Intellectual Freedom News 11/12/2021
Highlights
- SCASL’s Statement on censorship, the Freedom to Read, and in support of School Librarians; “The South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) upholds the First Amendment rights and Freedom to Read of all our citizens, including students in South Carolina schools. We strongly condemn any form of censorship or removal of books and materials from libraries without following established processes.”
- Book Challenges in Virginia/November 12, 2021; “As supporters of the intellectual freedom of all people – including students – we are surprised at the vitriol pointed at these titles by some members of your board. We are particularly concerned by the declaration by two of your members that books they disapprove of should be burned, according to The Free Lance-Star, a statement more in keeping with the 1940s than the 2020s.”
Censorship
- When the anti-CRT movement comes for collections — SLJ Summit | School Library Journal
- All 850 books Texas lawmaker Matt Krause wants to ban: an analysis | Book Riot
- Texas governor calls books ‘pornography’ in latest effort to remove LGBTQ titles from school libraries | CNN News
- It’s a matter of time before the Texas GOP tries to ban me. They want to silence queer writers. | NBC News
- Gov. Greg Abbott tells state agencies to develop standards to block books with “overtly sexual” content in schools | Texas Tribune
- Will Texas repeat a McCarthy-like investigation into what students read in schools? | Dallas Morning News
- ‘I was very surprised’ — Author on Texas lawmaker’s targeted school book list talks about growing controversy | KHOU 11
- Group of renowned Texas authors pens open letter to Abbott condemning banned book list | Texas Standard
- St. Louis school district weighs removing books with graphic images, language | FOX 2
- How a Pride Month display evolved into a battle over censorship at the library | KUAF
- Kenai Peninsula’s dual book challenges, embarrassing school board outbursts, and more censorship news this week: November 5, 2021 | Book Riot
- Author speaks out after ‘Gender Queer: A Memoir’ is banned from school libraries | GoPride
- Debate over explicit memoir becomes a focus of GOP gov races | AP
- Can parents have books banned from school libraries? Usually not | Journal Times
- Opinion: Michigan Legislature’s proposed Critical Race Theory law is outright censorship | Detroit Free Press
- Editorial: What are we afraid of? Banning books and talks about race in schools won’t erase reality | San Diego Union Tribune
- Opinion: Censorship is unlikely to have the desired effect | Des Moines Register
- Editorial: In America, we don’t ban ideas – we challenge them. Even in Texas. | Houston Chronicle
- Censorship is class war by other means | Spiked
- A ‘war on books’: Conservatives push for audits of school libraries | Los Angeles Times
- Sexually explicit book permanently removed from school library, others under review | CBS 12
- 2 students who helped reverse their high school’s book ban | NPR
- Goddard school district orders 29 books removed from circulation | KMUW NPR
- Conservatives fight to ban this Black, queer memoir state-by-state | Advocate
- Utah school district censors school library books | National Coalition Against Censorship
- Students strike back after books removed from school libraries in Kansas City Northland | Kansas City Star
- Kansas City, Missouri, district censors Fun Home and All Boys Aren’t Blue in school libraries | National Coalition Against Censorship
- [Jonesboro] Library board votes against changing book purchasing policy | KAIT 8
- Parents speak at Bristow Board of Education meeting on graphic reading material in schools | Sapulpa Times
- Book burning urged by Spotsylvania school board members | Patch
- ‘I think we should throw those books in a fire’: Movement builds on right to target books | The Washington Post
- We have moved swiftly on to the book-burning portion of the proceedings | Esquire
- Virginia school board members call for public book burning of gay books | LGBTQ Nation
- Conservatives Are Just Openly Endorsing Book Burning Now | Vanity Fair
- ‘Censored’: Some Parents in Spotsylvania Co. Oppose Decision to Pull Explicit Books | NBC 4
- Book banning and censorship locally, explained | NBC 29
- Parents and politicians vs. intellectual freedom: The danger of the new book-banning brigades | New York Daily News
- Why is a past attempt to ban ‘Beloved’ from a high school curriculum a political issue now? | Illinois News Bureau
- School board book bans on LGBTQ issues and race are hurting, not helping students | MSNBC
- School board member Jill Woolbright turns to Sheriff’s Office over ‘obscene’ book at schools | Palm Coast Observer
- Gov. McMaster calls for investigation after controversial book found in school | WLTX [South Carolina]
- Greenville County Schools reviewing books after McMaster calls for statewide investigation | Greenville News
- Parent files formal complaint about ‘vulgar’ book at Urbandale [Iowa] school | KCCI
- Books in school libraries remain a hot topic at Hamilton County School Board Thursday | News Channel 9 (TN)
- Kutztown meeting becomes heated over CRT, school library books | Mercury
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Whatever Happened to Reader Privacy? Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe | Utah Academic Library Consortium (Video)
- Inside Facebook’s decision to eliminate facial recognition — for now | The Washington Post
- GDPR provisions are coming to a privacy bill near you | JDSupra
More privacy news is available at the Voices for Privacy blog.
