Read the latest news about FTRF and the First Amendment in Libraries and engage with thoughtful opinions from leaders in our community on The FTRF Blog.
As mentioned in a previous post, the Freedom to Read Foundation is a national promotional partner of Banned Websites Awareness Day, sponsored by AASL. The issue of filtering in schools and libraries is a contentious one, and several cases have been - or are in the process of being - litigated in the courts. FTRF will continue to be involved in the issue of filters, which continue to prevent access to important information.
Resources
AASL has a good list of resources to learn more about how filtering affects teachers' and librarians' ability to educate and provide resources to students (and themselves!)
FTRF general counsel Theresa Chmara issued this July 2012 memorandum on filtering, discussing some of the most recent legal cases and their implications for schools and libraries
Working in conjunction with Lafayette College, Judith's Reading Room put together a variety of Banned Books Week activities including yesterday's flash mob and, on Thursday, a discussion with Alan Gribben, whose edited versions of Mark Twain's classics have caused significant controversy.
The
Robert E. Kennedy Library at California Polytechnic State University was a 2012
Krug Fund grant recipient for a banned author talk, Read-Out, and wall-sized
Infographic featuring the most frequently challenged books of the last decade,
among other events. http://lib.calpoly.edu/books/banned/
Lawrence (Kan) Public Library
Lawrence
(Kan.) Public Library was awarded a 2012 Krug Fund grant for "Banned Books Week
Trading Cards,” a daily giveaway of baseball-like cards depicting the artwork
and "statistics” of various banned and challenged books. Other events sponsored by the library
will be a Read-Out, photo booth, panel discussion of local writers and
attorneys with experience dealing with book challenges and "Cozy up to a Banned
Book,” an interactive installation wherein patrons can sit in a recliner and
read various library books. http://www.lawrence.com/news/2012/sep/30/collect-em-all/
St. Catharine College
St.
Catharine College (Ky.) received a 2012 Krug Fund grant for a cook-out, chalk
drawings and their fifth annual, three-day-long Banned Books Week
Read-Out. They also will sponsor
an essay contest for local high school students. http://www.sccky.edu/
Simon Sanchez High School
The
final 2012 BBW feature is Simon Sanchez High School (Guam), for Read-Outs,
posters and a "Roadside Wave,” featuring celebratory boards and signs. This will be the first commemoration of
Banned Books Week for the school, based in Yigo on the northernmost part of
Guam. In 2000, the school library
was decimated by a typhoon, and to date, not all of the resources have been replaced. This is the first Judith Krug Fund
grant for an organization in a U.S. territory. http://www.simonsanchez.org/
Posted By Administration,
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Happy Banned Books Week 2012! As a proud sponsor of this annual celebration of banned and challenged books, we are continuing to highlight the recipients of the 2012 Krug Fund awards.
Friends of the Talkeentna Public Library
Friends of the Talkeetna (Alaska) Public Library, were 2012
Krug Fund grant recipients in support of the Second Annual Great Talkeetna
Festival of Books.
This year's festival
will feature the theme "Heroes and Villains” and focus on graphic novels and
comics— an increasingly significant target of challenges.
Among the events will be a poster contest,
scavenger hunt, parade of books, a film showing and a Battle of the (Banned!)
Book Clubs reading porgram, culminating in a Jeopardy-style game show.
The library also will partner with local
restaurants who will serve banned book themed food and drinks. https://www.facebook.com/tka.book.festival
City Lit Theater Company
City Lit Theater Company received a 2012 Krug Fund grant for
"Books on the Chopping Block,” a week-long series of staged readings at
Chicago-area public libraries of the previous year's 10 most frequently
challenged books as determined by the American Library Association's Office for
Intellectual Freedom.
City Lit uses
professional actors for these performances, which are followed by Q&A sessions
with the audience. See http://citylit.org/BannedBooks.htm
for their performance schedule.
Judith's Reading Room
Judith's Reading Room, for "Freedom Through Literature,”
received a 2012 Krug Fund grant for a three-pronged media and event campaign
highlighting 30 years of banned books.
Judith's Reading Room is a network of 30 custom-designed libraries
around the world, including in VA and children's hospitals, war zones and
inner-city schools.
Each Judith's
Reading Room library will feature banned books and Banned Books Week
posters.
Keynote events, including flash
mobs and featured speakers, will take place at Lafayette College and Villanova
University in Pennsylvania and at the University of Southern California.
Based in Western Pennsylvania, Judith's
Reading Room was established in 2010 in memory of Judith F. Krug. http://www.judithsreadingroom.org/
Freedom to Read Foundation staff, and a few trustees, were excited to be in Kansas City last week for the terrific 2nd Joint Conference of Librarians of Color. Between the provocative programs - including one featuring FTRF Executive Director Barbara Jones that discussed challenges to books by authors of color, as well as the Tucson Unified School District book removal situation - and the other great events (particularly the opening reception at the fabulous KC Public Library), it was a wonderful experience.
On Friday, FTRF sponsored a reception at which we met dozens of librarians, many of whom were already members (or fans) of the Freedom to Read Foundation, and quite a few of whom were hearing about FTRF for the first time. Barbara and newly elected Vice President Julius C. Jefferson, Jr. both talked about how important FTRF is to the library and reading communities, and encouraged attendees to become members and help spread the word.
Also on Friday, FTRF cosponsored with REFORMA a "50 for Freedom of Speech" Read-Out that brought attention to the Tucson situation and featured readings from many of the books that were removed from classrooms when the Mexican American Studies program was shut down. A full house heard selections that both celebrated Latino culture and heritage and encouraged thoughtful reflection - the very point of Read-Outs.
We look forward to more of these events at conferences and other gatherings across the country in the coming months. Stay tuned to this blog and/or our Facebook page and Twitter feed to find out when and where we'll be - and if you know of events you think we should be at, please let us know!
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