Intellectual Freedom News 11/16/18
Some libraries are facing backlash against LGBT programs — and holding their ground; Revisiting collection development in a digital age; Advocates draw battle lines over national privacy law
An Interview with Author Alex Gino
Alex Gino’s first book, George, is a frequent target of challenges and bans. Their new novel, You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! just came out.
In the Shadow of Pittsburgh: Intellectual Freedom to Defend the Jewish People
By guest blogger Emily Schneider. If librarians and other advocates for an inclusive and activist approach to literacy are afraid to discuss antisemitism as a deep-rooted and dangerous blight on society, we have a problem that needs to be addressed.
Intellectual Freedom News 11/9/2018
Is there a limit to academic freedom? How to lock down what websites can access on your computer; (When) Should curriculum changes be called censorship?
Banned Book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is America’s ‘Best-Loved’ Novel
Part of the reason that the novel is so well loved, I think, is because it challenged so many of us to think about difficult issues. Whether we continue to teach Mockingbird or choose to move on to another, more modern book, one important lesson from Mockingbird will live on – we will continue to read, and love, our banned books.
(When) Should curriculum changes be called censorship?
There are no easy answers in these scenarios, and often, the label of censorship thrown about in the media serves more to politicize and enflame than to move toward solutions and greater intellectual freedom for all. Instead of relying on the label of censorship to discourage curricular changes guided by politics, power, or lack of transparency, we need to rely on rigorous analysis of the curriculum choices themselves and the institutions that create and implement them. And that is a much harder task than writing a provocative headline.
Intellectual Freedom News 11/2/18
After man burns LGBTQ children’s books, donations to Orange City library skyrocket; Hate speech is infecting America, but trying to ban it is not the answer; American Libraries Live: What Do the Midterms Mean for Your Library?
13 Scary Banned Books to Read for Halloween
On all Hallow’s Eve, my favorite festive day, I share with you lucky 13 books that have been challenged or banned because of “demonic possession,” “promoting mischief,” or because they “interest little minds in the devil with all of his evil works.” But of all the things to be scared of, the scariest of all is BANNING BOOKS.
DNA Kits: What Does Your Cousin’s DNA Reveal About You?
Many of us have probably seen news articles raising privacy concerns regarding home DNA test kits, but now evidence indicates that choosing to take one of these at-home DNA tests may have privacy implications for not only you, but also your family members.
Dispatches from the Houghton Library, Part Two: Who’s In and Who’s Out?
Are admissions policies at the world’s most exclusive colleges fair? How do they even determine what “fair” is? And does this presence or absence of fairness affect our intellectual freedom?