ALA Council

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July 23, 2022

July 23, 2022 - Collated by OIF Staff and News Editor on the Intellectual Freedom Blog

Censorship

• Salem high schools will keep "Gender Queer" on shelves following grandparent challenge | Salem Reporter (OH)
• 'The V-Word' survived an attempted ban but two copies of the book were removed from Lafayette Parish libraries anyway | Acadiana Advocate (LA)
• Parents upset over possible book bans at Livingston Parish Library Board of Control meeting | WAFB (LA)
  • Livingston library board member's 'inappropriate' book list draws vocal opposition | Louisiana Illuminator
• Oklahoma threatens librarians: 'Don't use the word abortion' | VICE
  • Oklahoma City library releases guidelines on patrons seeking abortion information | The Oklahoman
• Group starts recall for library board | Bonners Ferry Herald (ID)
  • The war on libraries roils "the best small library in America" | Spokane Spokesman-Review
• What killed 'equity' in Pine-Richland? | PINJ News (PA)
• Fauquier County parents want books removed from school over content | WUSA9 (VA)
• School board member: 'The more banned books the better' | WRGB (NY)
• Despite 'taking a pause' on class libraries, BPS assures some books will be available | Florida Today
• NCAC criticizes Rhode Island school district for silencing student protesters | National Coalition Against Censorship
• Salem-Keizer rejects second book ban request, keeps 'Gender Queer' in local high schools | Salem Statesman Journal (OR)
• Wisconsinites rally around book rejected by Muskego board for focus on Japanese experience | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  • Parents plan teach-in event after school board rejected book on Japanese-American incarceration | Wisconsin Public Radio
• Rally for academic freedom: Denton ISD students petition district to keep diverse book titles | Dallas Observer (TX)
• Criticism of a graphic novel available to children in LA libraries is defended by officials | Daily Breeze (CA)
• Flathead County accepting applications for ImagineIF board vacancy | Daily Interlake (MT)
• Oklahoma threatens librarians: 'Don't use the word abortion' | VICE
• The war on libraries roils 'the best small library in America' | Spokesman-Review (ID)
• Bedford school libraries to offer alerts to parents on what students check out | News-Advance (VA)
• Miami-Dade school board votes to disallow 2 sex ed textbooks discussing abortion, contraception | Local10 (FL)
• Fairview, Pennsylvania, superintendent removes Gender Queer from library | National Coalition Against Censorship
• Guest Opinion: Yes, Central Bucks, your library proposal is a book ban | Intelligencer (PA)

Privacy & Cybersecurity

• Homeland Security records show 'shocking' use of phone data, ACLU says | Politico
• Advertising and privacy: The rules of the road for the metaverse | Forbes
• Security incident releases some Bellingham library patrons' data | Bellingham Herald
• The Pegasus Project: One year on, spyware crisis continues after failure to clamp down on surveillance industry | Amnesty International
• As prison staff vacancy rate soars, officials propose surveillance wristbands, drones | Nevada Independent
• US Legislative developments in children's privacy | JD Supra
• California moves closer to enacting more stringent online privacy protections for children | National Law Review
• Examining the intersection of data privacy and civil rights | Brookings

First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties

• Texas school board member admits a high school's first Black principal was fired for being a 'total activist' | Insider
  • Texas School Board coming hard for Black principal accused of pushing CRT | Root
• Louisiana abortion bill still blocked; judge wants more info | San Diego Union-Tribune
• Justice Neil Gorsuch's radical reinterpretation of the First Amendment | New Yorker
• House moves to protect same-sex marriage from Supreme Court reversal | New York Times
• Pennsbury settles free speech lawsuit. What it could mean to other districts | Bucks County Courier Times (PA)
• Eleventh Circuit opinions on the First Amendment and bans on 'conversion therapy' for minors | Reason

Legislation

• South Carolina bill outlaws websites that tell how to get an abortion | Washington Post

