“In 2021, the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services, affecting 1,597 books.” (ALA.org)
How have these challenges impacted your library?
Do you find yourself working harder each month to defend the collection, displays, and programming choices at your library?
Providing library services to children has always required a solid background in intellectual freedom and over the past year the importance of access to strong tools, policies, and procedures has become paramount.
Banned Books Week 2022 is September 18-24, the week before the 2022 ALSC National Institute in Kansas City, Missouri. To highlight best practices and share resources in support of Intellectual Freedom, ALSC Managing Children’s Services 2021-2022 Committee is honored to be hosting a round table discussion on managing material reconsiderations.
If you are attending National Institute, we invite you to join us to discuss trends in intellectual freedom, review ALA tools available to support defending materials, share ideas for training frontline youth services staff, and review a variety of policies and procedures that support and defend the freedom to read. Attendees are invited to bring their library’s request for reconsideration forms and sample collection policies to highlight and discuss best practice.
Attendees will also discuss the importance of diversity and representation in our collections, and how to apply weeding guidelines to work toward anti-racist children’s collections.
Do you have a success story to share? Has your Library created a system of tools that supports staff in their intellectual freedom work? If so, please share in the comments and join us at the Considering Reconsideration session at National Institute!
Today’s blog post was written by Katie Cerqua, Programming and Community Outreach Manager, Virginia Beach Public Library, on behalf of the ALSC Managing Children’s Services Committee. She can be reached at kcerqua@vbgov.com.
This blog relates to ALSC Core Competencies of IV. Collection Knowledge and Management and VII. Professionalism and Professional Development.