IFRT Members Community (Open)

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The Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) provides a forum for the discussion of activities, programs, and problems in intellectual freedom of libraries and librarians.

The IFRT Members Community group is the central hub for discussion, library and events. It is visible to all ALA members but only IFRT members can participate in the conversation.

  • 1.  2018 IFRT Election

    Posted Feb 27, 2018 02:45 PM

    As Chair of the IFRT Nominating Committee, I am pleased to submit a slate of candidates for the 2018 IFRT Election. The election opens on March 12 and closes on April 11. 


    Vice-chair/Chair-elect


    Audrey Barbakoff, King County Library System


    Ashley Brown, Auburn Public Library


     


    Secretary


    Isabel Klein, Cuyahoga County Public Library


     


    Director-at-large (2 positions)


    Kristin Joy Anderson, Lewis University 


    Michael Furlong, University of Central Florida


    Wanda Huffaker, Salt Lake County Library


    Eric Johnson, Miami University


     


    Councilor


    Martin Garnar, University of Colorado Colorado Springs


    Julia Warga, Kenyon College


     



  • 2.  RE: 2018 IFRT Election

    Posted Mar 01, 2018 10:56 AM

    IFRT was my first home within ALA and holds a special place in my heart. As a librarian and library educator, I'm proud of the principles that are protected by our association and our profession. I’ve dedicated my ALA activities to promoting intellectual freedom and ethics, and I’ve served as a member and chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee. My IFC work has honed my skills in collaboration and communication.  As the chair of the Committee on Professional Ethics, I've brought my expertise gained from teaching that same subject at the University of Denver's LIS program since 2005, and am pleased to have another opportunity to share with others our organization's ethical principles. I have been an effective voice for intellectual freedom on Council and will continue to speak up for our values.



  • 3.  RE: 2018 IFRT Election

    Posted Mar 01, 2018 10:57 AM

    Hi! My name is Julia Warga, and I am running for IFRT Councilor. I am a former IFRT Chair and Director at Large. Here is my candidate statement: 

    Through my membership in ALA and IFRT, I have been able to actively support core values of librarianship such as intellectual freedom, privacy, and access to information. I have been an engaged member of IFRT since I first joined ALA; serving in many different appointed and elected positions. The role of the IFRT councilor is to represent the interests of the round table on the ALA Council, and, if elected, that is what I will do. I will serve as the voice of the round table at Council, communicate with the IFRT board regarding Council resolutions, and vote as the IFRT board directs me to do so. I am proud of my continued service to the round table and intellectual freedom, and I am honored to stand for election as IFRT councilor.



  • 4.  RE: 2018 IFRT Election

    Posted Mar 01, 2018 11:20 AM

    I’m excited for the chance to serve on the IFRT board.  I have always been a proponent of free speech and have been involved with the Office for Intellectual Freedom since building their database in 2012.  As chair of the Publications and Communications committee since 2015, I have overseen a redesign of the IFRT website, update it weekly with IF newsletters, created a collection of many of the previous IFRT reports, and oversee the yearly production of an IFRT report.  Recently the Publications and Communications Committee expanded with the addition of Social Media coordinators who are promoting the IFRT and intellectual freedom in additional social media venues.  I welcome the chance to expand my service to the IFRT as a Director-at-large.

    -Eric Johnson



  • 5.  RE: 2018 IFRT Election

    Posted Mar 01, 2018 03:09 PM

    This past year as Chair of Membership Promotion Committee I have felt a sense of accountability for IFRT. I followed the new, reinstated, and  renewed members looking for names I knew, and then the dropped members hoping there were not names I knew.  I loved serving on Coalition Committee and giving awards to wonderful, deserving people.  I now feel like everyone should join because they deserve to be with all of us wonderful people. We offer a terrific benefit package which has really helped increase our membership this past year, and to all of those who have helped in the efforts.  I am ready and willing to serve, and excited for new opportunities.



  • 6.  RE: 2018 IFRT Election

    Posted Mar 01, 2018 04:52 PM

    This past year I took over the remaining time as Director-At-Large for Mack Freeman.  I've enjoyed my time on the board, and I would love to serve you all again.  I was also on the committee for the  Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award this year.  Intellectual Freedom has been my passion since I could remember.  I was a children's librarian for years and the righteous indignation of others telling children what they could and could not read for themselves burned hot in me.  I am now a research librarian at an academic institution and that fire still consumes me but in a delightfully different fashion.  I would love to share my passion with all of you, and I hope that you will consider me as a candidate for Director-At-Large again this year.

    ~Kristin Anderson

    Director-At-Large



  • 7.  RE: 2018 IFRT Election

    Posted Mar 02, 2018 12:02 PM

    I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as Secretary on the IFRT Board! As a graduate of the University of Maryland--College Park with a specialization in Archives and Records Management, I am well-suited for the position of Secretary. I was a longtime member and the 2017 Chair of the Ohio Library Council's Intellectual Freedom Committee. In my role as Ohio IFC Chair, I advocated, educated and supported Ohio public libraries on a myriad of intellectual freedom issues. Currently, I am a member of the IFRT’s Coalition Building Committee and the Cuyahoga County Archives Advisory Commission. I look forward to continuing to protect intellectual freedom as Secretary of IFRT.



  • 8.  RE: 2018 IFRT Election

    Posted Mar 05, 2018 02:22 PM

    The first ALA conference I attended was as the Freedom to Read Foundation’s Conable Scholar. That experience immersed me in the incredible work of our IF community, igniting a lifelong passion. I have worked to uphold this value as an IFRT Director-at-Large, IFRT Merritt Fund Promotion Committee chair, Intellectual Freedom Committee intern, and ALA Councilor-at-Large. It has been my privilege to engage with you around IF issues ranging from the time-honored work of combatting censorship, to emergent concerns like digital privacy and net neutrality, to the intersection of our core values of IF and equity, diversity, and inclusion. As your vice-chair/chair-elect, I would focus on fostering dialogue and supporting advocacy around IF issues affecting libraries of all kinds. I believe that intellectual freedom, like libraries, is not neutral. It requires us to proactively center diverse and marginalized voices to build a world with windows and mirrors for all. 



  • 9.  RE: 2018 IFRT Election

    Posted Mar 07, 2018 10:48 AM

    Hello!

    The IFRT holds a very special place in my heart. As a university librarian and educator, I hold intellectual freedom as an important part of my core beliefs.

    I have been involved in IFRT, first as a member and then as a member of the Immroth Awards Committee, and recently the fundraising committee. Publicly awarding deserving librarians and educators for defending intellectual freedom has been my honor and privilege.

    I have served as the Immroth Memorial Award committee chair for the past two years and greatly enjoyed honoring the contributions librarians make in defense of intellectual freedom, and the challenges we still face.

    As a scholar, I have written on comics and have presented at library conference and international academic conferences on comics and comic book censorship. Censorship issues interest, confound and fascinate me.

    If you elect me to the position of IFRT Director at Large, I will be proud to serve with distinction and uphold the values of ALA and IFRT!

    Thank you very much for your consideration and supporting me in the Director at Large election!