ALA Council

 
December 31, 2021 - Collated by OIF Staff and News Editor on the Intellectual Freedom Blog

Highlights

• Austin Public Library condemns book banning in Texas | KXAN
• Grover-Roosa: Lange is wrong about the reasons libraries exist | Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Censorship

• America ends 2021 with censorship surge. Will 2022's new year be better? | NBC News
• Bucks County Pennsylvania school district removes LGBTQ+ books | Los Angeles Blade
  • As a Bucks County school district removes LGBTQ books from libraries, families and faculty fear for civil rights | WHYY
  • Parents say Pennridge sent anti-LGBTQ message by restricting children's book | Bucks County Courier Times
• Wake County librarians protest 'Gender Queer' book removal | WRAL-TV (NC)
• WilCo approves CARES funds for RRISD LISD after book dispute - Requires removal of 11 books | Round Rock TX Patch
• Louisiana parents, teachers raise concerns about critical race theory in social studies standards | Louisiana Weekly
• Oklahoma bill lets parents ban LGBTQ books from schools and sue if staff won't listen | LGBTQ Nation
• Censors bypass reconsideration policy | School Library Journal
• Unions, states, and parents fight over new laws on history lessons, books | Wall Street Journal
• Here's what it's like when the right-wing mob tries to get your book banned | TPM
• Laramie community responds to statewide controversy over LGBTQ and sex-themed books | Kilgore News Herald
• The quiet effort to change Massachusetts' education policy | Boston Scope
• How are Texas schools choosing which books to ban? A look at how one district decides | Dallas Morning News
• Opinion: Iowa state Sens. Chapman and Zaun want to take us back to the Dark Ages | Iowa City Press-Citizen
• Wake County librarians protest 'Gender Queer' book removal | WRAL
• Osseo School Board votes to keep 'Born a Crime' on the shelves | Sun Post (MN)
• Greenville parents bring forward book concerns | Daily News (MI)
• Six controversial books will remain in Rockwood School District libraries | FOX 2 Now (MO)
• Efforts to ban books are on the rise. Philly YA authors say 'silent censorship' is also getting worse | Philadelphia Inquirer
• Citrus County board to discuss library display policy | Citrus County Chronicle

Privacy & Cybersecurity

• Beware the Elf on the Shelf, privacy watchdogs warn | New York Times
• Social media faces privacy 'paradox' in spotting underage users | Bloomberg
• After Google's landmark settlement, how ad networks should tackle child privacy | DarkReading

More privacy news is available at the Voices for Privacy blog.

First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties

• Teachers say critical race theory laws are cutting short classroom conversations | Des Moines Register
• Court rules in favor of LGBTQ+ students | Anderson Herald-Bulletin
• Courthouse News Service sues California clerks for allegedly violating First Amendment right of access to court records | JDSupra
• Judge rejects Proud Boys' First Amendment claims in January 6 conspiracy case | CNN
• Texas schools rethink gender-based dress code policies after discrimination claims raise new legal issues | Texas Tribune

Access

• A Vatican Library Shortens the Distance Between Its Works and Its Scholars | New York Times

Journalism & Media

• School censors lose another battle | Creators

Information Literacy & Disinformation

• Sharing on Facebook seems harmless. But leaked documents show how it may help spread misinformation | USA Today
• Why are authoritarians framing international approaches to disinformation? | Lawfare
• What does it take to combat disinformation? | NPR

International News

• How democracy was dismantled in Hong Kong in 2021 | Associated Press
• Why the Pillar of Shame's removal marks the end of academic freedom in Hong Kong | South China Morning Post
• Proposed online censorship bill more intrusive than in any other democracy -- expert | Times of Israel
• 2021: The year in censored terms on the Chinese internet | SupChina
• China censors news about another female celebrity affair with senior CCP official | Taiwan News
• Russian court orders closure of another human rights group | Guardian
• What the United Arab Emirates new censorship policy means for the film and TV industry | Forbes

Around the Web

• Teton County Library implements new policy to prevent censorship, protect intellectual freedom | Jackson Hole News and Guide
• Ethnic Studies and Critical Race Theory: A Tumultuous Year for OC School Boards | Voice of OC (CA)
• 'Slow-motion insurrection': How GOP seizes election power | Associated Press
• These 7 culture wars dominated 2021 and will haunt the years ahead | Fast Company
• Austin Public Library condemns book banning in Texas | KXAN
• Top stories of 2021: Critical race theory and Pa. school board elections | WITF
• Editorial: School board trustees, it's time to focus on students and not politics | Houston Chronicle
• The controversy around Critical Race Theory and Florida schools | WEAR-TV
• 2021 Person of the Year finalist: Library withstands controversy for sake of LGBTQ+ community | Williamsport Sun-Gazette (PA)

ALA News

Awards & Grant

• Mandi Goodsett Selected as 2022 Lois Ann Gregory-Wood Fellow

More ALA News

ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF)
225 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60601 1-800-545-2433 x4226

To sign up to receive future issues of Intellectual Freedom News, click here.
To review ALA's privacy policy, click here.