Highlights

• Fight Censorship During Rainbow Book Month and Beyond | I Love Libraries
• ALA statement affirming the rights of transgender people
• 2020 ALA Virtual IF highlights
  • Women’s Activism is Black Activism: Librarians dig into the history of women’s activism in the profession
  • Taking a stand: Librarians discuss efforts to respond to and lead social change
  • Recommending diverse voices: How to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion through collection development and reader’s advisory
  • Top Tech Trends: COVID Considerations: Panelists discuss privacy, access, and programming
  • Resisting Hate with Speech: A conversation about the role of libraries and free speech
  • Ridding Schools of Reading Trauma: Tips for interrupting traditional practices and diversifying collections
  • Retaining Librarians of Color: Panelists emphasize community and inclusive hiring practices

Library Services & COVID-19 Resources

• ALA COVID-19 Response
• Pandemic Preparedness: Resources for Libraries | American Library Association
• Research Shows Virus Undetectable on Five Highly Circulated Library Materials After Three Days | Institute of Museum and Library Services
• Coronavirus Tests the Limits of America’s Public Libraries | Bloomberg
• Reopening Libraries: Campus Concerns | Library Journal

Censorship

• Petition aims to stop Drag Queen Story Time at Brownsville library | Valley Morningstar (TX)
  • Petition calls for ending story time at library | The Brownsville Herald (TX)
  • Drag queen book reading gains support from city | KVEO Brownsville (NY)
• Alleging censorship, ACLU sues Miami Beach for removal of painting memorialising the police shooting of Raymond Herisse | The Art Newspaper
• Trump blasts attempts to remove historic statues as ‘censorship’ | Fox News
• Judge Allows Bolton Memoir to Proceed, Despite Trump Administration Objection | NPR
• Parental Fear and Cultural Erasure: The Logic Behind Banning Books | Book Riot

First Amendment, Free Speech, and Civil Liberties

• Vermont principal removed for statements on Black Lives Matter | NCAC Blogging Censorship
• PHOTO ESSAY: Librarians Join Black Lives Matter Protests | School Library Journal
• Free Speech in the Era of COVID-19: Geoffrey R. Stone | Knight Foundation (Video)
• Scholar Stanley Fish on Bolton, Trump and why there’s too much free speech | Los Angele Times

Privacy and Cybersecurity

• The Cost of Privacy | Okta; “Consumers underestimate the extent to which their data is being tracked.”
• Wrongfully Accused by an Algorithm | New York Times; “In what may be the first known case of its kind, a faulty facial recognition match led to a Michigan man’s arrest for a crime he did not commit.”
  • Senators Introduce Legislation to Ban Government Use of Facial Recognition, Other Biometric Technology | U.S. Senator Ed Markey (MA)
• Republicans push bill requiring tech companies to help access encrypted data | CNET
  • The Senate’s New Anti-Encryption Bill Is Even Worse Than EARN IT, and That’s Saying Something | Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Defund the Police, and Defund Big Data Policing, Too |Jurist
• It’s unconstitutional for cops to force phone unlocking, court rules | Ars Technica
• NYCLU suing state Education Department over Lockport schools’ facial recognition technology | WBFO NPR Buffalo (NY)
• The Trump 2020 app is a voter surveillance tool of extraordinary power | MIT Technology Review

Additional privacy posts, news, and updates are available at the Choose Privacy Every Day blog.

Net Neutrality & Broadband Access

• America’s digital divide is an emergency | Washington Post
• These Young Entrepreneurs Have A Plan To Bring The Internet To Detroit, The Least Connected City In America | Forbes
• End of broadband pledge could cut lifelines for families | Axios
• Does the Federal Broadband Definition Reflect Real-World Need? | Government Technology

Academic Freedom & Campus Speech

• Admissions Offers Revoked Over Racist Comments | Inside Higher Education
• Auto-Censorship and Institutional Racism | Data and Society (Video)

Fake News, Free Press, Social Media

• Trump-appointed head of media agency sued over firings at anti-censorship organization | Fox News
• A new Trump appointee has put internet freedom projects in crisis mode | The Verge
• Author Of Section 230 Chris Cox Says All The Critics Are Wrong About The History And Intent Of 230 | TechDirt
• Why creating an internet “fairness doctrine” would backfire | Brookings
• Further thoughts on moderation vs. discretion vs. censorship | TechDirt
• Social Media Giants Support Racial Justice. Their Products Undermine It | New York Times

Around the Web

• Cook Memorial library board president resigns over homophobic statements | Daily Herald
• Twelve Terrific Challenged LGBTQIAP+ Titles for Kids and Teens | Intellectual Freedom Blog
• Your Bookshelf May Be Part of the Problem: A Rebuttal | Intellectual Freedom Blog
• Pride Displays During Rainbow Book Month | Intellectual Freedom Blog
• ‘Hamilton’ will be censored on Disney+, Lin-Manuel Miranda says: ‘I literally gave two f–ks’ | Fox News
• Overwhelmed With Orders, Some Black-Owned Bookstores Ask for Patience | New York Times
• Librarians and the power of social media | Book Riot
• Supporting Students during This Period of Unrest | Knowledge Quest
• Weeding Out Racism’s Invisible Roots: Rethinking Children’s Classics | School Library Journal

ALA News

• ALSC 2020 Institute to be Held Virtually
• New ALA resource, free webinar spotlight changes to the 2020 Census in response to COVID-19; July 8
• Information literacy and democracy
• Libraries Transform Book Pick digital reading program returns Sept. 14-28 with an epic saga
• Volunteer for ACRL Diversity Alliance Task Force by June 30
• Open access digital scholarship in action

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