Category: Intellectual Freedom Issues
Supreme Court Struggles With Campus Speech Question in Recent Decision
The Supreme Court has decided that schools have an interest in keeping an eye on what students post on social media sites in order to avoid “substantial disruption” on campus. But just where does campus end and how disrupting must speech be for schools to act and stay on the right side of the First Amendment?
“Cancel Culture” Not a Government Matter, But The Boss Can Shut You Down
The law is clear: employers get to decide whether or not an employee’s latest Tweet is grounds for termination and the First Amendment, though meant to be a shield from government overreach, is no shield from private consequence.
“Libraries are What Unite Us”: A Conversation with Dan Rather About His Book “What Unites Us”
Dan Rather, veteran journalist and author of the book What Unites Us: Reflections of Patriotism, sat down with Adult editor for Booklist Donna Seaman to discuss his book and the important role libraries play in sustaining our democracy. Their discussion also touched on the importance of funding libraries, the free and independent press, and science literacy.
Forrest Spaulding: Drafter of the Original Library Bill of Rights
This month, 129 years after his birth and almost 82 years after the adoption of the Library Bill of Rights, it seems fitting to remember the work done by Forrest Spaulding in creating a bold and straightforward document that continues to inform the library profession in the United States and around the world.
Malcolm X, Military Academies, and Trump’s (Defunct) EO
Should servicemen and women be exposed to material some might deem anti-American? There are two answers to this question: the first, which addresses the specific case of Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, and the second, which appeals to the universal right to free speech usually espoused by those on the political right, but seemingly abandoned in this case.
Dav Pilkey and “Cancel Culture”: A Conversation with Deborah Caldwell-Stone
This is an interview with Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Director of the Office of Intellectual Freedom, and, as such, provides information on the Office’s and its stance regarding Scholastic’s recent decision to pull Dav Pilkey’s The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future.
If You Missed It: Intellectual Freedom and Privacy at ALA Midwinter
A quick intellectual freedom and privacy recap from ALA Midwinter Virtual.
Can Libraries be “Antibodies” Against the “Infodemic”?
Agenda-driven books regarding COVID-19 and vaccines are appearing as top results on retail searches. Those of you who have worked library reference are most likely accustomed to patrons showing you an Amazon page on their phone asking “can you get me this book?” Performing a book search for “COVID-19” via both Amazon and Barnes and Noble shows books suggesting debunked conspiracy theories within the first ten results. Additionally, searches on OCLC WorldCat reveal that books with such misleading or debunked information wind up on the shelves of public, college, and high school libraries.
Social Justice and Intellectual Freedom Webinar Presented (Free!) by ALA Intellectual Freedom Round Table
As libraries undertake important DEI and social justice work, questions arise about complicity, censorship, privacy, and the chilling effect. Frosty Windows, Frosty Mirrors will feature expert panelists discussing their current thinking and practice on these important and challenging issues. After the panel, attendees will have the opportunity to share their perspectives with panelists in break-out room listening sessions. Seats are filling up fast – register today!
A Conversation with Douglas County Library Director Amy Dodson
This is the story of the Library Director who was threatened by the County Sheriff over her Library’s support of the Black Lives Matter movement in Summer 2020. This launched an investigation and a protest in Douglas County, Nevada.