The Social Responsibilities Round Table works to make ALA more democratic and to establish progressive priorities not only for the Association, but also for the entire profession. Concern for human and economic rights was an important element in the founding of SRRT and remains an urgent concern today. SRRT believes that libraries and librarians must recognize and help solve social problems and inequities in order to carry out their mandate to work for the common good and bolster democracy.
Learn more about SRRT on the ALA website.
Drawing on her experience as a scholar behind the Iron Curtain, Dr. Kempe will examine how authoritarian governments constrain academic freedom and opportunities for research, and normalize censorship over time. She will describe historical examples of scholarly behaviours under these conditions and discuss actions and structures that tried to safeguard the integrity of scholarship.