Category: Intellectual Freedom Issues
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.
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?
Review of “Libraries, Leadership, and Scholarly Communication” and “Scholarly Communication: What Everyone Needs to Know”
ALA Editions published a book of essays in 2016 by Rick Anderson called Libraries, Leadership, and Scholarly Communication. The author also has a new book out called Scholarly Communication: What Everyone Needs to Know. I’ve worked with Rick Anderson for nearly a decade now and have read many of his scholarly communication-related articles. I wanted to take the chance to read other essays that I may have missed, especially those about libraries and leadership in general.
No More Prison Book Donations: PA’s War on Drugs
by Andrea Jamison Books Through Bars is a book donation program that provides prison inmates with access to literature and educational resources. Each month, the organization sends an estimated “2,100 […]
How the Act of Reading Changes Lives
Being able to explore and learn is a great aspect of reading, but what I truly think the act of reading represents is the ability to use one’s mind. And this is always what makes reading both subversive and not done enough.
How to Make My Classroom More Like a Library
By: Kate Lechtenberg I was recently working on a proposal for a new course, and my book list kept getting longer and longer. The solution was clear: choice. If there […]
Where does Kavanaugh stand on privacy, net neutrality, 1st Amendment?
Like a good proportion of the country, I have been doing my best to catch bits and pieces of the Senate hearings regarding the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the US Supreme Court. When I sat down to write this blog I wondered, what impact might Kavanaugh’s confirmation have on intellectual freedom issues?
Facial Recognition Surveillance at the Library?
It would feel strange if a library started taking fingerprints of patrons who entered and exited just for the purpose of matching them against a state or federal database containing fingerprints of criminals.
Intellectual Freedom Inventory: Back to School Edition
It’s almost that time again, the most wonderful time of the year! Back to school!
More than a Coffee Shop: How Libraries Support Civil Liberties
by: Andrea Jamison Recently, Forbes posted (and subsequently removed) an opinion editorial that sent librarians and library supporters on a social media tirade. The now archived article, written by Panos Mourdoukoutas, […]