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 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
Some aspects of the scholarly cycle have persisted for centuries: Scholars write to one another discussing their work, present findings at departmental colloquia or conferences, publish an article, and when there’s a body of research, revamp it into a book. In Scholarly Communications: A History from Content as King to Content as Kingmaker, John J. … Continue reading Scholarly Communication
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
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
The 9th edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual, edited by Trina Magi with Martin Garnar for the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, has been completely recast from earlier editions. The policies and guidelines; essays on issues, principles, and law; and practical help all remain. Added are information on copyright, tips for responding to … Continue reading Keeping up with continuing education
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 and press to include freedom of expression of ideas and information. This background reading informs use of the “First Amendment Action Guide,” an advocacy … Continue reading Intellectual Freedom: A Core Tenet
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
Radical literature that calls for destroying the status quo and hate speech that assaults various demographic groups may well be uncomfortable to read, but study of the human condition wouldn’t be honest or complete if it didn’t take a hard, thorough look into humanity’s darker corners. On the other hand, maintaining collections for that kind … Continue reading Extremism @ the Library
In 1977, the American Library Association decided to get into the movie business. Produced by the Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC), The Speaker follows the aftermath of a high school group’s decision to invite a controversial scientist (loosely based on William Shockley, co-inventor of the transistor and an outspoken eugenicist) to speak on campus. The scientist … Continue reading Resurrecting The Speaker
Wayne Bivens-Tatum, philosophy and religion librarian at Princeton University, called upon the research he conducted for his book Libraries and the Enlightenment to explain the origins of the 20th-century academic service model. Prior to the early 19th century, university library collections were small and often built on the materials amassed by teachers and students. “The … Continue reading Examining Our Values
3D printers may be the coolest new tech for libraries, but the complicated relationship between interactive content and libraries means that ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) need to set policy. In “3D Printers and Library Policies,” presented by United for Libraries on June 28, Barbara Jones, Corinne … Continue reading 3D Printing and Libraries
