Google Quietly Rolls Out the Right to be Forgotten mechanism in the U.S.
In April, Google quietly rolled out a policy expansion for U.S. citizens to request a removal of personal information from websites- information such as phone number, email address, or physical address, handwritten signatures, as well as non-consensual explicit or intimate personal images, involuntary fake pornography, personal content on websites with exploitative removal practices, select personally identifiable information (PII) or doxxing content from Google Search.
Banned Books Take Over DC
At this year’s ALA conference, show some love for your favorite banned and challenged books by snapping a photo with one of IFRT’S banned book flyers.
Happy Birthday, Anne Frank
The book-banning controversy around Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl isn’t an intellectual freedom issue, but one of legacy and privacy. As we make decisions about what materials to include in which lessons and which libraries, it’s important to remember and honor the author’s wishes.
Intellectual Freedom News 6/10/2022
“We, the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Missouri Library Association (MLA-IFC), would like to again formally express our concern as Missouri librarians and intellectual freedom advocates regarding your recent decision to remove Allison Bechdel’s Fun Home. As with the previous attempt to remove Toni Morrison’s work, this is an ill-founded and disingenuous attempt by a vocal minority to control access to diverse perspectives and experiences obfuscated by concerns about ‘protecting children.’”
Fight Censorship: Keeping PRIDE Books on Display
The Office for Intellectual Freedom has received multiple reports over the last two days about individuals checking out all the books from a library’s PRIDE Month display to prevent other readers viewing or reading the books. This censorship tactic is being promoted by a fringe Catholic political advocacy group, CatholicVote.
Don’t Miss these Intellectual Freedom Events at ALA Annual!
Are you attending the American Library Association’s Annual Conference & Exhibition this year in Washington D.C.? Keep reading for the intellectual freedom & censorship highlights at this year’s Annual.
Five Ways To Access Books After They Are Removed From Your Library
Amidst widespread book challenges and removal of materials in libraries across the United States, people may ask “how can I continue to exercise my freedom to read such materials?” This question may be easy to answer for us librarians, but many people may not be aware of other methods to access such materials and exercise their rights without purchasing materials themselves. Therefore, it is important to make sure your own library patrons and community are aware of these 5 opportunities to still access books if they are removed from your local library.
Intellectual Freedom News 6/3/2022
ALA President Patricia “Patty” Wong said, “The American Library Association stands shoulder to shoulder with the Virginia Library Association and the Virginia Association of School Libraries against this blatant attempt at censorship. The attempt to use the government’s power to halt distribution of these books not only curbs Virginians’ freedom to read, it would undercut the mission of libraries and undermine the democratic principles that hold our nation together.”
Happy Birthday, Gayle Forman!
Forman was born on June 5, 1970 in Los Angeles, California. Though she says she’s been a writer since she could form her letters, she began her formal writing career as a journalist for Seventeen magazine, then moved on to freelancing for several other major magazine titles. She began writing novels when she was 34, and published the award winning If I Stay in 2009. The book catapulted her into the spotlight, earning a spot on the top of the New York Times Bestsellers List, and winning the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) award in 2009 and the Indies Choice Book Award in 2010. If I Stay went on to be made into a movie in 2014, starring Chloë Grace Moretz.
Reclaiming the Narrative: Advice from Authors of Challenged Books
Authors speak out on how book challenges have affected them and how to respond. Their advice is to take back the narrative from challengers to center the conversation on works’ benefits and insist that challengers own up to ulterior motives.