From June 22-27, I attended the American Library Association (ALA) Conference in Chicago along with over 22,700 other US and international librarians and vendors. My main purpose was to learn to become an effective chair of the ALA Intellectual Freedom… Read More ›
School librarians enjoy highlighting special observances for their students, and here’s one more: June is GLBT Book Month. Originating in the 1990s as National Gay and Lesbian Book Month, the American Library Association began its recognition in 2015 as GLBT… Read More ›
Bias: Left, Right, Center, Fringe, and Citing Snapchat Several months ago a colleague pointed out a graphic depicting where news fell in terms of political bias. On the chart, the prominent news outlets were placed as right-leaning, left-leaning, center/mainstream, or… Read More ›
Every year libraries celebrate Choose Privacy Week from May 1-7, and this year’s theme is “Practical Privacy Practices.” Get an Early Start! On April 13, there will be a one-hour free webinar reviewing privacy practices librarians can take in three… Read More ›
We are living in a golden age of children’s literature. It is a wonderful time to be a reader. Some of these books provide much needed entertainment and laughs; some let your imagination soar; still others will… Read More ›
There are many resources about intellectual freedom to keep school librarians informed, but are you familiar with the “Intellectual Freedom News”? It’s a weekly electronic compilation of intellectual freedom news in a variety of areas produced by interns in the American Library… Read More ›
The American Library Association (ALA) holds its Midwinter Meeting annually in January, and this year it was in Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of the Midwinter Meeting is to have a face-to-face time for committees, task forces, and other groups to… Read More ›
Established in 1967, the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) is fifty years old in 2017. Although you may imagine a large suite of offices with a big staff, that is not the case. OIF is manned by five dedicated individuals… Read More ›
I know. You are charged with maintaining a 21st-century learning environment while simultaneously wrangling students, shelving books, balancing a paltry budget, and occasionally hosting the odd baby shower or staff meeting. All this while trying to develop a collection of… Read More ›
Gift giving is part of the tradition of the holiday season, whether you celebrate St. Nicholas Day, Christmas, Hanukkah, Milad un Nabi, or Kwanzaa. If you support the freedom to read and access information in libraries in all formats, consider… Read More ›