First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties
- Educational gag orders: Legislative restrictions on the freedom to read, learn, and teach | PEN America
- Bans on Critical Race Theory threaten free speech, advocacy group says | The New York Times
- Civil rights groups sue Tennessee for banning transgender athletes in school sports | Reuters
- In the University of Florida’s First Amendment controversy, voters’ health hangs in the balance | Forbes
- High court struggles with government secrets case | Minneapolis Star Tribune
- Covid-19 skeptics, publisher sue Sen. Elizabeth Warren | Publishers Weekly
- Supreme Court will decide whether innkeeper can sue border agent for First Amendment damages | ABA Journal
- In First Amendment challenge to city billboard rules, justices will be sign language interpreters | SCOTUS Blog
Copyright
- Embattled copyright lawyer suspended from practice in New York | Reuters
- US Copyright Office expands rights to repair software-enabled devices | JDSupra
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- Sen. Lindsey Graham: “I will do everything in my power” to block Biden FCC pick | ArsTechnica
- U.S. Senate panel to hold Nov 17 hearing on Biden FCC pick | Reuters
Academic Freedom & Campus Speech
- Tina Polsky, Yvonne Hinson seek to undo GOP-backed ‘viewpoint diversity’ law in higher ed | Florida Politics
- University of Florida professors allege school leaders violated First Amendment rights | The Wall Street Journal
Social Media
Journalism & Media
- Project Veritas and the line between journalism and political spying | The New York Times
Information Literacy & Disinformation
- Tech companies blasted for inaction on Spanish-language disinformation | NBC News
- The reason some troops aren’t getting the vaccine? Top Marine blames disinformation | Marine Corps Times
- Google, Meta, among tech giants urged to adopt definition of climate disinformation and misinformation | Forbes
- Climate change conspiracies are spreading rapidly during UN’s COP26 event | CBS News
- Election officials have another year to fight disinformation | Pew Trusts
- Cyber agency beefing up disinformation, misinformation team | The Hill
International News
- DRC: Ban on songs criticizing the government highlights urgent need to repeal censorship law | Amnesty International
- Hackers targeted Apple devices in Hong Kong for widespread attack | WIRED
- Palestinian diplomats targeted by Israeli spyware, official says | The New York Times
- Hong Kong’s new M+ museum accused of censorship | DW
Around the Web
- Republicans seize on schools as a wedge issue to unite the party | The New York Times
- One Week After Virginia Elections And School Board Members Want To Burn Books | Wonkette
- Rokita: Public schools must treat Black Lives Matter as political organization | Indianapolis Star
- Why education was a top voter priority this election | NPR
- Public libraries are under attack. Here’s how you can help | Harper’s Bazaar
- The Texas Taliban lowers the boom | Book and Film Globe
- A librarian recommends talking about books, not banning them | WGLT (IL)
- Self-censorship and the veneer of LGBTQ acceptance | Georgia Voice
- Anchorage Mayor Bronson’s second pick for library director, Judy Norton Eledge, resigns | Yahoo! News
- James V. Brown deserves Library of the Year | Williamsport Sun Gazette
- Talk continues about teaching racism in schools | Traverse City Record Eagle
- Culture war fight finds mixed success in school board races | York Dispatch
- State of Michigan employees told how to react to First Amendment auditors | Detroit Free Press
- Data scientists aim to detect internet censorship in real time | UChicago News
- Parents file recall petition against Loudoun County school board chair | DCist
- Why books should never be banned | Merciad
- Parents should be involved in their kids’ education. But they shouldn’t seek to censor school library books that other parents’ kids might want to read. [editorial] | Lancaster Online
ALA News
- Registration now open for ALA’s LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience conference
- ALA Welcomes Removal of Offensive ‘Illegal aliens’ Subject Headings
- ALA launches new eLearning website
- ALA applauds congressional passage of digital equity funds available to libraries
- 2021 YALSA Teens’ Top Ten titles announced
- Core Endorses the Cataloguing Code of Ethics
Awards & Grant
eLearning
Publishing
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