SRRT (Social Responsibilities Round Table)

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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.

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IFRT Reads, April 17: How to Promote Uncensored U.S. History

  • 1.  IFRT Reads, April 17: How to Promote Uncensored U.S. History

    Posted Apr 14, 2025 02:49 PM

    How Can Librarians Promote Uncensored U.S. History? 

    Thursday, April 17, 2025

    4 p.m. Eastern / 3 p.m. Central Time / 2 p.m. Mountain / 1 p.m. Pacific

    Register in advance for this meeting:

    https://ala-events.zoom.us/meeting/register/s616AzMYTuK4WaR51no3YQ

    With the claim to Make America Great Again gaining millions of adherents in the U.S., it is important to ask whether any nation can be made great without an honest and critical evaluation of its past and present.  Librarians have a crucial role to play in promoting discussions on U.S. history and allowing for critical perspectives to be heard.  It is on the basis of such discussions that we can have a conscious and aware public who will not be prone to disinformation.

    Readings:

    1. Librarian Perspectives on Misinformation: A Follow-Up and Comparative Study (Laura Saunders, College and Research Libraries, 2023)

    2. America Wasn't a Democracy, Until Black Americans Made It One (Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, August 14, 2019). 

    3. We Respond to the Historians Who Critiqued The 1619 Project (New York Times, 2019)

    Why Is Public Education Under Assault?  What Can Librarians Do to Defend Public Education?

    Tuesday, April 22, 2025

    3 p.m. Eastern / 2 p.m. Central Time / 1 p.m. Mountain / noon Pacific

    Register in advance for this meeting:

    https://ala-events.zoom.us/meeting/register/hRtnogV5R42T8RUadIkq6g

    The recent executive order to abolish the Department of Education has been the latest in a series of attacks on public education in the U.S. As educators who are mostly working for public institutions, librarians directly face the consequences of these attacks. There is no doubt that there is a crisis of education in the U.S. However, without a free, public and secular system of education that promotes equal opportunity, equality, shared meaning and empathy, our society will experience increasing class inequality, hatred and violence. Let's share ideas about what we can do collectively to confront the current assault, and offer constructive solutions for a better public education system.  

    Readings:

    1. Crisis in Education:  U.S. K-12 (Social Responsibilities Round Table  Pathfinder)

    2. The Dangerous End of School Libraries and Public Education (National Education Policy Center)

    3. Why "Fund Students, Not Systems" Is a Recipe for Disaster (Jennifer Berkshire, The Nation, June 2024)

    4. Why Are We Getting Rid of the Department of Education Again? (Jennifer Berkshire, Network for Public Education. February 2025)

    We hope you can join us for these discussions.

    Martin Garnar
    Member, IFRT Programming and Events Committee



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    Martin Garnar (he/him/his)
    Director, Amherst College Library
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