Hello! My name is Ally Rodriguez-Marshall, and I am one of the new co-chairs for the CAL (Colorado Association of Libraries) Intellectual Freedom Committee. My fellow co-chair and I are new to leading this committee, and we're looking to change up the way meetings are run in order to have more of an impact. So, we were wondering, how do your intellectual freedom committees run? What would a typical meeting look like? Do you have other events or activities outside of meetings?
For some context, our charge as a committee is to "Support First Amendment rights and provide education on intellectual freedom". CAL also has a Legislative Committee (with whom we collaborate), and they do more direct library advocacy work with the Colorado State Legislature. Our current meeting format includes various updates (including updates from the Legislative Committee), current news, and a shared reading about an intellectual freedom topic that we discuss. Additionally, we have specifically been tasked by the CAL President with making this committee "more educational."
So, overall, we want to change the way our committee runs to make it more educational & impactful, but without stepping on the toes of the Legislative Committee. We would love to hear more about how your committees run! Thank you!
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Ally Rodriguez-Marshall
Exhibits Specialist
High Plains Library District
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