Intellectual Freedom News 8/2/2024
Highlights
- Sam Helmick Selected as ALA President-Elect | American Libraries
- Freedom to Read Foundation celebrates educational collaboration with ESU School of Library & Information Science | Emporia Gazette
- Call for ALA Committee Volunteers for 2025-2027
- Accepting Applications for 2025 Class of ALA Emerging Leaders
Censorship
- Huntsville-Madison Library board weighs new state aid requirements | Alabama Political Reporter (AL)
- Texas deputy constable tried to charge school librarians with felonies for distributing books | Lone Star Live (TX)
- ACLU calls Grand Forks Public Library board move of sex ed books ‘soft censorship’ | Grand Forks Herald (ND)
- Beaufort Co. decided not to ban most of its challenged books. Can the state overrule it? | Island Packer (MD)
- Mission CISD says it won’t actually remove 676 challenged books | Progress Times (TX)
- Plaintiffs: Changes in Autauga-Prattville Library policies continue to violate rights | Alabama Reflector (AL)
- Drag Story Hour canceled at Washoe County Library System, Our Center looking for new venue | NBC News4 (NV)
- Recall election over potential library age restrictions draws to a close in Seaside | Daily Astorian (OR)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- X is training Grok AI on your data—here’s how to stop it | Ars Technica
- Senate Passes Child Online Safety Bill, Sending It to an Uncertain House Fate | New York Times
- Safeguarding data and privacy in the age of digital extremism | Times Higher Education
- Spyware turned this Kansas high school into a ‘red zone’ of dystopian surveillance | Kansas Reflector
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- New lawsuit seeks to stop enforcement of Idaho library materials bill | Idaho Capital Sun (ID)
- Private schools file suit to challenge ‘government interference’ of Idaho library law | Idaho Statesman (ID)
- Book Bans Are Not Just Bad Policy; They Can Raise Civil Rights Issues | U.S. Dept. of Education
- Recent Appellate Decisions On Book Censorship | Mondaq
- Trump tells Christian voters they ‘won’t have to vote anymore’ if he’s elected | WHYY
- Biden lays out plan for Supreme Court reforms, saying “extreme opinions” have undermined confidence | CBS News
- Judge permanently blocks part of Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’ as unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds | Fox13 (FL)
- Lawsuit challenges library law, calling it ‘wildly unconstitutional’ | Magic Valley (ID)
- Nebraska Supreme Court upholds law banning transgender care for youth and abortions | Hill (NE)
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
- 5 Growing Threats to Academic Freedom in the United States | Bucks County Beacon
Legislation
- Local no longer: 4 new laws and policies bring book banning to the state level | PEN America
- Alabama GOP Re-files Bill that Could Expose Librarians to Criminal Penalties | 74 (AL)
State & Local Governance
- More States Are Passing Book Banning Rules. Here’s What They Say. | New York Times
- Georgia schools chief says African American studies decision rooted in ‘divisive concepts’ law | Georgia Recorder (GA)
- Clay pulls library from APLS following controversy over religious texts, library director resignation | 1819 News (AL)
- Keller ISD Considers Parental Bill of Rights | Dallas Express (TX)
Social Media
- Atlanta Police Department Social Media Surveillance Documents | Brennan Center for Justice (GA)
- Justice Dept. claims TikTok collected views on issues like abortion and gun control | OPB
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn Attempts to Block Net Neutrality | BroadbandBreakfast
- FCC’s Net Neutrality Order Extends Exclusive Access Prohibitions to Broadband-Only Services Delivered to Residential and Commercial Multi-Tenant Properties | JD Supra
Disinformation & Media Literacy
- Russia is relying on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say | AP
- Misinformation floods social media in wake of breakneck news cycle | Hill
International
- Breaking: new duty to protect free speech put on the back burner | Lexology (UK)
- Threat Against Thunder Bay Public Library Drag Queen Storytime Investigated by Police | Net News Ledger (Canada)
- They watched anti-trans protesters go after a school board. Here’s how they’re helping future targets fight back | Toronto Star (Canada)
- UK rocked by far-right riots fueled by online disinformation about Southport stabbings | CNN (UK)
Around the Web
- ‘Not a badge of honor’: how book bans affect Indigenous literature | NPR
- Students join educators and advocates in effort to reverse book bans across the country | 19th
- Author Jodi Picoult Signs Letter Urging Ron DeSantis to End ‘Dark Night of Censorship’ in Florida Schools | People
- Prodded by Christian Nationalists, more states are making it easier to ban books | Americans United for Separation of Church and State
- SDCC ’24: The terrorism of book bans in dividing communities | Comics Beat
- ‘Had to do something’: How Houston-area students are taking on conservative school boards | Houston Landing
- Voters become more polarized when presidential candidates take positions on issues in K-12 education | Conversation
- Playbook: Harris slams DeSantis over slavery curriculum | Politico
- Viewpoint: Book bans are more than just empty shelves | Grand Forks Herald
- Most Americans are against book banning, but Republican lawmakers are out of step | Forward Kentucky
- Our View: Library law, local policies to curb book banning arrive on time | Durango Herald
ALA News
- ALA announces 2024-2025 Spectrum Scholars
- AASL Commends the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
- AASL Commends Reading for Change
- Core Webinar: Library In-Reach to Boost Morale and Realize Our Full Potential
- New from ACRL – “Information Literacy and Social Media: Empowered Student Engagement with the ACRL Framework”
- Avalon A. Ruby Selected as the 2024 Peter Lyman Memorial/SAGE Scholarship Recipient
- AASL Commends 313Reads
- American Library Association accredits University College London
- Kara J. Halden Selected as the 2024 David H. Clift Scholarship Recipient
- George M. Farris Selected as the 2024 Tom and Roberta Drewes Scholarship Recipient
- Sydney Keith Selected as the 2024 Mary V. Gaver Scholarship Recipient
- Core Webinar – Best of Core Forum: The First 90 Days; Real Life Tales of Transition
- Public Library Association expands digital literacy training funding opportunity, powered by AT&T
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