Intellectual Freedom News 10/05/2022
Given the volume of news, commentary, and updates addressing intellectual freedom and privacy issues in libraries across the United States and even internationally, we are experimenting with a twice-a-week publication schedule – moving to Wednesdays and Saturdays. Feedback on the new schedule can be sent to oif@ala.org.
Highlights
Censorship
- Furious debate over a book ban reignites in central Pa. school district | Penn Live
- ‘It’s not just LGBTQ themes’: Controversial book will remain on JCPS shelves following vote | WHAS11 (KY)
- School Superintendent Moves Questioned Library Books To Parental Opt-In ‘Restricted Section’ | NorthEscambria.com (FL)
- Books With LGBTQ+ Themes Under Review in Poway Unified School District | NBC7 San Diego (CA)
- OKLAHOMA WATCH: Book ban disputes roiled these Oklahoma communities. Here’s what happened | Daily Press (OK)
- Book ban efforts in Colorado see little success amid national uptick | Colorado Newsline (CO)
- Library board chair publicly bullies librarian over LGBTQ books | Los Angeles Blade (SC)
- Sullivan signs petition to decrease Jonesboro library funding | Arkansas Times (AR)
- ‘Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’: KC area schools now ban these books and more | Kansas City (MO)
- School board member says book that references BLM doesn’t belong in school library | Hendersonville Standard (TN)
- School board to review book banning process | WCNC (NC)
First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties
- With anti-LGBTQ laws proliferating, older activists say history is repeating itself | ABC News
- Newsom signs bill to police California doctors on COVID-19 misinformation | Mercury News
- The Onion and the Supreme Court. Not a parody | Associated Press
- Brief of The Onion as Amicus Curiae in Support of the Petitioner | Supreme Court of the United States
- Kim Davis may be sued for denying same-sex marriage licenses | MetroWeekly
Legislation
- What to know about a new Arizona law and how it could ban books in school libraries | Arizona Republic
Access
- Ballot referendum seeks to cut Norwin Public Library’s funding | CBS Pittsburgh (PA)
- Senator speaks out after signing petition to cut library funding | KAIT (AR)
Academic Freedom
- San Diego Mesa College violates academic freedom, investigates professor for essay example associating GOP with fascism | FIRE
- Abortion info fight targets UI, but affects far more | Lewiston Tribune (ID)
- The Review: Florida’s Totalitarian Academic-Freedom Crackdown | Chronicle of Higher Education
- Professorial Speech, the First Amendment, and the ‘Anti-CRT’ Laws | SSRN
- Limiting academics’ freedom to tell the truth about racism is not new | Washington Post
Social Media
- The Supreme Court takes on Section 230 | TechCrunch
Information Literacy & Disinformation
- They legitimized the myth of a stolen election–and reaped the rewards | New York Times
- Manufacturing consensus and the democratization of propaganda and disinformation | Texas Public Radio
- Right-wing disinformation ramps up on WeChat ahead of midterms, report finds | NBC News
International
Around the Web
- Banned in the USA: The growing movement to censor books in schools | Brooklyn Daily Eagle
- Efforts to ban books are working, but why? | The Statesman
- Local youth support banned book authors with library initiative | Lake Oswego Review
- With ties to hate groups, #ParentsUniteRI offers slate of conservative extremists for local office | UpriseRI
- Censoring race and racism lessons defies best practice and may be unlawful, report argues | Education Week
- Libraries feel attacked — but not like the ‘freedom libraries’ of 1964 | Washington Post
- Lawmakers Confront a Rise in Threats and Intimidation, and Fear Worse | New York Times
- Jonathan Zimmerman: One way of stemming the tide of book bans? Allow for compromise. | Chicago Tribune
- Commentary: I’ve seen how reading banned books can enrich kids’ education | Los Angeles Times
- Nikole Hannah-Jones on history, book bans, CRT, disrespect for teachers | SmartBrief
- Reading banned books can enrich kids’ education | Telegraph
ALA News
- American Library Association welcomes newly reinstated President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities
- Core Seeks Library Building Awards Jurors
- Core Classroom: Fundamentals of Hiring
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