[Libs-Or] September 2016 Tuesday Topic: Celebrate the Freedom to Read

[Ross BETZER]

September 2016 Tuesday Topic: Celebrate the Freedom to Read

Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, a monthly series covering topics with
intellectual freedom implications for libraries of all types.  Each message
is prepared by a member of Oregon Library Association’s Intellectual
Freedom Committee
<http://www.olaweb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=523:intellectual-freedom-about-us&catid=20:site-content>.
Questions can be directed to the committee member who sent the message or
to one of the committee co-chairs.

===

Banned books. Does anyone even talk about those anymore? The answer to
that, as evidenced by regular challenges to items in school libraries and
last month’s dispute between the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and
Shakespeare Books & Antiques, is yes.


Celebrate the freedom to read in Oregon during next weeks’ Banned Books
Week (September 25 - October 1) along with libraries, bookstores, and
schools across the United States. This annual celebration is an opportunity
for libraries to start conversations about why it is important to have
materials available representing all points of view and why free speech is
necessary for a healthy democracy.

Here are some ways that you can take part.

Learn - Review and be inspired by the American Library Association’s Library
Bill of Rights <http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill>, and
then visit the ALA’s Banned Books Week
<http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek> website to learn more about
frequently challenged titles and to get ideas and resources for your
library. For an Oregon focus, visit the Oregon Intellectual Freedom
Clearinghouse <https://www.oregon.gov/osl/LD/Pages/projects/OIFC/index.aspx>
to see reports on books that have been challenged at libraries in this
state. The BannedBooksWeek.org <http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/> website is
focusing on diversity and the fact that “it is estimated that over half of
all banned books are by authors of color, or contain events and issues
concerning diverse communities.”

Share - Visit the Celebrate the Freedom to Read in Oregon
<https://www.facebook.com/OregonReadsBannedBooks> Facebook page and share
your library’s events (and photos!)

Explore - Spend some time wandering through a unique database of library
materials challenges in Oregon, Intellectual Freedom Issues in Oregon: A
News Database <http://commons.pacificu.edu/iforegon/>. This historical
database might give you some interesting community history to share with
your library users, or it could be a good source for a student researcher
looking at censorship issues over time.

Prepare - Prepare to have conversations with library patrons sparked by
Banned Books Week or the Oregon Shakespeare Festival/Shakespeare Books &
Antiques controversy. People are often surprised that there are still
challenges to library materials and that it is still important (even with
the Internet) for the library to make a full range of ideas and expression
available to the public. Patrons may have questions about the intersection
of a right to read with a responsibility to not be offensive. There aren’t
easy answers, but these conversations are the main reason for celebrating
Banned Books Week, and they help build support for free speech in your
library community.

You can also use this week as a reminder to prepare for the day when
someone walks into your library with a concern about a particular title
that is on the shelf.

   -

   Does your library have a materials reconsideration policy and form?
   -

   Do all library personnel know the procedure for responding to challenges?
   -

   Are your public officials and institutional leaders aware that there is
   a procedure to be followed?
   -

   If you are in a school library, are your school and district
   administrators aware of the process for responding to a request for
   reconsideration?


If you need help with policies, procedures and forms, visit the
Intellectual Freedom Toolkit
<http://www.olaweb.org/intellectual-freedom-toolkit> on the OLA
Intellectual Freedom Committee website. Help can also be found at the Oregon
Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse
<https://www.oregon.gov/osl/LD/Pages/projects/OIFC/index.aspx>.

If you have more questions, contact Ross Betzer or Krista Reynolds,
co-chairs of the OLA Intellectual Freedom Committee and, with the help of
the rest of our committee members, we will find answers for you. In the
event of a challenge, we are always ready to help.

Read freely!


Ross Betzer
Co-chair, Oregon Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee
Information Services Librarian, Multnomah County Library
503.988.5728
rossbk at multco.us
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