Intellectual Freedom Committee Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Council III: Intellectual Freedom Takes Center Stage

By Sallyann Price | June 27, 2022

Wong began the meeting with memorial tributes honoring: Ross J. Todd (M-#8), Donald C. Adcock (M-#9), Virginia “Ginny” Bradley Moore (M-#10), Nancy Kandoian (M-#11), Alvin Leroy Lee (M-#12), Donna Scheeder (M-#13), Margo Crist (M-#14), Alexandra Sax (M-#15), Sarah Van Antwerp (M-#16), Ann Pechacek (M-#17), Sandra Payne (M-#18), Judith S. Rowe (M-#19), Tracey Hunter-Hayes (M-#20), and … Continue reading Council III: Intellectual Freedom Takes Center Stage →

Social Justice Requires Broadband Access

By Amy Carlton | June 26, 2021

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) estimates that 14.5 million Americans lack broadband internet access. Panel moderator Eldon R. James, a trustee of the Freedom to Read Foundation, opened the session by citing an independent research study that suggests the real numbers are likely closer to 42 million. Erin Hollingsworth is librarian at North Slope Borough … Continue reading Social Justice Requires Broadband Access →

Discord in the Community

By Carrie Smith | June 24, 2019

So many people came to the program, the drag queen held a second storytime immediately after her session. Now, even though the program is over, the library is still receiving around 50 emails per day asking them not to hold it. Sukrit Goswami, director of the Haverford Township Free Library, shared how he and his … Continue reading Discord in the Community →

ALA Council Rescinds “Meeting Rooms: An Interpretation of The Library Bill of Rights”

August 16, 2018

The motion to rescind the 2018 version was approved. Ninety of the 179 councilors were required to vote. Seventy-five percent of those voting were needed to approve the measure. A total of 146 voted on this question, representing 82% of eligible voters. The final tally: 140 voted to rescind, four voted not to rescind, and … Continue reading ALA Council Rescinds “Meeting Rooms: An Interpretation of The Library Bill of Rights” →

Sadie Peterson Delaney. Illustration: Mary Phelan

By the Numbers: Women and Libraries

By Terra Dankowski | March 1, 2017

1857 Year that Jane Wadden Turner was hired as a library clerk by the Smithsonian. She was the first woman to secure a paid position at the institution. 16 Number of years that the Amelia Bloomer List, a project of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Social Responsibilities Round Table Feminist Task Force, has been recommending … Continue reading By the Numbers: Women and Libraries →

New Privacy Guidelines for Ebooks

By Michael Robinson | August 7, 2015

The Adobe Digital Editions incident last October was a wake-up call for many people. The new version of the Digital Editions client was transmitting data about the reading habits of users in a way that left readers vulnerable to eavesdropping. Adobe quickly provided a fix to encrypt the data during transmission, but the incident raised … Continue reading New Privacy Guidelines for Ebooks →

Latest Library Links

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Catherine Hollerbach writes: “In early 2020, when the world shut down for COVID, many people got interested in houseplants. Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library’s Crofton Library embraced this trend and then some!” While preparing to reopen after the COVID shutdown, the library installed plants at the information desk to discourage patrons from sticking their heads through gaps in newly installed acrylic shields. They were well received and cared for, and the library gradually added more plants and built educational tools, programming, and partnerships around the plants.

Public Libraries Online, Apr. 18
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Rodney Freeman writes: “I am proud to be a librarian—and rare. Less than 7 percent of librarians in the U.S. are Black. Libraries symbolize the literacy that was denied to so many of our ancestors. For our enslaved forebears, something as fundamental as learning to read was illegal and dangerous, but they did it anyway. Separate but ‘equal’ schools and ‘colored’ libraries filled with cast-offs from white libraries were key features of the Jim Crow era. Today we are seeing the same impulse to distort access to information into a tool to suppress and control, and to make some people ‘other.’”

Newsweek, Apr. 16
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Lori Birrell writes: “Staff want to feel valued, and they want their work to have an impact. A reorganization process can help leaders to surface such areas of impact and give staff a feeling of empowerment and value. Practitioners considering any sized reorganization are strongly encouraged to consider what models and resources will best support them as they plan and lead this work. Regardless of the model or resources, any reorganization process should be more than just moving boxes and reporting lines around on an organizational chart.”

Library Leadership and Management, Apr. 15
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Megan Bennett writes: “Two decades ago, while Daily Show Senior Correspondent Dulcé Sloan was doing summer shows at a community theater in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, the library was her main hangout spot. In the small town of 9,000 people, it was a place to gather with other young actors—and the only place with internet access. American Libraries spoke with Sloan before her closing session at the Public Library Association 2024 Conference in Columbus, Ohio, about her new book, her journey in stand-up comedy, and her memories of libraries.”

American Libraries Trend, Apr. 17
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Ashley Cosby Fowlkes writes: “In February 2023, Warren County (Ky.) Public Library (WCPL) began working with LifeWorks at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, a residential community for neurodiverse young adults that focuses on independent living and job readiness. By May, WCPL opened a satellite location at LifeWorks—making it the state’s first public library branch dedicated to serving neurodiverse patrons. The satellite is designed to be a sensory-sensitive environment, enabling individuals with autism, ADHD, or other learning differences—who can become overstimulated in crowded public areas—to concentrate on their studies, read a book, or browse digital library resources.”

American Libraries Trend, Mar./Apr.
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Araceli Méndez Hintermeister writes: “In the dynamic landscape of modern entrepreneurship, libraries emerge as powerful allies. The books in this collection delve into why and how libraries can be pivotal in supporting local businesses. Explore how libraries can serve as economic incubators and build relationships in the process.”

American Libraries column, Mar./Apr.
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Joe Árvai writes: “As artificial intelligence (AI) creeps further into people’s daily lives, so do worries about it. At the most alarmist are concerns about AI going rogue and terminating its human masters. But my own research as a psychologist who studies how people make decisions leads me to believe that all these risks are overshadowed by an even more corrupting, though largely invisible, threat. That is, AI is mere keystrokes away from making people even less disciplined and skilled when it comes to thoughtful decisions.”

The Conversation, Apr. 12

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