Net Neutrality & Broadband Access

• Why Biden's broadband agenda is at a do-or-die moment | CNET
• Democrats plan sweeping net neutrality bill as FCC majority stalls | Washington Post

Academic Freedom & Campus Speech

• Penn law dean seeks 'major sanction' against professor Amy Wax | Philadelphia Inquirer
• How to fix the bias against free speech on campus | Atlantic
• Reges sues UW over alleged First Amendment violation | Daily UW
• Florida's former Dept of Education head protected from testifying in college 'intellectual freedom' survey lawsuit | Orlando Weekly

Journalism

• Opinion: Democracy dies behind a paywall | Poynter

Social Media

• The book banning movement has a chilling new tactic: Harassing teachers on social media | MIT Technology Review

Information Literacy & Disinformation

• Fox's anti-'critical race theory' parents are also GOP activists | Media Matters for America
• NPR launches Disinformation Reporting team | NPR
• Homeland Security advisers say 'no need' for disinformation board | Washington Post

Copyright

• You can't buy these books | Nation

International News

• Is the world's biggest library full of stolen content? | The Age
• Amid exodus and societal shifts, Hong Kong's independent bookstores offer freedom of thought, community | Hong Kong Free Press
• A million-word novel got censored before it was even shared. Now Chinese users want answers. | MIT Technology Review
• Leaked document reports extensive censorship tactics used by Instagram-style app in China | News.com.au
• China has a problem with data leaks. One reason is its surveillance state. | Wall Street Journal
• Russia fines Google for failing to remove news it calls 'fake.' | New York Times

Around the Web

• He championed all books and created a 'sanctuary' for patrons. Now, Nashville Public Library's director is headed for his next chapter: retirement | WPLN News
• Moms for Liberty's conservative activists are planning their next move: Taking over school boards | NBC News
  • How conservative moms became the new class of candidates hoping to flip the balance of power at schools | WFTS (FL)
  • DeSantis speaks at summit for Moms for Liberty, a conservative group working to elect their own candidates to school boards and minimize influence of teachers unions | Yahoo! News
  • Casey DeSantis talks school board endorsements with Moms for Liberty | Florida Politics
• 'I No Longer Feel Safe': A Mayor Resigns, Citing Threats | Route 50
• Why is Gov. Stitt targeting issues at Tulsa public schools? | Oklahoman
• The man behind the nation's first Black library receives a grave headstone more than 80 years after his death | WHAS11 (KY)
• Homegrown library serves Amish in southern Tuscarawas County | Times Reporter (OH)
• The CRT Summer School is back: Here's why it's more important than ever | Root
• Iowa town gets wish: No more LGBTQ books, because no more library | Wonkette
  • All the little things you lose in the Culture War | Esquire
• It's critical to support local library and school librarians | Examiner News
• An ode to librarians as they come under siege | NY Daily News
• Letter: The last straw | Flathead Beacon (MT)
• Broward school district donated LGBTQ books ahead of new Florida law | South Florida Sun Sentinel
• Bomb threats, canceled events, empty schools: How a bullying probe paralyzed a Wisconsin town's democracy | Wausau Pilot and Review (WI)
• Pride rally at Forest Public Library supports freedom to choose what to read | WSET (VA)
• Drag queens are "Not gonna back down" after attacks on story hours | Decider
• Alumna who fought book ban as school librarian receives national award | Rutgers Today
• What the Florida CRT controversy means for the future of textbooks | FutureEd
• 10 of the most absurd titles on State Rep. Matt Krause's 'banned books' list | Dallas Observer
• Backlash, hostility, and safety fears: What it's like to be a Chief Equity Officer in the anti-CRT era | Education Week

ALA News

• Volunteer to Serve on ALA, Council, and Joint Committees for 2023-2025!
• ALA Condemns Destruction of Libraries, Schools, and Cultural Institutions in Ukraine 
• Lessons, tips and strategies for combating mis- and dis-information
• Accepting Applications for 2023 Class of ALA Emerging Leaders