Month: August 2020
Intellectual Freedom News 8/28/2020
Douglas County Library Board of Trustees will investigate library director, staff over support for BLM movement: “The letter explains and reiterates the fact that libraries have been engaged in the important work of ridding libraries of racism and policies that reflect racism either implicitly or explicitly for a number of years,” said Caldwell-Stone. “This is a particular goal of the ALA and other library associations, to ensure that everyone receives fair treatment and equal access to the library, and finds the library to be a welcoming and inclusive institution in the community.”
Intellectual Freedom News 8/21/2020
Join President Julius C. Jefferson, Jr. Thursday, 8/27, 2:00 pm (est) for the August ALA Connect Live discussion. This month, the conversation will focus on reopening and recovery initiatives within libraries.
Reflections on the O’Hanlon Mural
There is a mural at the University of Kentucky that was done in 1934 by Ann Rice O’Hanlon. This mural depicts both Black people and Native American people in derogatory, racist ways including slavery. In 2017, the university commissioned a response piece by Black artist Karyn Olivier. The two pieces are now intertwined, yet the university wants to remove the O’Hanlon piece in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
J.K. Rowling’s Magical Thinking is Censorship
Harry Potter is one of the most frequently banned series. J.K. Rowling doesn’t understand that when she silences the real, lived experiences of trans people, she is banning a narrative that is not only crucial to the feminist and social justice movement but to humanity as well.
Intellectual Freedom News 8/14/2020
40 Virtual Program Ideas for Banned Books Week “With many libraries practicing social distancing, and recent protests and acknowledgements of systemic racism, this is not the time to conduct a business-as-usual Banned Books Week.”
An Invitation to Danger: Perspectives on Intellectual Freedom and Information War
The first task of information warfare is to recognize when you’re in one, because you might not be fighting the information war, but the information war is fighting you. This essay revisits the wartime writing of Archibald MacLeish, poet-warrior, playwright-propagandist, and Librarian of Congress from 1939 through 1944. It explores whether we’re experiencing an information war now, and how the library community can respond.
40 Virtual Program Ideas for Banned Books Week
This year’s Banned Books Week (September 27 – October 3) will look different. Here are 40 ideas on how to celebrate virtually, on social media, and maintaining social distance.
New Issue of the ‘Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy’ Now Available
The article by Young, Walker, Swauger, Gibeault, Mannheimer, and Clark describes participatory ways to think about and design privacy-oriented library services. The cover image is a representation of privacy education and engagement drawn by a participant in the project described by Young et al.
Intellectual Freedom News 8/7/2020
American Library Association announces 2021 Midwinter Meeting will be Virtual; TikTok Ban: A Seed of Genuine Security Concern Wrapped in a Thick Layer of Censorship; Lack of broadband access within tribal communities, fuels grave concern among nation’s library leaders
Apostasy!
The Republican Right humiliated and punished all but its true believers, in a purge that left it less responsive to a changing world, and undercut broad support. Is the Left repeating the play?