Meet IFRT’s 2020 Executive Board Candidates
By: guest contributor Andrea Publisi, Intellectual Freedom Round Table member
ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) invites you to get to know its 2020 Executive Board candidates. The candidates who have been nominated will be on the ballot this Spring to serve on the IFRT’s Executive Board.
The elected candidates will begin serving their terms beginning at the end of American Library Association’s Annual 2020 Conference and will continue serving from one to three years, based on the position. The individuals who have been nominated to IFRT’s Executive Board are: Kristin Anderson, Stephanie Barnaby, Kyle Binaxas, Jeremy Brett, Danielle Hartsfield, Samantha Helmick, Rebecca Moorman, Steve Norman, and Witt Salley.
In an effort to help you get to know IFRT’s Executive Board Nominees a little better, we reached out to each candidate and asked them:
- If you could meet your favorite banned book character, who would you meet and why?
- What is your favorite part of being involved with IFRT?
- What is your library-related or intellectual freedom-related New Year’s resolution for 2020?
Read along and learn more about the nominees that responded, their favorite banned characters, what they enjoy most about being involved with Intellectual Freedom Round Table and what intellectual freedom resolution they aim to champion this year.
Kristin Anderson
Running for: IFRT Director-at-large
1. If you could meet your favorite banned book character, who would you meet and why?
I would probably want to meet Lyra Belacqua from His Dark Materials. It’s such a masterfully told story, and she has such a great character arch. Plus, it would be fun to travel across the multiverse and find out what my daemon looks like. 🙂
2. What is your favorite part of being involved with IFRT?
I love being involved with a group of like-minded individuals who are as passionate about intellectual freedom as I am. We have a fantastic group of people and I look forward to all of our meetings. We are also a very diverse group, and I feel it helps all of us grow as individuals and professionally.
3. What is your library related or intellectual freedom related New Year’s resolution for 2020?
There are several banned books that I have not read yet, and it is my goal this year to pick up and read as many as possible. I read George last year for the first time during Banned Books Week, and it was my favorite book that I read last year.
Stephanie Barnaby
Running for: IFRT Chair-Elect
1. If you could meet your favorite banned book character, who would you meet and why?
I think it’s way too difficult to pick just one character but I think it would be interesting to meet Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Alternatively, I’d definitely like to hang out with Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter!
2. What is your favorite part of being involved with IFRT?
I love the variety of different libraries and specialties represented. Since I first wandered into an IFRT meeting at a Midwinter conference meeting I’ve found IFRT to be an incredibly welcoming bunch of people.
3. What is your library related or intellectual freedom related New Year’s resolution for 2020?
My reading goal for the year is to read 100 books and rather than my usual quick reads; I’d like to read more non-fiction works this year about intellectual freedom issues. I think privacy, net neutrality, and equitable access will feature heavily in my reading this year!
Kyle Binaxas
Running for: IFRT Secretary
1. If you could meet your favorite banned book character, who would you meet and why?
I would love to meet Ultima from Bless me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. Her spirituality and connection to nature and the unseen world around us is so inspiring and beautiful that it would just be an honor to listen to her talk, be around her presence. Even reading that book over ten years ago she still appears in my memories at the forefront.
2. What is your favorite part of being involved with IFRT?
My favorite part of IFRT is learning from others about the ways intellectual freedom affects different libraries more than just book censorships. Learning how to be an ally and pillar of support for library patrons and their freedom to read, right to privacy, and access to information. Learning from many different IF advocates is the best part of IFRT!
3. What is your library-related or intellectual freedom-related New Year’s resolution for 2020?
Professional development! Lots and lots of reading! I want to stay more up-to-date on trends not just with intellectual freedom but with librarianship as a whole. I also hope to have more of a social media presence. I also hope to be more organized and productive. 100 days of productivity challenge, see you in 2020!
