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March 14, 2016 200 × 311 The Freedom to Read

The November 1953 issue of the ALA Bulletin was devoted to intellectual freedom and reprinted a 1949 Herblock political cartoon on its cover.

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Tasha Squires writes: “When the 17 students in my school’s Spanish/English dual-language program visited the library at the beginning of the school year, my main concern was, how do I get them connected to reading? When our program started three years ago, we knew that 7th and 8th graders were notoriously difficult to engage in reading. We set out to create an atmosphere that engaged our multilingual students, offering them a wide variety of formats to choose from and presenting them with representation in the materials in the library.”

Edutopia, Mar. 26
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Anthony Lonetree and Zoë Jackson write: “As high schoolers staged a walkout March 23, parents filed suit against St. Francis (Minn.) Area Schools alleging the district unlawfully banned dozens of books based on the ideas they contained and the ratings of an anonymous website that recently went dark.” Students also staged walkouts at Radnor (Pa.) High School over the removal of Gender Queer, Fun Home, and Blankets from the library. Students at numerous schools on military bases worldwide did the same in response to restrictions on learning materials.

Minnesota Star-Tribune, Mar. 24; Philadelphia Inquirer, Mar. 21; Washington Post, Mar. 17
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The Special Libraries Association (SLA) has announced it will begin a dissolution process after 116 years of service to the profession. SLA will continue to operate in a limited capacity over the coming months to fulfill outstanding commitments and assist members in this transition, including hosting the 2025 SLA Annual Conference and Expo June 7–10 at the University of Pittsburgh. Further information, including timelines, town halls, and resources for affected members, and date of member dissolution voting meeting, will be made available on SLA’s website as they are available.

Special Libraries Association, Mar. 26
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Phil Morehart writes: “It’s never too early to learn about the importance and power of elections. Developed by the Association for Library Service to Children for ALA’s ‘Reader. Voter. Ready.’ campaign last year, the Inspiring Future Voters booklist is a collection of titles that will help young people understand the importance of voting, civic engagement, and making their voices heard. The booklist includes fiction and nonfiction titles for all ages from birth to young adult.”

I Love Libraries, Mar. 25; Association for Library Service to Children, Sept. 2024
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Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor and Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair at the University of Houston’s Graduate College of Social Work, has been added to the speaker lineup at ALA’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia, to be held June 26–30. Brown has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy, and her TED talk on the “Power of Vulnerability” is one of the most popular in the world with more than 60 million views. Brown will present the ALA President’s Program on Sunday, June 29, at 3:30 p.m.

ALA Conference Services, Mar. 28
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Violet Fox writes: “On February 18, the Library of Congress (LC) announced a special list of revisions in the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) relating to Trump’s Executive Order 14172, [notably changing] the LCSH for Gulf of Mexico to America, Gulf of, and for Mount Denali back to McKinley, Mount (Alaska). It was not surprising that LC would follow the example of the US Board of Geographic Names, as that’s standard operating procedure. What wasn’t standard was the speed at which this revision was pushed through.”

ACRLog, Mar. 28
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Megan Bennett writes: “Bob the Drag Queen—who won RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2016 and has since starred in other reality shows such as HBO’s We’re Here and Peacock’s The Traitors, as well as several comedy specials—released his debut novel this month. Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert (Gallery Books) imagines the iconic abolitionist coming back to life and creating a hip-hop album. American Libraries spoke with Bob about his longtime fascination with Tubman, as well as his inspiration for the novel and accompanying songs.”

American Libraries Trend, Mar. 31

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