A bad basketball dad and libraries: a metaphor
By: guest blogger Scott Garner
Alex Gino’s George and the Oregon Battle of the Books
Recently, Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) released its reading list for the 2018-2019 school year. On this list is the award winning middle grade novel George by Alex Gino. The story centers around a young transgender child, George, who was born a boy but knows she is a girl. The book tackles the difficult, and too often undiscussed, situations and emotions a young transgender child might experience. Many parents in Oregon have taken issue with this selection, saying that the book is not appropriate for the grade level for which it was chosen.
Ode to Librarians
Walk into a library and you can feel
The sacredness of this secular space.
Available to you for the asking,
With librarians as the guides for the curious and the willing.
Intellectual Freedom News 5/18/18
Win literary prizes, support intellectual freedom at ALA Annual Conference; ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ survives school board challenge; Librarians, youth reading and intellectual freedom: Historical and contemporary views
Gender bias lesson leads to policy changes–and questions for school librarians
No policy can be written to prevent all challenges and all selection mistakes. But we can improve how we talk to each other and how we talk about our policies. Included here are three steps school librarians can take to lay the groundwork for improved conversations between parents, teachers, and administrators.
“Stand” Radio Hour Drama Explores Political and Intellectual Freedom
Stand, is an original, hour-long play about political and intellectual freedom written by Matthew Ivan Bennett. It’s a story of compelled speech, thought, action, and surveillance “by the minute”–a perfect work of art for intellectual freedom proponents to engage with and explore.
Hong Kong, Mainland China, and the Banned Booksellers’ Plight
Even since 1997, that tradition of free speech has endured. An entire cottage industry of publishing content banned throughout Mainland China emerged to a point of (semi-)national notoriety in Hong Kong, if not actual pride.
Parents & Intellectual Curiosity
While parents absolutely can, and should, be aware of what their children read and are exposed to and be actively engaged in helping students process what they are reading, I also believe books are a safe way for children to learn and expand their perspectives and horizons and challenge their own preexisting world views. Parents can play a critical role in helping them do so.
Aurora Public Library Poem Controversy: A Matter of Free Speech or Common Sense?
By Andrea Jamison The Aurora Public Library became the subject of intense scrutiny resulting from a decision to publicly display a controversial poem. The poem in question, “Hijab Means Jihad,” […]
Intellectual Freedom News 5/11/2018
Parents are divided over a book in a popular student reading program in Oregon; ALA President Jim Neal to hold ‘Fight for School Libraries’ summit May 23; Red alert for net neutrality