Jeremy Brett
Running for: IFRT Director-at-Large
1. If you could meet your favorite banned book character, who would you meet and why?
Admittedly, she’s not a ‘character’ per se, but I would want to meet Anne Frank. It’s always been a source of amazement to me that a single young girl could embody so much wisdom, compassion, thoughtfulness, and spirit, in the midst of one of the darkest times in history. Anne inspires us all with her ability to think and to feel fully in the most terrifying of circumstances, but over decades Anne the actual living girl has to some extent become replaced by a bundle of disconnected quotes. I would like to meet the real Anne, to meet the young woman who existed and continues to exist behind what time has made of her and talk to her about how much of herself was really reflected in her diary and how much was a construction based on who she truly wanted to be.
2. What is your favorite part of being involved with IFRT?
It’s my honor to be even a tiny part of the ongoing struggle by librarians to preserve intellectual freedom in the face of censorship, hateful propaganda, and fear. There can be no higher calling for our profession, and I am so very proud of ALA’s strong commitment to fighting these things. In this current historical moment, when fear and hatred seem to be on the rise, I feel very gratified that this body exists and that I am part of this vital effort.
3. What is your library-related or intellectual freedom-related New Year’s resolution for 2020?
My resolution for 2020 and beyond is to keep hammering home the idea that the preservation of intellectual freedom does NOT mean that we have to accept the hoary old adage that “libraries are neutral and impartial”. They are not, and have never been. The function of intellectual freedom is, to quote Wikipedia (yeah, I know): ” Viewed as an integral component of a democratic society, intellectual freedom protects an individual’s right to access, explore, consider, and express ideas and information as the basis for a self-governing, well-informed citizenry.” Obviously, this is so. But false neutrality does not secure this kind of freedom. Intellectual freedom does not require that a library must be a place for context-free dissemination of information that is A. objectively incorrect, or B. actively promoting the abuse, degradation, dehumanization, assault, or murder of other human beings. Neither of those things contribute to a healthy, functioning society or welcoming public space. Yes, those things exist, but libraries as public institutions need not be forums for them. I intend to stand fast in 2020 behind the conviction that we cannot hide behind ‘intellectual freedom’ as an excuse for failing to protect and support our patrons and staffs alike from abuse or prejudice. Nor do we make society better by failing to distinguish between information that is true and that which is false.
Danielle Hartsfield
Running for: IFRT Director-at-Large
1. If you could meet your favorite banned book character, who would you meet and why?
As an educator who works with future elementary teachers, I read a lot of children’s books, and one of my recent favorites is George by Alex Gino, which features a transgender child as the main character. I would like to meet George because she has the courage to be herself and pursue an improbable dream even though she faces obstacles. She has guts! I admire her and would want to tell her so.
2. What is your favorite part of being involved with IFRT?
I enjoy being part of a network of people who care about supporting intellectual freedom as much as I do. Since the summer, I have been a member of IFRT’s Education Special Advisory Committee. We are currently working toward developing a new professional development program for IFRT members. I am looking forward to moving forward with our ideas in the coming months.
3. What is your library-related or intellectual freedom-related New Year’s resolution for 2020?
I teach a children’s literature course to seniors at my university, and the censorship of children’s literature is one of the topics that we study. In 2020, I would like to redesign my lessons on this topic. In particular, I want my students to investigate the issue of preemptive censorship (i.e., self-censorship) more deeply to help them understand why preemptive censorship by educators is so problematic. My students are future teachers who will enter classrooms of their own upon graduation, and my hope is that they will refuse to preemptively censor books and materials because they fear controversy or disagreement. I want them to understand that teachers have a responsibility for supporting children’s intellectual freedom, and avoiding preemptive censorship is one way they can do this.
In addition, a colleague and I recently completed a research study involving adults’ perceptions of challenged children’s books. I hope to see a manuscript based on this project published in 2020!
Samantha Helmick
Running for: IFRT Chair-Elect
If you could meet your favorite banned book character, who would you meet and why?
