Stop Learning displayed on a laptop screen in front of a bookshelf

The Best Defense of a Democratic Nation

I think we also need to get back to the assumption that censorship is generally bad policy in any context – the default position should be no censoring what people read, and we should only deviate from that in extreme circumstances. Kids are different, but we are preparing them to be adults and – most importantly – to be citizens. I for one want our future citizens to be well and broadly read.

Intellectual Freedom Toolkit Cover Image

New from ALSC: Intellectual Freedom Programming Toolkit

The ALSC Intellectual Freedom Committee has just released their Intellectual Freedom Programming Toolkit. Intellectual freedom is not just for Banned Books Week, and this toolkit offers ways to provide bitesize servings of important IF concepts at any time of year. Rather than replacing existing programs with IF-centered activities, we can embed those ideas in popular programming that’s already being done.

Carmen-Francesca Banciu

‘Books saved my life and my sanity’: An Interview with Banned Author Carmen-Francesca Banciu

Carmen-Francesca Banciu is an author, journalist and lecturer who grew up in Romania as the daughter of a high-ranking member of the Communist party. She studied in Bucharest, going on to win the International Short Story Prize in Arnsberg, Germany in 1985, leading to a ban on her works in Romania.

Intellectual Freedom News Editors Kate Lechtenberg and April Dawkins

Making the Intellectual Freedom News: How Do Our News Editors Make Selections?

Each week, we work to compile the news and organize it so it can be easily skimmed by those of you who subscribe to the blog. Recently, we’ve been comparing notes about what we’ve learned as we gather the Intellectual Freedom News during our first year working for OIF and we thought you, as the readers, might be interested in learning more about the process and our reflections. Here’s a sample of our recent conversations…