Intellectual Freedom Blog

5 Ways to Exercise your Intellectual Freedom Rights, Read Banned Books for Free, Access Materials your Library Does Not Own

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.

June 7, 2022June 7, 2022 David Sye Censorship, Information Access

Teaching Copyright and Free Expression: Help for Educators

Guest Post by David Sohn, Copyright and Creativity for Ethical Digital Citizens (C&C). Ideally, students learn to access, move, re-share, and re-use creative content in all kinds of ways that are legal and ethical; they also know the rules of the road for producing their own creative works. Yet teaching copyright in a way that encourages and promotes free expression can be a significant challenge. Copyright is a complicated legal subject with significant gray areas. Teachers may feel ill-equipped to cover it with their students.

Educators need a set of copyright lessons that is easy to use and that gives plenty of attention to concepts such as fair use, the public domain, and Creative Commons: accessible materials that focus on what copyright enables and permits, not just what it prohibits.

March 30, 2022March 30, 2022 ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom Staff Copyright, Education, Professional Development

Harold Lloyd's character in the film Safety Last hangs from a clocktower over a busy street, looking alarmed.

The Public Domain Grows in 2019

For the first time this century, a wide array of artworks, books, music and films fell into the public domain. Works in the public domain, which now includes those created in 1923, are no longer under copyright protection, so anyone who enjoys creating something can make use of works in the public domain for inspiration. While the late 20th century saw a copyright term that only got longer, the 21st century sees the public domain finally grow.