David Rice from Steven Gould’s Jumper is a banned book character I would like to meet. His amazing ability to teleport is a highly desirable trait and I appreciate how he honed his power to create good in the world and protect others over the course of the Jumper series. The first time David jumps he finds himself inside his local library because it was familiar and safe ground to him. David spent a lot of his time at the Stanville Library and I would ask him about his favorite authors. In the early 1990s, this story gave many young readers facing major difficulties a form of fictional escape which is why Davy holds a special place in my heart.
2. What is your favorite part of being involved with IFRT?
The impact of the work of IFRT is my favorite part. I appreciate the far reaching results of our efforts, the community building through meeting and learning with membership, and the sense of accomplishment from working together. IFRT provides an opportunity to support access, privacy, and intellectual freedom for people within and outside of my immediate community which is a humbling and thrilling opportunity.
3. What is your library-related or intellectual freedom-related New Year’s resolution for 2020?
My library’s strategic team have been crafting a privacy module for staff training which will be implemented in 2020. My goal is to incorporate a pre-survey in order to establish a baseline of where the team is currently in regards to various privacy topics and then track our growth. I anticipate the ideas that will be shared and the long form discussions about intellectual freedom that this exercise will produce.
Rebecca Moorman
Running for: IFRT Secretary
If you could meet your favorite banned book character, who would you meet and why?
Scout Finch has always resonated with me. I love the way she looked at the complicated issues of the world (racism, poverty, hatred, etc.) and made sense of them in her mind by putting herself in other people’s shoes. She was a strong, kind and thoughtful character, and I’d love to thank her for helping me hear my conscience and act on what is in my heart.
What is your favorite part of being involved with IFRT?
The Intellectual Freedom Round Table is on the front lines of the fight for free thought and equitable access to information. This is one of the most important roles of libraries, and being involved in IFRT gives me the opportunity to live my beliefs in the company of like-minded colleagues.
What is your library-related or intellectual freedom-related New Year’s resolution for 2020?
I will focus more energy on the ethical concerns of cataloging by working closely with catalogers around Alaska in consultation with Native Elders. There is a chilling and hurtful tone set by subject terms that do not respect diverse identities, and I am investigating strategies for making changes that bring inclusive, respectful language to our catalog, which serves 92% of the population of Alaska.
Steve Norman
Running for: IFRT Chair-Elect
1. If you could meet your favorite banned book character, who would you meet and why?
Probably Huck Finn because I would like to go on a raft down the Mississippi with him — plus he had some ripping adventures.
2. What is your favorite part of being involved with IFRT?
My favorite part of being involved with IFRT is interacting with all of the other library people who are actively committed to standing up for intellectual freedom. I believe that we have made a difference by working together.
3. What is your library-related or intellectual freedom-related New Year’s resolution for 2020?
My resolution for 2020 is to be sure the 50th anniversary of the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund is marked by an appropriately grand celebration. Also, I want to help keep IFRT strong during ALA’s big organizational transition.
Composed by the Intellectual Freedom Round Table Publications & Communications Committee. Follow us on Twitter @IFRT_ALA.
Andrea Puglisi is a Technology librarian located in Western Massachusetts. She began her career working at the Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield’s Public Library and is currently working as an Adult and Technology Services Director in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Her work focuses on reference instruction, marketing, digital services and emerging technologies. A Privacy Advocate through Library Freedom Project, Andrea is passionate about connecting libraries and communities with the tools, resources and information needed to promote privacy, freedom and access free from surveillance and oppressive technology systems in the modern age.
The Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) provides a forum for the discussion of activities, programs and problems in intellectual freedom of libraries and librarians; serves as a channel of communications on intellectual freedom matters; promotes a greater opportunity for involvement among the members of the ALA in defense of intellectual freedom; promotes a greater feeling of responsibility in the implementation of ALA policies on intellectual freedom.