Intellectual Freedom News 11/19/2021
Highlights
- Managing and Addressing Book Challenges in Your Community: Law, Policy, Advocacy – A webinar sponsored by the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) and the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom (ALA OIF).
- IFRT Reads: When Education Standards Stereotype, Marginalize, and Eliminate Indigenous Peoples – Join the Intellectual Freedom Round Table to discuss a piece from the Intellectual Freedom Blog titled “When Education Standards Stereotype, Marginalize and Eliminate Indigenous Peoples” moderated by the author Jamie Gregory. Find out more at: http://www.ala.org/rt/ifrt/ifrtreads. (Share on Twitter)
Censorship
- When schools ban books | NPR
- A frenzy of book banning | The New York Times
- More Republican leaders try to ban books on race, LGBTQ issues | NPR
- Conservative White parents want the freedom to ban books | New Republic
- Librarians, Educators Warn of ‘Organized’ Book Banning Efforts | Publishers’ Weekly
- “Beloved” isn’t the only book parents have challenged. Here’s why and how books get banned | CBS News
- Parents and politicians vs. intellectual freedom: The danger of the new book-banning brigades | NY Daily News
- Critical race theory controversy: Bans on some books by Black authors | Market Realist
- Books including ‘Gender Queer’ being pulled from schools, sparking controversy | ABC News
- Opinion: Say no to book censorship | Los Angeles Times
- George M. Johnson challenges school district ban of book: ‘I refuse to be erased’ | The Grio
- Craighead County Library’s battle against censorship | Book Riot
- South Carolina governor urges banning of LGBTQ books in schools | The Hill
- North Carolina is vulnerable to a dangerous new book banning wave [opinion] | Charlotte Observer
- Opinion: Texas librarians are on the front lines in a battle for the right to read | The Washington Post
- After clash over school curriculum, Texas Republicans set sights on library books | Courthouse News Service
- Texas schools respond to House inquiry on library books about sexuality, race | Houston Chronicle
- Texas GOP’s book hunt mostly targets LGBTQ issues, not critical race theory | Houston Chronicle
- Penguin parents, anti-bullying tips, teen romance: What we found inside three books flagged by a Texas lawmaker’s school inquiry | Texas Tribune
- GOP-fueled fight over kid-appropriate library books heats up in Texas | Texas Public Radio
- Parents face-off over graphic content and LGBTQ books in school libraries | NBC DFW
- Proposed book ban will silence LGBTQ+ community and authors, advocates say | ValleyCentral
- Clear Creek ISD revising practices for student access to books, including ‘Sex is a Funny Word’ | ABC 13 News
- How a YA oral-sex scene touched off Texas’ latest culture war | Texas Tribune
- ‘We cannot unread this type of content’ — Some Katy ISD parents want ‘porn’ pulled from school libraries | KHOU
- Lamar CISD reviewing list of books for inappropriate content | Houston Chronicle
- Denton library cancels story time, citing safety concerns | Denton Record-Chronicle
- Victoria library board to address controversial books at public meeting | Victoria Advocate [TX]
- One group wants to see LGBTQ books removed from Victoria Public Library | Crossroads Today
- Keller ISD parents call on school board to remove sexually explicit books or resign | CBS 11 DFW
- League City censorship call an old tune with a new hook | Daily News [Galveston, TX]
- The Jolt: Book ban battle headed for Georgia General Assembly | Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Spotsylvania community turns out against school library censorship | Free Lance-Star
- Spotsylvania County Public Schools issue unconstitutional order to remove “sexually explicit” books from libraries — Updated: Order revoked | National Coalition Against Censorship
- Opinion: My school board’s rejection of ‘sexually explicit’ books sends a cruel message to students like my daughter | The Washington Post
- Virginia local school board reverses ban of ‘sexually explicit’ books after public outcry | The Week
- How a school district got caught in Virginia’s political maelstrom | The New York Times
- Florida school board member files criminal report over LGBTQ-themed book | WFLA
- Cheryl Massaro rebukes fellow school board member Woolbright over ‘rogue’ attacks on books and superintendent | FlaglerLive
- The Live interview: Author George M. Johnson speaks to those who want book banned from Flagler Schools | FlaglerLive
- A Florida school board member filed a criminal complaint over a Black queer memoir | CNN
