intellectual freedom Archives | American Libraries Magazine

From left: Marguerite Avery, April Hathcock, and Jamie LaRue (speaking) at the American Library Association’s 2017 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 24, 2017. Photo: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries

Intellectual Freedom and Open Access: Working Toward a Common Goal?

By Jennifer Putnam Davis | June 25, 2017

Marguerite Avery, senior acquisitions editor at Trinity University Press in San Antonio, Texas, spoke from a publisher’s point of view. Avery eagerly joined this conversation because, “framing intellectual freedom and open access is seldom discussed over intellectual property and open access,” she explains. Avery defines intellectual freedom as “being able to seek and receive all … Continue reading Intellectual Freedom and Open Access: Working Toward a Common Goal? →

A volunteer with Books to Prisons Seattle searches the donated books to fulfill prisoner requests.

The Freedom of Reading

By Kaitlin Throgmorton | October 31, 2016

Books-to-prisoners programs across the country are doing their best to address this need by taking book requests from prisoners by mail, then having volunteers match those requests to books that have been donated by the public or purchased with monetary donations. Volunteers also prep books for shipment, assess and sort donations, keep track of the … Continue reading The Freedom of Reading →

Dewey Decibel Podcast: Banned Books

October 5, 2016

James LaRue, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and the executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation. James and Phil talk about the difference between a challenge and a ban, the reasons behind books bans in the US, and more. Sara Stevenson, a librarian at O. Henry Middle School in … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Banned Books →

Preserving Our Values

By Karen Muller | May 31, 2016

The Intellectual Freedom Manual is a guide to providing library service in support of First Amendment rights. For the manual’s 9th edition, the background information on its policies has been pulled into a separate volume, A History of ALA Policy on Intellectual Freedom: A Supplement to the Intellectual Freedom Manual, compiled by editor Trina Magi … Continue reading Preserving Our Values →

Attendees are seated at the Perspectives on Islam event on March 9 at Darby (Mont.) Community Public Library.

Perspectives on Islam in Montana

By Wendy Campbell | April 15, 2016

In 2016, along with our regular programming for children, we chose the Montana Historical Society traveling history footlocker, Coming to Montana: Immigrants from Around the World, for field trips with elementary-school children from Darby Public Schools, one of our local partners. The footlocker was exhibited at the library and provided a useful starting point for … Continue reading Perspectives on Islam in Montana →

Joshua Hammer, author of The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu and Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts.

Newsmaker: Joshua Hammer

By Renée Olson | March 24, 2016

When reading your book, I didn’t know whether to be scared out of my mind about the jihadists or think it’s the greatest thing that these librarians were able to get the manuscripts out of danger. JOSHUA HAMMER: I think both reactions would be appropriate. Fearing for more than 350,000 medieval manuscripts in the city, … Continue reading Newsmaker: Joshua Hammer →

US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Dartmouth President John Sloan Dickey at the Dartmouth College commencement, June 14, 1953. Courtesy of Dartmouth College Library

The Freedom to Read

By Wayne A. Wiegand | March 15, 2016

Eisenhower’s words shocked many because they constituted his first public challenge to McCarthyism—an ethos enveloping the country at the time and fed by Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.), who inferred communist conspiracies everywhere in American culture, including books on the shelves of 194 information libraries that the US State Department operated in 61 foreign countries. Like-minded … Continue reading The Freedom to Read →

Council III Memorials and Resolutions

By Amy Carlton | January 12, 2016

Council members rose as Feldman read memorials for Shereen Marx, Kuang-Hwei (Janet) Lee-Smeltzer, Richard C. Fyffe, Billy Charles Beal, Allene Farmer Hayes, and Linda Waddle. A tribute was read for Barbara Blosveren. Kent Slade, chair of the Council Committee of Tellers reported the election of three ALA Executive Board members. Karen E. Downing and Andrew … Continue reading Council III Memorials and Resolutions →

Constance Macy (left), an actor with the Indiana Repertory Theater, and Rick Provine. As part of Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library's Banned Books Week festivities, Macy read a poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, owner of Ciy Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, who was arrested for publication of Alan Ginsberg's Howl.

