“May you live in interesting times.” This old curse seems to be visiting us en masse, as 2020 delivers an endless stream of astonishing and devastating developments. As always, librarians have a role to play in helping children and their families to navigate the world in which we find ourselves. To meet their needs, it’s more important than ever that we strive to understand and connect with everyone in the community. Inclusiveness is a foundational idea of intellectual freedom, and it starts with knowledge about the challenges faced by people whose experience may be different from ours. Given that roughly only 12% of credentialed U.S. librarians are Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), it’s safe to say that most of us could learn a thing or two about the BIPOC experience in America. And considering the fact that as of 2018 less than half of children under 15 in the…
Author: ALSC Intellectual Freedom committee
Ensuring a Diverse Collection: Promoting Equity of Access and Free Expression
The library community recognizes that diverse authors and diverse content have been limited for too long.
Information Literacy in STEAM Programming
Incorporating information literacy in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) programming in a fun and engaging manner is an essential part of encouraging responsible digital citizenship and inspiring children to think about thinking.
Incorporating Intellectual Freedom into Outreach
Incorporating intellectual freedom into outreach in a fun and engaging manner is an essential component of bringing our core values into the community, and bringing the library beyond its physical borders. Some of the tips listed below can be applied broadly to all types of outreach and communication/collaboration with outside agencies and organizations.
Intellectual Freedom at ALA Midwinter 2020
The ALA Midwinter Conference in Philadelphia featured a number of meetings and sessions of relevance to those interested in intellectual freedom for children in schools and libraries. Here are some highlights for those who may have missed them, courtesy of the ALSC Intellectual Freedom Committee.
Incorporating Intellectual Freedom into STEM Programs
How can librarians connect children with trustworthy scientific source material about climate change?
Incorporating Information Literacy into Youth Book Clubs
Incorporating Information Literacy into Youth Book Clubs Can you teach information literacy while still offering a fun, engaging book club?
Incorporating Intellectual Freedom into Programming: Storytime
The ALSC Intellectual Freedom Committee continues a series of blog posts on incorporating intellectual freedom and information literacy into cornerstone, everyday library programs. These techniques enrich the work you already do as a librarian without disrupting your programming routine. For this post, we’ll focus on tips for including intellectual freedom concepts into storytimes for children ages 3 – 5.