- Florida’s Brevard County Public Schools remove Gender Queer from library shelves without review | National Coalition Against Censorship
- Here’s a test for Rochester Public Schools: a 41-page data request on critical race theory, related topics | Post Bulletin
- North Dakota Senate bans teaching critical race theory in schools, says action preemptive | Newsweek
- LGBTQ advocates say pulled book could help kids feel less alone | ABC 4
- LGBTQ book to remain in circulation at Lafayette Public Library | KLFY
- Anchorage schools remove ‘Gender Queer’ graphic memoir from school shelves | Must Read Alaska
- The hate they censor: Purging KKK truth and Angie Thomas to bury lessons of history | Mississippi Free Press
- Parents want Canutillo ISD to ban ‘Gender Queer’ book from school library | KVIA
- Here’s some helpful context about those books in Iowa schools you’re hearing about | Iowa Starting Line
- The banning of George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue speaks to a tiring history of Black censorship | Celiece Channet
- National fight is creeping into Illinois schools over what is read, taught and who belongs | WBEZ
- Culture wars explode in Chicago suburb after protesters call H.S. library book ‘porn,’ but students decry censorship | Chicago Sun-Times
- Illinois high school students show up to school board meeting to defend LGBTQ library book | The Hill
- Illinois students rally to defend LGBTQ book as school board hears objections over its content | CNN
- Downers Grove [IL] parents, students clash over removal of LGBTQ graphic novels from school libraries | WGN9
- ‘We’re preparing for a long battle.’ Librarians grapple with conservatives’ latest efforts to ban books | Time
- Detroit school district pushes back against anti-CRT legislation | Chalkbeat
- Parents, students discuss controversial book | WSAZ
- Public library receives formal complaints about two books | Flathead Beacon [MT]
- Placentia-Yorba Linda school district considers banning critical race theory | Voice of OC
- Schmitt sues Springfield [Missouri] Public Schools amid CRT probe | Missouri Times
- ‘Make a stand’: Liberty parents push back against suggested school book bans | Kansas City Star [MO]
- Book banned, others removed from Indian River County school libraries | WPTV
- Book banning? Email prompts Utah district to pull titles from high school libraries | KSL news Radio
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- DHS researching public perception of facial recognition and AI use | NextGov
- County judge bans Elf on the Shelf ‘tyranny’ as ‘gift to tired parents’ | Route 50
- How Creepy Is That New Product? Mozilla’s *privacy not included Privacy Guide Will Tell You | Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Insider
- Mozilla *privacy not included guide | Mozilla
- New State Privacy Laws Impose Higher Restrictions on Processing Sensitive Personal Data | Data Privacy & Security Insider
More privacy news is available at the Voices for Privacy blog.
First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties
- Federal investigators launch civil rights probe into Southlake, Texas, schools | NBC News
- Trump-era battles continue amid ‘state by state assault on civil rights’: ACLU President | Newsweek
- Biden makes privacy and civil liberties oversight board nominations | MeriTalk
- How a rural Pa. attack on LGBTQ speech backfired [opinion] | Philadelphia Inquirer
- Lawsuit alleges N.C. prisons censor magazines — but not the ones you think | Raleigh News & Observer
- Kansas asks U.S. Supreme Court to hear case over state’s ‘ag-gag’ law | Reuters
- Boule civil case goes to U.S. Supreme Court, could expand First Amendment rights | Northern Light
Copyright
- Blind people won the right to break e-book DRM. In 3 years, they’ll have to do it again | WIRED
- Does copyright give companies the right to search your home and computer? | Techdirt
- Justices won’t revive copyright suit against Stephen King | Law360 [paywalled]
Access
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- Senators Markey and Wyden applaud Department of Agriculture for correctly prioritizing broadband applicants that follow net neutrality principles | Ed Markey
- Biden’s FCC is still deadlocked, and net neutrality hangs in the balance | The Verge
Academic Freedom & Campus Speech
- Students, faculty unite to protest amid academic freedom controversy | Independent Florida Alligator
- Three more professors join lawsuit against UF over academic freedom | Tampa Bay Times
- Political litmus tests are bad for higher education | Chronicle of Higher Education
Social Media
