Category: Intellectual Freedom Issues
Meet the 2019 Intellectual Freedom Bloggers!
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) is pleased to introduce ten new bloggers in addition to five strong voices who continue to share thought provoking original content about a core value of the librarian profession.
2018 Behind, 2019 Ahead
What just happened? A look back at some of the biggest intellectual-freedom news of 2018…and a look forward to those on the horizon in 2019.
The Library is a Growing Organism: Resources for Weeding Collections
Libraries can’t grow if they aren’t weeded. The fifth Ranganathan Law states “The library is a growing organism.” With professional resources and a statement of support, ALA and the Oregon Library Association reinforce the professional deselection standards used by the Salem Public Library.
A Digital Age Book Burning
On December 3rd, tumblr CEO Jeff D’Onofrio announced that the platform will “no longer allow adult content, including explicit sexual content and nudity.” Guest blogger Melaine Huyck-Aufdermaur defends her belief that this action is a digital age book burning.
Literacy Voices for Intellectual Freedom: Dispatches from NCTE & LRA
By: Kate Lechtenberg Intellectual freedom talk with literacy educators: NCTE and LRA conference highlights Sometimes librarians feel like we’re the only ones who think about intellectual freedom, but I can […]
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.