Locked Up with Vonnegut, Day Four

By Rick Provine | October 1, 2015

Occasionally you get someone who is not so familiar with Kurt (I am on a first-name basis with him now). These interactions are the most fun for me. I get to articulate my own thoughts and feelings, and cultivate a new reader into the Vonnegut fold. I like that. Pay it forward. This week I … Continue reading Locked Up with Vonnegut, Day Four →

Detail from Section 215 by Hasan Elahi. The mural incorporates pigment images of the rooftop of a National Security Agency building with Section 215 overlaid in Morse code.

MLK Library’s Tribute to Banned Books Week

By Nancy Gravatt | September 28, 2015

Hosting a tour of the installations showcased on the first and second floors of the library, Matthew Mann, MLK library associate and curator of the exhibit, says the exhibit was organized to underscore the library’s commitment to the rights of freedom of speech and expression. Several artists focused on potential threats to personal privacy posed … Continue reading MLK Library’s Tribute to Banned Books Week →

Intellectual Freedom: A Core Tenet

By Karen Muller | September 11, 2014

For 75 years, since ALA Council first adopted the Library Bill of Rights in 1939, challenging censorship has been a core tenet of librarianship. The essays in the 2014 edition of Banned Books: Challenging our Freedom to Read, by Robert P. Doyle, outline how case law has extended the protection of the freedoms of speech … Continue reading Intellectual Freedom: A Core Tenet →

Amazon Unlimited

By James LaRue | July 18, 2014

The disruption continues, and it’s hard not to see the announcement of the new Kindle Unlimited Service as a significant challenge to libraries. Let’s review how things stand with libraries right now. Most public library budgets took a hit during the recession, meaning they had less money to provide new content. At the same time, … Continue reading Amazon Unlimited →

Latest Library Links

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EasyJet is turning its UK fleet of airplanes into flying libraries this summer in a campaign aimed at encouraging children to read more. Called “Flybraries,” kids flying EasyJet out of UK airports will be able to borrow one of 7,000 classic reads like Peter Pan, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and The Railway Children across the airline’s fleet of 147 aircraft, for free. Books are to be left on board at the end of the flight.

AFP Relaxnews, July 19
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Andrew Pace writes: “I was recently lucky enough to participate with my OCLC Membership and Research Division colleagues in DeEtta Jones & Associates’ Cultural Competency Training. DeEtta taught me that I must unlearn many of the things that we’ve been taught for decades—like denying cultural differences or not talking about race. She taught me that if being marginalized at work doesn’t feel good, then I should imagine being a diverse workforce member on top of that feeling.”

Hectic Pace, July 20
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The Black Caucus of the American Library Association and BiblioBoard have announced the winners of the 2017 Self-Publishing Literary Awards, which honor the best self-published ebooks by an African American author in the US. The fiction category winner is Book of Addis: Cradled Embers: a Novel by Brooke C. Obie, and the winner for poetry is On Life by Jacqueline Nicole Harris. This year the awards were dedicated to Emanuel AME Church victim and Charleston librarian Cynthia Hurd.

Self-E, Mar. 30
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Romeo Rosales writes: “Most patrons are so genuinely thankful for the assistance their librarians provide that they know they can always turn to them for help with the most difficult questions. However, when it comes to turning in books late and racking up fines, some patrons do not mess around. They hate racking up fines and hate it even more when they have to pay those fines. I have heard some of the craziest excuses about why their books did not get turned in on time. Here are some of the best.”

Book Riot, July 20
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Mohammad Saffari has been in charge of one of the mobile libraries of Iran’s Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults for nine years now. He provides children living in the rural areas of Tabas County in central Iran with different kinds of books. The minibus holds about 7,000 books, but Saffari also reads poems, recites stories, and offers painting sessions. He said that children living in villages show more interest in reading books than their peers in cities.

Iran Front Page, July 18
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The Institute of Museum and Library Services announced the guidelines for the first round of FY 2018 National Leadership Grants for Libraries and Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grants. The deadline is September 1 for both programs. A separate funding opportunity for both programs will be announced in December with a deadline in February 2018.

Institute of Museum and Library Services, July 20
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Kevin Maher writes: “On July 19, the House Appropriations Committee voted to approve the same funding levels passed by its Labor–HHS Subcommittee last week. The action was another significant step toward ensuring FY 2018 funding of $231 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services—including $183.6 million for LSTA programs—and $27 million for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy program. These sums equal FY 2017 levels. The bill now heads to the floor for consideration by the full House.”

District Dispatch, July 20

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