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

• How a Norman teacher’s actions called a state’s laws, literature and learning into question | McAlester News-Capitol (OK)

Censorship

• Banned Books’ display sparks new debate at TEAM meeting | Westport Journal (CT)
  • Banned book display at Westport school draws outrage from some parents | Patch (CT)
• Arlington library board may bar LGBTQ displays from youth sections as Pride Month debate continues | KERA (TX)
• Proposed policy lays out process for book challenges at Hempfield Area | Trib Live (PA)
• Local library explains policies on banned books | WICS (IL)
• Novel for next Big Read in Kenosha takes heat, but ‘Homegoing’ staying put | Kenosha News (WI)
• Committee to recommend retaining two challenged books in Conway School District library | Arkansas Times
• Conservative group files paperwork to defund Arkansas library after it showed LGBTQ pride display | Raw Story
  • Vote to decide future of Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library | NWA Times (AR)
• Proud Boys protest at Saturday’s Drag Queen Story Hour at Brookside Gardens | Bethesda Beat (MD)
• Dearborn Public Schools issue new library book review process | CBS News Detroit
  • Group of residents to speak on behalf of ‘vulnerable students,’ against banning books at school board meeting | Press & Guide (MI)
  • LGBTQ and faith communities struggle for unity in Dearborn, Hamtramck | Detroit Free Press
• Pl. Valley returns banned books | Times News (PA)
• Controversial book dominates public discussion | Courier-Gazette (ME)
• Parents object to book about sexuality in Spring Lake school library | WOOD-TV
• CCSD school board discusses policy on reconsideration of library books | Caroll Times Herald (IA)

Privacy & Cybersecurity

• US schools increasingly turn to facial recognition in search of safety | Biometric Update
• How to protect yourself if your school uses surveillance tech | WIRED
• Chelsea Manning: ‘I’m still bound to secrecy’ | New York Times
• Online Privacy for Nonprofits: A Guide to Better Practices | Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Undercover at the library: spies, reference desks, and the invention of privacy | Syllabus Project
• President Biden Signs Executive Order Implementing EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework to Facilitate Cross-Border Data Transfers | Data Law Insights

First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties

• An anti-LGBTQ group threatened to sue writers for defamation. The ACLU is standing up for them | LGBTQIA Nation
• Judge will decide if White teacher’s lawsuit would violate First Amendment rights of Evanston schools to discuss race | Cook County Record

Legislation

• Tribal nations demand repeal of Oklahoma’s anti-CRT law | Bloomberg
• Viewpoint: Hazy legislation is forcing Montana’s schools toward censorship | Missoula Current
• PA could pass law to stem book-banning tide | Patch

Academic Freedom & Campus Speech

• The right-wing attempt to control higher ed | Chronicle of Higher Education

Social Media

• A new Supreme Court case could fundamentally change the internet | Vox
• How social media ‘censorship’ became a front line in the culture war | Washington Post

Information Literacy & Disinformation

• Gannett now publishing Dan Proft’s faux newspapers | Crain’s Chicago Business
• Democracy on the ballot–How many election deniers are on the ballot in November and what is their likelihood of success? | Brookings

International

• How Chinese citizens use puns to get past internet censors | Rest of World

Around the Web

• Billie Jean King Library transitions to to-go service over security concerns | CBS News
• Matter of safety or invasion of privacy? How new policy on cameras plays out in LCS schools | Tallahassee Democrat
• Durr: Book bans wage war against English educators as legislation tightens | Standard
• Should you care if your teen wants to read a banned book | Evolve Treatment Centers
• Defunding a library is a symptom of blind populism | News-Herald
• A free listening service from the New Orleans library is spotlighting local musicians | NPR
• Paso school board candidates address critical race theory, LGBTQ-plus issues | New Times
• Former Boundary County Library director details what led up to her resignation, dangers of censorship | KREM
• University of Texas at Arlington creates LGBT ‘Rainbow Lounge’ in school library | Texan

ALA News

• Longlist for 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction announced
• ALA/American Anthropological Association Invite Public Libraries to Host Traveling Exhibition “World on the Move: 250,000 Years of Human Migration”
• AASL opens call for 2023 national conference programming proposals
• PLA seeks responses to 2022 Public Library Services for Strong Communities Survey
• Deadline approaching for Carnegie-Whitney Grant applications
• Core Webinar: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategies in Metadata and Cataloging: An Exploration of Strategies and Discussions

Subscribe to future issues of Intellectual Freedom News, a free weekly compilation of news delivered to your inbox by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, including

• current book challenges in libraries and schools
• articles about privacy, internet filtering and censorship
• ALA activities, conferences and institutes, products, online learning opportunities, awards and grants, international exchanges, and more
• how to get involved and make the most of what ALA offers