"Conversations in Cultural Heritage" is 5-episode series that highlights the background and work of People of Color in cultural heritage organizations, supported by the Rare Book School’s (RBS) Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Heritage.
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms That Texas Book Ban Law is Unconstitutional - AAP
Court Ruling Affirms Preliminary Injunction Barring Unconstitutional Book Rating Requirements in Favor of the Coalition of Texas Bookstores, National Booksellers, Authors, and Publishers The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today affirmed the preliminary injunction of the “Reader Act” (formerly HB 900) granted by Judge Alan D. Albright of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin
In the Fight Against Book Bans, Retired Librarians Are Making a Difference | From the Editor
They care deeply and can't be fired. Retired librarians are bringing experience and passion to the cause of intellectual freedom. With advocacy skills training and opportunities to mentor, retirees could become even more powerful assets.
Librarians, who lost jobs for not banning books, are fighting back
Librarians in at least three states are asking the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to intervene after they were fired for refusing to ban books.
By Allan Cho (Follow us on LinkedIn) As part of the Visible Minority Librarians of Canada Network (ViMLoC), I’ve participated in its mentorship program and have met many talented and eager ear…
Systemic Racism, Clients, and the Law Societies - Slaw
Systemic racism is a reality in Canada. At many junctures in life, a person’s access to opportunities and fair treatment will be affected by their race, skin colour, or indigineity. The legal profession, in order to do its essential work in our society, must recognize and confront systemic racism. So far, most formal efforts to […]
Librarians turn to civil rights agency to oppose book bans and their firings
Some librarians who've been fired as they take a stand against discrimination and banning books are turning to a federal civil-rights enforcement agency for help.
AI Book Bans: Testing LLMs Against the Freedom to Read | Library Innovation Lab
What happens when large language models are asked to provide justifications for book bans? Do the same built-in guardrails that prevent them from generating ...
The Critical Librarianship and Pedagogy Symposium : reflections, revisions, and new works - Yvonne Mery and Anthony Sanchez (Editors)
The Critical Librarianship and Pedagogy Symposium: Reflections, Revisions, and New Works collects expanded and updated presentations given at the Critical Librarianship and Pedagogy Symposium (CLAPS) held biennially at the University of Arizona Libraries. This anthology provides a toolkit for critical library pedagogy that recognizes how knowledge is created within historical and deeply politicized contexts. Authors working in library or disciplinary teaching.
Hidden Barriers: The Experience of Academic Librarians and Archivists with Invisible Illnesses and/or Disabilities | Manwiller | College & Research Libraries
Hidden Barriers: The Experience of Academic Librarians and Archivists with Invisible Illnesses and/or Disabilities
Postcards from the Gender War: Job Hunting as a Trans Early-Career Librarian
By Ezekiel Amari McGee (Follow us on LinkedIn) For the past year, watching the news often feels like watching a Hitchcock film—you know something awful’s coming, it’s just a matter of when. Wh…
American Bar Association Condemns Assault on Law Firm Diversity Efforts
The President of the American Bar Association (ABA), Mary Smith, expressed deep concern over the challenges faced by law firms’ diversity initiatives following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reject affirmative action in colleges and universities. The ABA, the largest voluntary bar association in the country boasting around 166,000 members as of 2022, has conveyed […]
The safe library : keeping users, staff, and collections secure - Steve Albrecht
"This book provides advice and support to help library employees best deal with sexually harassing patrons, unruly groups of students, gang members, thieves, Internet hogs, and others who can disrupt the safe library environment"--
A library in rural Southeast Washington could be the first in the nation to close over a fight about removing books. The debate revolves around a group of books in the library’s kids and young adult sections that some residents say aren’t age-appropriate.
Seattle Times reporter David Gutman is here to explain how things got to this point, with some help from life-long Dayton resident John Hutchens.
Is the output of generative AI entitled to First Amendment protection? We’re inclined to say yes. Even though current AI programs are of course not people and d
The American Bar Association may soon require law schools to adopt free speech policies, a change that follows several high-profile campus incidents in which students disrupted controversial speakers.
Report: “Why Iowa’s Ban on Books with Sex Could Sink Libraries Shared by Schools and Small Towns”
From the Des Moines Register: The small farming community of Alta in northwest Iowa barely has 2,000 residents. The elementary school that shares its name has fewer than 300 students. Neither is big enough to have a quality library on its own. So for the last 20 years, the two have operated a library together, […]
Although much of my work involves navigating digital information, I try not to forget that libraries are also physical spaces. Indeed, my lifelong love of libraries as places and structures is a bi…