Library and Academic Institution Movements & the Law

"The library is a growing organism" S.R. Ranganathan (1931) Home | Introduction Why Do I Need a Policy?Every library — academic, public, and school (public, private, charter, independent, and international) — should have a comprehensive written policy that guides the selection, deselection or weeding, and reconsideration of library resources. The most valuable selection policy is current; it is reviewed and revised on a regular basis; and it is familiar to all members of a library’s staff. The policy should be approved by the library’s governing board or other policy-making body and disseminated widely for understanding by all stakeholders.

On July 21, the Movement for Black Lives’ National Day of Action, a team of four public librarians with backgrounds in social justice launched a new initiative, Libraries4BlackLives (L4BL). Jessica Anne Bratt, branch manager at Grand Rapids Public Library, MI; Sarah Lawton, neighborhood library supervisor for Madison Public Library, WI; Amita Lonial, learning experiences manager at Skokie Public Library (SPL), IL; and Amy Sonnie, adult literacy and lifelong learning librarian at Oakland Public Library, CA, joined forces earlier in the summer to create a website that would bring together library-based advocates who want to support the ideals and activism behind the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

AI is being used in DEI efforts to enhance insight and implementation in employee lifecycle-related tasks, and to scale and support the work of DEI staff.

It is a book all LIS educators and administrators need to read now. The editors and author contributors show us by direct action what critical librarianship is. At the heart of the book is an ethics of care and self-care, an ethics born out of critical stances positioned in examining our rich intersectionalities and inter-being as people of color and allies. Librarians With Spines is a call to action that asks us to reflect on our intentionality as information professionals. It challenges librarians to proudly uphold and carry forward our duty to serve our communities in our daily work.

EveryLibrary is issuing a comprehensive report on 2023 state-level legislation affecting libraries. The report, “Unpacking 2023 Legislation of Concern for Libraries”, is designed to support and assist state library associations in future legislative advocacy campaigns. The recent wave of state legislation affecting libraries across the United States has been largely negative, with a focus on restricting access to certain materials, particularly those deemed harmful or inappropriate for minors. Through June 17, 2023, twenty-four bills have passed in state legislatures. Two were vetoed, and 22 are in various stages of enactment. These bills have been enacted in fourteen states: Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. The bills encompass several recurring themes that pose potential challenges to library operations and services. [Clip] This report provides a moment-in-time review of state-level legislation affecting libraries and education while looking at key themes across and between states. The report offers strategic recommendations for state library association leaders and legislative advocates to build coalitions, activate constituents, and work across the entire lifecycle of a bill, including pre-session communications and post-session actions.

This guide is intended to help academic libraries create policies for responding to challenges to library materials.

Law librarianship is a constantly evolving profession driven by the evolution of law practice, legal education, government, and law itself. Changes in these dri

Arkansas is among a growing number of Republican-led states that have passed laws that criminalize lending certain library books to children.

"This book provides librarians and those studying to enter the profession with tools to grapple with their own implication within systems of policing and incarceration, melding critical theory with real-world examples to demonstrate how to effectively serve people impacted by incarceration"--

Indiana school librarians worry a new law banning materials that are “obscene” or “harmful to minors” will cause them to essentially self-censor when picking books, cutting LGBTQ students off from material they might connect with. Supporters of the law say it will protect children from pornographic…

KPMG’s head of talent and culture offers three pillars for equipping managers and all employees with resources to manage mental well-being.

By Charles Bjork This year’s annual meeting of the American Society of International Law in Washington, D.C., concluded with a special panel discussion on Protecting Cultural Heritage in Conflict Z…

Today, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) practices have become indispensable in almost every legal workplace. DEI practices aim to promote a new notion of professionalism, one where individuals from all walks of life enjoy fair treatment and full participation. “Merry Christmas” has become “Happy Holidays”. Profiles of Black and Asian-looking lawyers surge during Black History […]

This is text of the closing keynote I gave for the CORE Forum on November 20, 2020.

Marginalisation is both a structural and an epistemic issue. The struggle against exclusion and marginalisation should take place within larger social structures. Moreover, we should address the le...

Literary Nonfiction. African American Studies. Politics. Philosophy & Critical Theory. Introduction by Jack Halberstam. In this series of essays, Fred Moten and Stefano Harney draw on the theory and practice of the black radical tradition as it supports, inspires, and extends contemporary social and political thought and aesthetic critique. Today the general wealth of social life finds itself confronted by mutations in the mechanisms of control: the proliferation of capitalist logistics, governance by credit, and the management of pedagogy. Working from and within the social poesis of life in THE UNDERCOMMONS, Moten and Harney develop and expand an array of concepts: study, debt, surround, planning, and the shipped. On the fugitive path of an historical and global blackness, the essays in this volume unsettle and invite the reader to the self-organised ensembles of social life that are launched every day and every night amid the general antagonism of THE UNDERCOMMONS.

This is the first of three sessions where the instructor works with pharmacy students to help then understand how to conduct literature searching and research from an inclusive perspective. The students have already seen the instructor once so emphasis is placed on understanding their current search knowledge, addressing the needs of the group, and then on them exploring how to research topics of patient care with a myriad of voices (not just relying on scholarly works). This is done with many activities and group work.

Let’s Talk About CRT, Let’s Talk About Literacy: Modifying the Framework for Anti-Racist Library Instruction Presenters: Adrianna Martinez, Jamia Williams, Kelleen Maluski, Lalitha Nataraj, Sheila García Mazari, and Talitha Matlin Relevant Theories / Concepts Coloniality in Knowledge Production (...

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that restricts how race and gender can be taught in the state's public colleges and universities.

"This book provides library workers with the tools they need to provide excellent customer service and a safe environment to all patrons regardless of ability"--

"Microsoft's associate general counsel shares the inspirational story of his rise from childhood poverty in pre-gentrified New York City to a stellar career at the top of the technology and music industries in this stirring true story of grit and perseverance. For fans of Indra Nooyi's My Life in Full and Viola Davis's Finding Me"--

California's governor pays tribute to librarians and the impact they have on students and communities.

Missouri is one of a growing number of places where government funding is being deployed as the newest weapon in the fight over books. Beginning May 30, a new state rule could deny state funding to libraries over books deemed inappropriate for young readers — although it's not clear how it will be enforced.

In a stunning show of support for libraries, late yesterday afternoon the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to support a resolution backing the Internet Archive and the digital rights of all libraries. Supervisor Connie Chan, whose district includes the Internet Archive, authored the legislation and brought the resolution before the Board. “At a […]

Here’s the Full Text of a Statement From Representative Pramila Jayapal:  In honor of National Library Week, U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) is introducing a resolution to honor library workers nationwide today. “Libraries and library workers don’t just facilitate the public’s access to information, many stepped up during the pandemic to provide personal protective equipment […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association praised the Prison Libraries Act, introduced today by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO-5th), along with co-leads Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18th) and Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH-11th), and 25 cosponsors.