August 4, 2017 – Collated by OIF Staff and News Interns

Intellectual Freedom Highlights

• Start planning for banned books week now | OIF Blog
• Censorship: It’s not just for books
  • Webinar on August 30 at 2 pm Eastern from Carterette Series Webinars, Georgia Library Association; “When you hear about censorship in libraries, you may automatically wonder what YA book is under attack this time.  However, many of the challenges to intellectual freedom we’re facing go well beyond books.  Online resources, speakers and events, programs, and other library initiatives are also coming under fire, and those of us in libraries may not always agree on what should be defended.  Please join us for a conversation about today’s threats to intellectual freedom and what you can do to stand up for free expression.” Registration: https://goo.gl/dLaAyk
• The “Privacy” special issue of the Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy is now available.
  • The Journal of Intellectual Freedom welcomes submissions related to intellectual freedom and privacy, both in libraries and beyond. Submissions can include research articles (peer reviewed),  non-peer reviewed articles and essays discussing or describing policies,practices,projects,law, and scholarship related to intellectual freedom and privacy,  personal accounts of censorship and intellectual freedom challenges, opinion pieces and essays on current and topical issues, and book and publication reviews.  Full submission details and author guidelines are available at the JIFP website
• The iSchool at Illinois seeks nominations for the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award. The deadline for nominations is October 1, 2017. Given annually, the award acknowledges individuals or groups who have furthered the cause of intellectual freedom, particularly as it impacts libraries and information centers and the dissemination of ideas.
• Webinar: Get GIFy with it: How to go viral during Banned Books Week recording from Wednesday, August 2 with Allison Palmer, Ellie Diaz, and Maria Atilano.

Censorship

• New Florida law lets residents challenge school textbooks | NPR
• Origins | OIF Blog; Arizona House Bill 2281 and the Tucson Unified School District Mexican American Studies Program

Privacy

• Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce Trio of Email Privacy Overhaul Bills  | Bloomberg
• Librarian confession: Library users improve my personal privacy habits | OIF Blog
• COPPA and Schools: The (Other) Federal Student Privacy Law, Explained   | Education Week
• More political headbanging on encryption threatens privacy | TechCrunch
• First annual Privacy Shield review to take place in September 2017 | Lexology
• Nevada enacts website privacy notice law | Lexology; “Nevada is the third state to enact legislation requiring website operators to post a public privacy notice, following California (enacted in 2004) and Delaware (enacted in 2016).”

See this week’s privacy updates on the Choose Privacy Week blog.

Access

• Are School Libraries Unintentionally Providing Middle Schoolers Access To Porn?  | Huffington Post
• City schools use mobile library to keep kids reading in the summer | WTVR (VA)
• New report explores rural library technology access | District Dispatch
• This is not a drill. The future of Title 44 and the depository library program hang in the balance | Free Government Information
• School bus-turned-bookmobile rolls across Georgia | School Library Journal
• Beyond bilingual: Making storytime inviting to all English language learners | School Library Journal
• Podcast: Access denied | Newseum (FOIA)

Net Neutrality

• Republicans want tech input on U.S. net neutrality legislation | Reuters
• Ex-FCC Chair Tom Wheeler dismantles the case for abandoning Net Neutrality | Fast Company
• Net Neutrality and smart pipes: The game is changing for Verizon Wireless, O2, and others | Forbes

Academic Freedom/ Campus Speech

• The wrong way to preserve free speech on campus | The Hill
• Controversial atheist author Richard Dawkins to speak at Book Passage; is Corte Madera new home of free speech? | The Mercury News
• Congress Finds Consensus on Free Speech on Campus  | The Atlantic

First Amendment Issues

• A.C.L.U. defends John Oliver from stupid lawsuit in hilarious amicus brief | Vanity Fair
• SESTA Would Undermine Free Speech Online  Center for Democracy & Technology
• Internet censorship bill would spell disaster for speech and innovation | Electronic Freedom Foundation; “There’s a new bill in Congress that would threaten your right to free expression online. If that weren’t enough, it could also put small Internet businesses in danger of catastrophic litigation.”
• Journalism groups join forces to highlight press freedom issues | Associations Now
• Federal court: Public officials cannot block social media users because of their criticism | Slate
• New website tracks press freedom abuses in the U.S. | Newseum

Around the Web

• Intellectual freedom and equity, diversity, and inclusion | ALSC Blog
• Lawyer and businessman seek to trademark N-word variation to thwart racists | ABA Journal
• Senate Panels Advance Bills to Improve Cybersecurity Skills  | Morning Consult
• TEEN TITAN’s next unique crossover – American libraries | Newsarama
• Comics in the classroom: Beyond Maus and Persepolis | American Libraries
• A birthday chat about Intellectual Freedom with Harry Potter  | OIF Blog

International Issues

• Apple caved to China, just like almost every other tech giant | Wired
• Malaysia sparks anger after banning book published in Singapore about moderate Islam | Today Online
• Britain asks tech and social media giants to censor militant content | The Christian Science Monitor
• Police censorship: A free press is the lifeblood of Israeli democracy | Jerusalem Post
• Privacy rights on the NAFTA agenda | Policy Options (Canada)
• Zunar cancels cartoon exhibition after threats from government supporters | CBLDF (Malaysia)

ALA News

• ALA and affiliates issue joint statement on libraries and equity, diversity and inclusion
• Coming Soon: Media Literacy Training for Public Libraries | Programming Library
• New Iteration: Becoming the copyright specialist in your library eCourse
• New Iteration: Introduction to critical information literacy: Promoting social justice through librarianship eCourse
• Open call for submissions to Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy 
• Every child has a right to read; “Reading by Right” available in the ALA Store

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