The Intellectual Freedom Round Table Presents:
Confronting the Crisis of Reading Among Children and Teens:
What Can Librarians Do to Promote Literacy & Intellectual Curiosity?
Two Online Panels on November 5 and November 12 @ 7 p.m. E.T.
According to a recent report by the University of Florida and University College London, there has been a forty percent decline in reading for pleasure in the U.S. over the past twenty years. Another study indicates that the reading skills of U.S. high school seniors are the worst they have been in three decades. These changes are deeply concerning for librarians and educators.
The following webinars will bring together school and public librarians from different parts of the country to discuss the causes of the crisis, the needed solutions and the ways in which librarians and educators can collaborate to offer innovative ideas for promoting reading.
These discussions will be rooted in Maryanne Wolf's Reader Come Home (Harper, 2018) and her concept of deep reading. Her approach returns us to the very foundation of librarianship and intellectual freedom: Promoting reading for the purpose of critical thinking and public welfare.
Confronting the Crisis of Reading Among Children
Wednesday November 5, 2025, 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET
Speakers:
*Shauntee Burns-Simpson, Director of Youth and Family Services, D.C. Public Library
*Dorcas Hand, School Librarian & Co-Chair of Students Need Libraries, Houston, Texas
*Ariel Birdoff, Elementary School Librarian, East Harlem, New York City
Facilitator:
Judi Moreillon, author, literacies' and libraries' consultant
Confronting the Crisis of Reading Among Teens
Wednesday November 12, 2025, 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET
Speakers:
*Julia Torres, Teen Services Program Administrator, Denver, Colorado Public Library System
*Jamie Gregory, High School English Teacher and Librarian, South Carolina
*Greta Enszer, Teacher-Librarian, Los Angeles Unified School District
Facilitator:
Frieda Afary, IFRT Director-at-Large
Sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Round Table of the American Library Association
Registration link for both webinars:
https://ala-events.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BeI5DQmZRaOK4xol9X6Vlg#/registration