Author: Kristin Pekoll
Upcoming Banned Books Week Events
They reach across boundaries and build connections between readers. Reading—especially books that extend beyond our own experiences—expands our worldview. Censorship, on the other hand, divides us and creates barriers.
Join the #BannedBooksChat With Jason Reynolds!
Join Banned Books Week and Honorary Chair Jason Reynolds on Monday, August 2, at 4:00 p.m. EDT for a #BannedBooksChat on Twitter!
Intellectual Freedom News 6/18/2021
The Committee on Professional Ethics has proposed a ninth principle be added to the ALA Code of Ethics. This proposed additional principle is meant to codify the library and information services profession’s commitment to racial and social justice and further emphasize diversity and inclusion as one of the profession’s core beliefs.
Intellectual Freedom News 6/11/2021
The ALA Annual Conference offers numerous opportunities to explore and celebrate Intellectual Freedom. As you plan your calendar, consider adding these sessions to your schedule.
Intellectual Freedom News 2/5/2021
ALA, United for Libraries Urge Lafayette Library Board to Reinstate Program on Voting Rights: “By providing your community with opportunities to engage in conversations with historians and scholars about topics of importance, you will send a powerful message to the public – that history is not a political debate, it is fact,”
Should I Report Censorship?
The ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom (“OIF”) encourages everyone to report any and all instances of censorship and challenges to materials (including databases), programs, speakers, filtering and author visits. No matter is too insignificant. If we let instances of censorship slide by or decide to just take certain books off the shelf to avoid conflict or save time, we undermine the First Amendment and our own profession.
The Library is Closed: Reflections on Self-Censorship, Pride, Silence, and Solidarity
By guest contributor E. F. Schraeder. These are risks and possibilities when a librarian opts to honor PRIDE month or recognize LGBTQ authors and readers throughout the year in other ways. Each June almost like clockwork, it seems some library or other is on the receiving end of public noise: shame or praise, for hosting or cancelling an event with LGBTQ community members in mind.
A Day in the Life of… ALA’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books
During National Library Week, the Office for Intellectual Freedom discusses the past year’s trends. Of the 566 books that were targeted in 2019, here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books.
The Electronic Closet: Investigating Accusations of Queer Suppression on Facebook and Instagram
Queer users are challenging Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites for suppressing and censoring their content. In the face of information suppression, librarians can push back against censorship through facilitating awareness and strategies of promoting representation and visibility.
Super Bowl Commercials While Librarianing
By: guest contributors Callan Bignoli and Dustin Fife. However, and even if you can guess where we are going, we want to make two things unmistakably clear: There should be affordable and accessible tools that help anyone and everyone remember their history and archive it as they see fit. More importantly though, it should not be Google or any other major, data-driven, for-profit corporation.