“In a very real sense, you’re on the front lines—fighting every day to make the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions, and ideas available to everyone,” he wrote. “Your dedication and professional expertise allow us to freely read and consider information and ideas, and decide for ourselves which ones we agree with.” The full text … Continue reading Open Letter from Former President Obama Supports Librarians
By working on these two areas, libraries can better prepare for potential materials challenges at their institutions, according to panelists on “Is Your Library Challenge-Ready?” a June 26 program at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. “We can’t just hope it doesn’t happen and not be prepared for it,” said … Continue reading Become Challenge-Ready
Patterson’s upcoming book, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading (Little, Brown, 2024), shares stories from dozens of librarians and booksellers. But he attended American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago largely in support of Amina Luqman-Dawson, whose Freewater won both the Newbery Medal and … Continue reading James Patterson on Libraries, Librarians, and Book Bans
With the unprecedented number of book challenges in the United States this past year, “the rubber meets the road on advocacy when we’re working at the local and community levels,” said moderator Kent Oliver, retired Nashville (Tenn.) Public Library director and senior policy fellow in ALA’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office. Oliver and a panel … Continue reading Louder Together
“As someone who grew up loving comics but often hiding them from my peers,” said Giles, whose book Static: Up All Night based on the DC superhero will be released this November, “it was exciting to know that this was gonna be something happening in a place where I used to go to feel safe … Continue reading Comic Relief
“When I wrote [Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.] in 1970, I gave three copies to my children’s elementary school,” she said. “The male principal took them off the shelf. I think he gave them back to me. And he said, ‘We can’t have these books here.’” Blume recalled such attempts throughout her career … Continue reading ‘What Is It about This Book That Scares You?’
As I contemplate the future of libraries, I am reminded of adrienne maree brown’s book Emergent Strategy. In the chapter “Intentional Adaptation: How We Change,” she describes the need to be an active participant in change—to not resist but embrace it—and to be as intentional as possible during the process while being in community with … Continue reading Until We Meet Again
In summer 2021, several parents and community members challenged a handful of books at the school, including the memoir Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. In response, Kirtley and about 40 of her peers met that fall at a student-run social justice club to discuss how to respond. They made plans to attend the next school … Continue reading Meeting The Challenge
30 Number of years World Press Freedom Day has been observed. In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly deemed May 3 a day to honor, evaluate, and defend freedom of the press around the world, as well as pay tribute to journalists who have died as a result of their work. 9 Number of boxes … Continue reading By the Numbers: Freedom of the Press
Yang, now a bestselling and award-winning middle-grade and YA author, spent her childhood moving from city to city, making it difficult to find her footing. But everywhere she went, she could find familiar stories and characters at the library. “Books became my friends, but most importantly, the library became my home,” Yang says. “It was … Continue reading Newsmaker: Kelly Yang
The American Library Association (ALA) condemns—in the strongest terms possible—the violence, threats of violence and other acts of intimidation that are increasingly taking place in America’s libraries, including last week’s bomb threats to Hilton Central School District in New York, which put the lives of hundreds of innocent children and staff members in jeopardy. ALA … Continue reading ALA Condemns Ongoing Threats against Libraries
At “Building Strong Trustee Relationships during Book Challenges,” a January 28 session at the American Library Association’s 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans, Tonya Ryals—director of MacDonald Public Library in New Baltimore, Michigan—shared tips on how library directors can create and maintain relationships with their trustees to form allyships when requests for book reconsiderations come … Continue reading Finding Your Allies
