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The Equal Opportunities Commission has questioned the Hong Kong Public Libraries’ decision to move children’s books with LGBTQ themes to closed stacks, calling it an unnecessary move that may place “new limits on children’s access to books.” The EOC said that the removal of the books may be unnecessary, given that seven of the titles concerned were considered “neutral in nature” by the public libraries themselves. The EOC said that policy should be based on “sound reasons and solid evidence.”
Hong Kong Free Press, June 21
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Flo Leeta, covered in a sparkling white jumpsuit and a pastel wig swirled into a prominent unicorn horn, looked up from the book she had been reading, Jacob’s New Dress. She had just gotten to the part where Jacob was being told by his classmates that boys can’t wear dresses. The Buffalo-based drag queen peered at the more than 70 children in front of her at the Olean (N.Y.) Public Library with a thoughtful expression under her hot pink eyeshadow. “There are all sorts of ways to be a boy,” she said. “Right?”
Olean (N.Y.) Times-Herald, June 21
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Keir Graff writes: “The group-stage games are coming fast and furious at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and like most sports fans, you’re thinking only one thing: Yes, but what should I read? Fear not, for I have selected 32 titles, one for each team in the finals—and all but one published since the last World Cup concluded in Brazil—that will tell you more about the beautiful game than you could ever learn by, you know, just watching it.”
The Booklist Reader, June 21
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Eva Rios-Alvarado writes: “The first year of my employment at the community college level, I was tasked with leading Banned Books Week as the student equity and outreach librarian at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. Going into the planning was somewhat intimidating, since I had only heard of Banned Books Week as a public library community member. If you are thinking about holding events or interactive displays at your college library, here are a couple of ideas to rally the creative in you.”
Intellectual Freedom Blog, June 21
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Klint Finley writes: “Even as companies raced to comply with sweeping privacy rules that took effect in the European Union in May, EU lawmakers were working on another set of changes that could have a global impact on the internet. On June 20, a committee in the EU’s legislative branch approved a proposed model copyright law that would likely lead many apps and websites to screen uploaded content using automated filters to detect copyrighted material. The proposal will now move to a vote by the full European Parliament.”
Wired, June 20
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Barbara Fister writes: “In the next few weeks I’d like to take a look at the core values codified by ALA and speculate about how they could be applied to our wider information landscape. While libraries don’t always live up to their values, their many decades of at least trying to do so might provide some insight into what we could do to fix some of our information technology problems that seem so vexing. Though the core values are expressed in terms of things librarians should do, the technologies that increasingly influence our lives could use them for good.”
Inside Higher Ed: Library Babel Fish, June 21
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The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has added its name to a letter to Mauricio Macri, president of Argentina and host of the G20, a gathering of the governments of the world’s biggest economies. The letter sets out a number of areas where policy-makers should act to ensure the internet works, first and foremost, for its users. This year’s G20, November 30–December 1 in Buenos Aires, is looking at digital and internet policy issues.
IFLA, June 17
