Category: First Amendment
Introducing the Right to Read Act
Have you heard about the Right to Read Act yet? The Right to Read act would extend liability protections to teachers and school librarians and ensure that all students have access to an effective school library staffed by a certified school librarian.
Aiding and Abetting?: “Speech-Plus” and Qualified Immunity at the Reference Desk
Librarians and library organizations should be aware of ongoing efforts to lessen governmental qualified immunity (a frequent point of discussion after high-profile police brutality cases or accidents attributable to public employee negligence). Librarians and library organizations should be willing to discuss all of this, says Giudicessi, because “people who are at the extremes of an issue often see imposing liability as a tactic.”
E-Course on the First Amendment and Library Services Begins September 12
The First Amendment and Library Services, brought to you by Theresa Chmara, ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions, and the Office for Intellectual Freedom, will introduce you to the legal principles behind the First Amendment, their practical implications in daily life, and how those principles affect library work.
Board of Education v. Pico: Forty years of First Amendment Legacy
On June 25, 1982, the Supreme Court announced their decision regarding the authority of school boards to censor materials in school libraries in Board of Education v. Pico. Now, on the 40th anniversary of their landmark decision, we are seeing an unprecedented wave of challenges. What happened with the Pico decision? And will it help us now?
Art Spiegelman Speaks About Maus and its Place in Schools and Libraries
When local Jewish and other faith-based organizations learned of a Tennessee school board decision to ban “Maus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from being taught in its classrooms, they responded by organizing a nationwide Zoom interview with author Art Spiegelman. The webinar was offered free to the public and offered an opportunity to hear Art Spiegelman’s thoughts on the banning of his book along with his views on the increased number of book challenges nationwide.
Librarians & Educators Visit Congress Over Book Bans & Academic Censorship
Free Speech & the First Amendment brought the American Library Association to a House Subcommittee Hearing on Book Bans and Academic Censorship this past April 7th, 2022.
Censorship Escalates to Burning Books
February started off on quite the ominous note, with pastor Greg Locke from Tennessee holding an old-fashioned book burning. While hardly the first, the widespread coverage in the news is a sign that we have stopped denying book burnings happen on US soil. The unfortunate reality is they happen here, and we need to pay attention to their rise in our own backyard.
Student Press Freedom Day is February 24
Student Press Freedom Day will be held on Thursday, February 24, 2022. This year’s theme is “Unmute Yourself!”
Then and now: Banning Like it’s 1981
The last year, especially the last few months, has seen a dramatic increase in book challenges nationwide. This is alarming, as it should be; however, the timing of such an organized push repeats history with the same frequency as social challenges and advancements. The current wave of attempted censorship is a modern remake of a 1980s special that should have been left in the past.
The Krause Banned Books List
The Texas House Committee on General Investigating, chaired by Matt Krause, has compiled a lengthy list of books that they allege contains material that might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex. Ah, the old slippery slope from soft censorship to soul crushing authoritarianism.
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