’re unhappy with your internet service, you’ll want Gigi Sohn on the FCC | Salt Lake Tribune
Social Media
- Facebook may not like conservatives but the social media giant sure seems to help them | USA Today
- Are censorship algorithms changing TikTok’s culture? | OneZero
Journalism & Media
- Trust in America: Do Americans trust the news media? | Pew Research Center
Information Literacy & Disinformation
- Hillicon Valley — Domestic extremists adapt online strategies | The Hill
- Messenger: Beer Hall Project aims to counter Jan. 6 disinformation, protect American democracy | St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Fact-checkers urge YouTube to fight disinformation | Channel News Asia
International News
- Hong Kong’s free press is being ‘gutted.’ Here’s what the world loses | KAKE
- Ban of Red Lines book was not due to political content but religiously offensive images | Today Online (Singapore)
- Sanctions and censorship are making the Internet in Iran less accessible, analysts say | Washington Post
Around the Web
- How building social infrastructure can fight polarization, improve civic discourse [podcast] | WBUR
- This major African-American filmmaker went to war with Virginia’s racist censorship board | Northern Virginia Magazine
- Freedom Libraries and the Fight for Library Equity | JSTOR Daily
- A rural Washington school board race shows how far-right extremists are shifting to local power | Washington Post
- Librarians decry GOP moves to ban books in schools | PEW Charitable Trusts
- A lawmaker in Indiana walked back comments saying teachers should be ‘impartial’ when teaching students about Nazism | Yahoo! News
- A proposed Texas charter school promised to be antiracist. Then it got caught up in the critical race theory fight. | Chalkbeat
- ‘Our job is to present the truth’: The Texas principal caught in a ‘critical race theory’ firestorm | Guardian
- 2022 legislative session largely driven by DeSantis agenda | The Hour (FL)
- School board’s Woolbright objects to citing ‘hate groups’ in statement denouncing hate, and blames ‘all groups’ | Flagler Live (FL)
- Republicans seek to spotlight politics of schools in Georgia | AP
- Ongoing backlash against CRT ignores Black children’s experience of racism | Truthout
- Moms for Liberty, critical race theory opponents, wade into COVID school closures fight | Newsweek
- Crisis in the classroom: Oklahoma educators respond to CRT ban | OKC FOX
- I am a school board member. Anti-CRT bills are stoking fear in our district. | Chalkbeat
- Does CRT make White students feel bad? Try being a Black student | Kansas Reflector
- ‘It’s time for museums to take critical race theory seriously’ | Art Newspaper
- ‘Important to take a stand’: Drag story hour at Seacoast Rep plays to full house. Neo-Nazis don’t return as threatened. | Seacoast Online
- Critical race theory fight made libraries a free speech battleground | Newsy
- Author of book banned from Washington County school libraries speaks out | KUTV
- Spotsylvania school board appoints chair who backed burning books, fires superintendent | NBC News4 Washington
- Spotsylvania school board schedules emergency meeting on interim superintendent | Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
- New school board president calls for burning LGBTQ+ books | Yahoo! News
- Opinion: No school or public library should have the right to ban certain books from readers | Technician
- ‘Breaking the silence’: MLK Day even spotlights Central York book ban protesters | York Dispatch
- Christopher Paul Curtis: “Keep Fighting” — The Newbery at 100 | School Library Journal
ALA News
- Athlete, activist, philanthropist, and author Colin Kaepernick to close LibLearnX
- 10 winners receive prestigious I Love My Librarian Award for outstanding public service
- At ALA’s LibLearnX: A focus on the pioneering work from Texas library leaders
- PLA extends member Early Bird registration rate for 2022 Conference
- PLA announces keynote speakers for 2022 conference, March 23-25
Awards & Grant
- Showcase Your Best Marketing Pieces by Applying for the Core PR Xchange Awards
- Submit a Nomination for the Core/OCLC Margaret Mann Citation for Cataloging and Classification
- San Francisco Public Library awarded $2 million to expand services for incarcerated individuals
- SustainRT calls for Citation for Wellness in the Workplace nominations
- LRRT seeking submissions for the 2022 Jesse H. Shera Awards
eLearning
Publishing
- Beyond basic skills in information literacy instruction
- School Library Collection Policies Analyzed in New Research
- Learn Best Practices for Academic Interviews with New Core Report
- New from ACRL – “How to Be a Peer Research Consultant”
- Metaliteracy in a connected world
- Teaching research data management
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