Kent Oliver, chair of ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, wrote an article in honor Banned Books Week, which starts tomorrow. The piece has been posted at I Love Libraries. As Kent writes:

There are those who believe that our society is safer or otherwise better off when our access to information is limited. In fact, librarians know the opposite to be true: well-informed people are free people; education is a crucial component to success. Libraries providing a wide range of information across the breadth of public opinion provide everyone with the opportunity to become a well-informed, independent-minded citizen – the bedrock of our democratic society.

As a reminder, those of you in the Chicago area tomorrow are invited to help Kent, ALA president Loriene Roy, president elect Jim Rettig, and many challenged authors and local celebrities kick off the week at the Banned Books Week Read-Out! on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.

Those of you in other parts of the country can check out our online map to learn about events in your area. And don’t forget about our many events in Second Life throughout the week!