About Banned & Challenged Books - ALA Does ALA ban books? No. The ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books in communities across the country. We compile lists of challenged books in order to inform the public about censorship efforts that affect libraries and schools. What's the difference between a challenge and a banning? A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. Why are books challenged? Books usually are challenged with the best intentions—to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information. Censorship can be subtle, almost imperceptible, as well as blatant and overt, but, nonetheless, harmful. If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. Who Challenges Books?
Big leap for school libraries Steven Yates has a message for would-be school librarians. “If you’re coming to this because you like to read and you want to manage a collection of books, then you showed up about 30 years too late to the profession,” says Yates, a former high school librarian who teaches in the school library media certification program at the University of Alabama. The school library’s mission—matching resources with those who need them—has not changed, he says. But its role is evolving: With materials increasingly offered online, schools are transforming their libraries into active places for students to work together and get creative, with staff who do much more than manage books. Here’s a look at how administrators and their teams are redesigning libraries. Sidebar: Going digital Inspiring thinkers Poway USD near San Diego built its Design39Campus, a K8 school that opened in 2014, around the concept of design thinking—an approach to problem-solving that promotes experimentation and collaboration.
ALA Releases List of Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books - Publisher's Weekly As part of the American Library Association's annual Banned Books Week (which this year runs from September 27 to October 3), the organization has released a list of the 100 most banned and challenged books of the last decade, 2010-2019. Topping the list: Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian; Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey; Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Looking for Alaska by John Green, and the most challenged book of 2019, George, by Alex Gino. First launched in 1982, Banned Books Week is the ALA's annual event celebrating the freedom to read and highlighting the value of free and open access to information. ALA publishes the lists to draw attention to literary censorship. For resources and more on the events set for the 2020 Banned Books Week, visit the ALA's website.
Core Competences | Education & Careers The Core Competences of Librarianship define the knowledge to be possessed by all persons graduating from ALA-accredited master’s programs in library and information studies. The Presidential Task Force on Library Education has gathered together the drafts of the Core Competences resulting from the work of various bodies in response to the first Congress on Professional Education and, following extensive consultation and redrafting, presented them in the current form to the Executive Boa rd , who approved them at their fall 2008 meeting. The final statement was approved and adopted as policy by the ALA Council on January 27, 2009 during the 2009 Midwinter Meeting in Denver, CO. To review the statement, please see the links below: Final Core Competences Statement – January 2009 (opens in new window) If you have questions about the status of this document, you may contact: Mary Ghikas Senior Associate Executive Director ALA Member, Programs & Services mghikas@ala.org
Banned Books Week Access to Resources and Services in the School Library The school library plays a unique role in promoting, protecting, and educating about intellectual freedom. It serves as a point of voluntary access to information and ideas and as a learning laboratory for students as they acquire critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed in a pluralistic society. Although the educational level and program of the school necessarily shape the resources and services of a school library, the principles of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights apply equally to all libraries, including school libraries. Under these principles, all students have equitable access to library facilities, resources, and instructional programs. School librarians assume a leadership role in promoting the principles of intellectual freedom within the school by providing resources and services that create and sustain an atmosphere of free inquiry.
Your Right to Free Expression - ACLU Getting an education isn't just about books and grades - we're also learning how to participate fully in the life of this nation. (Because the future's in our hands!) But in order to really participate, we need to know our rights - otherwise we may lose them. The highest law in our land is the U.S. Constitution, which has some amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights guarantees that the government can never deprive people in the U.S. of certain fundamental rights including the right to freedom of religion and to free speech and the due process of law. The Bill of Rights applies to young people as well as adults. The First Amendment guarantees our right to free expression and free association, which means that the government does not have the right to forbid us from saying what we like and writing what we like; we can form clubs and organizations, and take part in demonstrations and rallies. Yes. Also, school officials may not censor only one side of a controversy. No.
Professional Ethics | Tools, Publications & Resources "Intellectual freedom can exist only where two essential conditions are met: first, that all individuals have the right to hold any belief on any subject and to convey their ideas in any form they deem appropriate, and second, that society makes an equal commitment to the right of unrestricted access to information and ideas regardless of the communication medium used, the content of work, and the viewpoints of both the author and the receiver of information." - Intellectual Freedom Manual, 7th edition ALA's Code of Ethics is the responsibility of the Committee on Professional Ethics (COPE). The Code of Ethics is the document that translates the values of intellectual freedom that define the profession of librarianship into broad principles that may be used by individual members of that profession as well as by others employed in a library as a framework for dealing with situations involving ethical conflicts. Ethical dilemmas occur when values are in conflict. Code of Ethics (PDF)
Special Interest: TikTok, Intellectual Freedom, and Privacy By: Lisa Hoover China has been receiving media attention for free speech issues again this month, with the focus on Hong Kong this time. Books considered pro-democracy have been removed from public libraries in Hong Kong following the passage of a new security law, according to the BBC. China raises free speech and intellectual freedom issues fairly regularly — in fact, I wrote about China just over a year ago when a professor was suspended for speaking out against the Chinese president. At the same time, President Trump has been considering a ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps. I find these two issues interesting to consider together. The removal of books from the public libraries raises pretty obvious concerns, especially given that it is happening in Hong Kong, a “special administrative region” of China that maintains a fairly high level of independence from mainland China. Reference list: BBC News (2020) Hong Kong security law: Pro-democracy books pulled from libraries.
Library Bill of Rights The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services. I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; January 29, 2019.