- New warning labels on false and misleading tweets work to curb spread, Twitter says | Newsweek
- How the Kremlin has weaponized the Facebook files | Brookings
Journalism & Media
Information Literacy & Disinformation
- What Facebook knew about its Latino-aimed disinformation problem | Los Angeles Times
- Disinformation is spreading beyond the realm of spycraft to become a shady industry — lessons from South Korea | The Conversation
- Opinion: France admits it spreads disinformation. Other democracies should also own up. | The Washington Post
- Disinformation isn’t just a tech problem. It’s a social one, too. | Mother Jones
- AMA ready to target disinformation docs | MedPage Today
- Two Iranians charged with spreading election disinformation, threatening people to vote for Trump | CNBC
International News
- University freedom: 76 professors form the University of Ottawa challenge the rector | Queens Citizen
- Editorial: Censorship at Canada’s largest school board | Toronto Sun
- Opposition mounts against removal of ‘subversive’ books in libraries | Rappler
- Trudeau calls for clearing cyberspace of hate, disinformation at peace forum | CTV News
- DRC: Ban on songs criticizing the government highlights urgent need to repeal censorship law | Amnesty International
- Vietnam jails Facebook user for 7 years for anti-state posts | Reuters
- Rising censorship and conservatism dampen mood at Shanghai’s art fairs, but China still has ‘economic firepower’ | Art Newspaper
- The Policing Bill is one of the most serious threats to human rights and civil liberties in the UK’s recent history | The House
- In Belarus, media jailing used as tool of censorship | Voice of America
- COVID disinformation and extremism are on the rise in New Zealand. What are the risks of it turning violent? | The Conversation
Around the Web
- Librarians are fighting back against conservative attacks on LGBTQ books | American Independent
- Two LGBTQ-themed books at center of national controversy | Forest Scout
- A librarian recommends talking about books, not banning them | WGLT
- Backlash to school books centering on race, sex and LGBTQ people turns into conservative rallying cry | The Washington Post
- Four parents win Ohio school board seats campaigning against critical race theory, mask mandates | FOX News
- Drag queen reading event creates safe space for youth | KAIT 8
- North Texas principal resigns to end fight over whether he was teaching ‘critical race theory’ | The 74 Million
- Librarians warn of threat to intellectual freedom in VA schools | Patch
- Banned books and Blackness | Louisiana Weekly
- Unban books, let students read | Tacoma Ledger
- Central York student chosen as Seventeen ‘Voice of the Year’ honoree for book ban activism | York Dispatch
- The 1619 Project and the long battle over U.S. history | The New York Times
- Parents protesting ‘critical race theory’ identify another target: Mental health programs | NBC News
- 5 ways to fight back against school, local library censorship | The Mary Sue
- Letter warns priest who criticized library board member | Jonesboro Sun
- Opinion: Effort to ban books in schools is un-American | News Record
- Williams: Censorship is being weaponized as a tool of exclusion. School districts need to stop the book banning | Richmond Times-Dispatch
- Are ALSC’s booklists controversial? — Scales on censorship | School Library Journal
- Donations flood Pa. library after elected officials call LGBTQ community there a hate group | Intelligencer
- Tea Party leader among 10 who want to serve on the Lafayette Parish library board | Acadiana Advocate
- Essay: Schools are using anti-critical race theory laws to ban children’s literature | Detroit Jewish News
ALA News
- Registration now open for ALA’s LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience conference
- ALA Announces 2022 Class of Emerging Leaders
- Critically acclaimed author Jacqueline Woodson to appear at LibLearnX
- Young adult authors Angeline Boulley, Cicely Lewis, and Mariko Tamaki added to LibLearnX speakers
Awards & Grant
- 2021 IRRT Mission Enhancement Grant call for proposals
- Nominations open for 2022 IFRT Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award
- ALA, FINRA Foundation to distribute inclusive financial literacy kits to 100 public and school libraries
eLearning
Publishing
- Library services and incarceration
- Foundations of information literacy
- A new book of quotes for library lovers
- A guide to home-school learning resources
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- articles about privacy, internet filtering and censorship
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