Category: Information Access
LGBTQ+ Mis/Disinformation Is a Public Health and Safety Issue
The inaugural Social Media Safety Index report from GLAAD, when combined with recent anti-LGBTQ+ education legislation, reveals that LGBTQ+ mis/disinformation has created public health and safety issues based on an unsound free speech argument.
ALA’s Broadband Resolution and the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit Program
In response to the exclusion of library broadband funding from the Consolidated Appropriations Act (COVID-19 relief package passed in december), ALA has passed a “Resolution in Support of Broadband as a Human Right.” Now Congress has passed the American Rescue Plan Act which includes the Emergency Education Connectivity Fund. #LibrariesStrong
The Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google
There is a massive amount of news, all day, everyday. You may have missed this, but I assure you it is important. In any other year, this would be the top news story for the day: The Justice Department brought an Antitrust Lawsuit against Google. Read more for a brief discussion on Antitrust Lawsuits from the 1890s to now!
Hulu Shushes “Sunny”
Hulu is a streaming platform where you can choose the content you want to watch. And with a recent upgrade, it’s now a platform that chooses the content you really shouldn’t watch.
Meta-Information Literacy: Checking-in on Twitter’s Battle Against Disinformation
Twitter’s format of quick-bite information does more harm than good to one’s information literacy development. But the company’s recent partnership with UNESCO to promulgate this modern-day imperative is a step in the right direction.
Voices for a More Complete Women’s History
This year many libraries will be marking the anniversary of the 19th Amendment. The anniversary presents an opportunity for uplifting and highlighting voices that have gone mostly unheard.
USCIS Announces Proposed Fee Increases
USCIS has announced proposed fee hikes which will affect public access to genealogical records.
Macmillan Expands Library e-book Embargo
However, from a librarian’s perspective, this decision seriously infringes on our intellectual freedom, especially the freedoms of those who rely upon the library for their access to information.
How Democracies Die: An Interview with Steven Levitsky, Co-Author of How Democracies Die
If you take a mainstream political science definition of democracy, the United States didn’t become a full democracy until 1965 with the Voting Rights Act because it did not have full adult suffrage until 1965.
Stanley v. Georgia, Fifty Years Later
Why is this case still worth our attention? It’s been 50 years. Private freedoms are viewed as a necessary pillar of our society. As Americans, we have the right to privately read and view whatever information or material we wish. It is unconstitutional for the government to come in and try to police the content of the media we’re consuming. Right?