Amazingly, this year’s ALA Annual Conference is now mere weeks away! To build on the great recent post by the Program Coordinating Committee on what to look forward to however you are engaging, here are some recommendations from our Intellectual Freedom Committee on sessions that will be helpful to all of us in dealing with the difficult situations this challenging time presents. A Rally for the Right to Read: Uniting for Libraries & Intellectual Freedom Thursday, June 22, 6:00-9:00 pm, Hilton Chicago-Boulevard Room Join us to honor the courage and resilience of America’s librarians and their persevering work to protect the freedom to read. Beginning at 6 pm, program attendees will hear from inspiring speakers and recognize the 2023 recipients of the FTRF Roll of Honor Award, the Eli M. Oboler Award, the Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award and the John Phillip Immroth Award. At 8 pm, a…
Tag: Intellectual Freedom Committee
The Freedom to be Scared!
When doing outreach for grade school children my favorite books to book talk often come from a genre that is frequently challenged: Horror! It’s a delight to discuss scary stories because these conversations reveal how children are their own best selectors and even censors when they are given the ability to choose what they read.
BOOK CHALLENGES: UPDATE YOUR GAME PLAN!
It doesn’t take a librarian to notice the surge in news stories about book challenges in public and school libraries, disputed materials vanishing from shelves and librarians getting fired. The stories are everywhere, but are you ready if this happens to you? Let’s flip a popular catchphrase to show that “sometimes the best offense is a good defense.”
It’s all about making connections!
Connecting is easier than ever: The NEW ALA Connect Maybe you’ve seen the messages from ALA leadership over the past few weeks warning us that all discussion lists and other association communications will cease to exist in their current form as of June 30, 2021. After that time, all communications between ALA and ALA divisions/committees will be handled through the new ALA Connect. And maybe these announcements have filled you with dread over the thought of having to now go to a separate place in order to stay in touch with ALA, ALA divisions, and your committees. Fear not! I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the features of the new ALA Connect: the best of which is that all communications can be sent directly to and replied directly from your email! A recent session on the features of the new ALA Connect provided useful and encouraging information, including: You…
Intellectual Freedom at Midwinter 2021
If you’re like me, sketching out your schedule for sessions and events at ALA conferences is a fun part of anticipating the trip. In our virtual circumstances, we can still plan, but our options have actually expanded, with some sessions offered “on demand” rather than at a specific time. You can find a great overview of events, along with links, in the schedule at a glance. There is a tremendous line-up of speakers and sessions for Midwinter, and many are closely tied to various principles of intellectual freedom –ideas like equity, access, inclusion, and intellectual property. If these are areas of interest for you, read on! We’ve combed the schedule to spotlight some amazing IF-related events coming up next week. For starters: the Office of Intellectual Freedom will introduce the hot-off-the-press 10th Edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual in an on-demand session. Viewers get a discount on purchasing a copy. Speakers and Sessions Anti-racism Work and…
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?
Talking to Kids & Parents about Intellectual Freedoms
Atrribution: RodLibrary@Uni https://www.flickr.com/photos/unirodlibrary/30209015226/in/photostream/ What librarian hasn’t had an uncomfortable conversation with a parent concerned about the materials their children have been reading or viewing? The ALSC Intellectual Freedom committee has been busy revising documents to help you talk with kids and parents about the intellectual rights of children as the situation arises. (And if it hasn’t yet, don’t worry…it will.) Remember, educating rather than censuring can create partnerships with parents and schools to combat censorship geared towards children.
Representation: What Can Librarians Do?
To quote from my colleague Betsy Brainerd, an Early Literacy Librarian for the Arapahoe Libraries in Centennial, Colorado, and a fellow member of the ALSC Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC), in her ALSC IFC blog post from October 2016: