[Libs-Or] IFC Champion Award winner: April Witteveen!

[Ekatrina Sotomayor]

Congratulations, April! Well deserved for your steadfast advocacy & defense
of intellectual freedom in our state!

Ekatrina

On Fri, Apr 21, 2023 at 1:50 PM Emily O'Neal via Libs-Or <
libs-or at omls.oregon.gov> wrote:

> External -
> [image: External Sender]
>
> As the Chair of the IFC, it is with great honor that I get to present the
> award for this year’s intellectual freedom champion.  This year has been
> has been unmatched in the challenges encountered and the tactics taken in
> those challenges have often left our library staff anxious, stressed and
> often fearful.  To stand up for intellectual freedom in these times takes
> extraordinary bravery and commitment to the values we all hold so dear.
> The free exchange of ideas, the free and open access to information, and
> the ability to see one’s self in the materials provided and the stories we
> share. This person stood tall in her conviction to uphold these values,
> showed incredible strength, even in times of extreme hostility.  She aided
> and led her team and her library through an extremely contentious and
> heated debate over equitable access to library materials for minors,
> specifically addressing the importance of representation for our LGBTQ
> stories for our communities.  It is with great honor that the IFC has
> chosen to award the Intellectual Freedom Champion award to former Crook
> County Library Director, current OSU-Cascades Director, April Witteveen.
>
> Emily O'Neal - IFC Chair and IFC Members
>


-- 
Ekatrina Sotomayor (she/her/they)
School Corps Indigenous Program Specialist
My schedule is Monday-Friday


I recognize that Multnomah County operates on the traditional homelands of
the Multnomah, Clackamas, Cowlitz, Wasco, Kathlamet, bands of Chinook,
Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, and other tribes that made their homes along
the Columbia River.  Because of the legacy of federal termination policies,
some of these tribes have become the Confederated Tribes of the Grand
Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians as well as the Chinook
Nation and Cowlitz Nation in Washington state.  I further recognize that
people from over 380 tribes live in Multnomah County, and that my work
needs to prioritize removing barriers and creating equity in service and
resources for Indigenous people and others from marginalized communities.
I work for a future where libraries can fulfill their promise of education
and personal enrichment for all people.
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