Tag: intellectual freedom
IRFT Member Spotlight – Maya Bergamasco
This month the Intellectual Freedom Round Table is highlighting the work and concerns of IFRT Member Maya Bergamasco.
Banned Books Week 2023: Programs, Day of Action, and More
Libraries, schools, bookstores, and groups around the world will be calling attention to censorship – and ways to fight it – October 1 – 7, 2023. The American Library Association […]
Prioritizing Intellectual Freedom & Privacy: Your Itinerary for ALA Annual 2023
Whether you’re a seasoned advocate or new to ALA Annual, we encourage you to prioritize the many events focusing on intellectual freedom and library privacy. In an era marked by rising censorship and attempts to limit intellectual freedom, it’s more crucial than ever for library workers to champion these fundamental principles of a healthy democracy.
St. Marys City Renews Library Lease
After months of debate, public protest, and letters of support from the Kansas Library Association, OIF, and ACLU of Kansas, the St. Marys City Commission voted to renew the lease for Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library for another year.
The Iranian Protests Are a Reminder of the Need for Praise of Salman Rushdie
We in libraries can do nothing to ameliorate Mr. Rushdie’s physical pain. We can and should, however, proudly display and recommend his works. To support Mr. Rushdie and to celebrate his works is not to attack a religion. It is only to excoriate, as we should, the mindless and soulless adherence to the wrong-headed, hateful, and evil interpretation of a religion promulgated by mere–and mistaken–men.
Banned Book Week Ideas for Rural Libraries
While book banning is a growing trend nationwide, the majority of successful book bans happening right now seem to be occurring in rural areas (both fringe and remote rural) as well as some suburban areas. The initiatives and toolkits presently available for all librarians are great, but they are created by urban LIS professionals and best-suited for urban and suburban audiences. The current rhetoric used in these one-size-fits-all toolkits may not be effective in rural areas.
What is a “Challenge”?
Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas. Keep reading for more intellectual freedom definitions from ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Explore Intellectual Freedom in these #ALAAC21 Sessions!
The ALA Annual Conference offers numerous opportunities to explore and celebrate intellectual freedom. This post highlights fourteen intellectual freedom-themed conference sessions, including live panel discussions and on-demand sessions, the Intellectual Freedom Awards Celebration, and business meetings. As you plan your #ALAAC21 calendar, consider adding these sessions to your schedule!
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.
The FBI and Student Surveillance: A Sputnik for Our Time
A recent push by the FBI for US universities to monitor Chinese students is alarming – but this siren rings with a different tonality depending on your listening equipment. To Senator Mark Warner, it’s about national security. But to me, it sounds a whole lot like government-sanctioned censorship.