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MLA Connect Advocacy Hour: Intellectual Freedom: When the Challenges are Truly Political
Thursday, March 17, 2022, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
Category: MLA Connect Advocacy Hour

MLA Connect Advocacy Hour:  Intellectual Freedom: When the Challenges are Truly Political

March 17, 2022
10:00 - 11:00 AM

On Thursday, March 17 we are pleased to partner with the Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME) to welcome John Chrastka, founder of EveryLibrary for an MLA Connect Advocacy Hour about censorship and responding to book-banning. There are two sessions to choose from: join us live at 10:00 AM or join the afternoon replay (with live Q & A with John) at 4:30 PM! Use the links below to register!

When a book or materials challenge is made in good faith by people with legitimate interests in the outcome, then however difficult it is to follow policies and hold a dialog with your community, there will be an outcome that is in line with the First Amendment and your library's values. 

However, there is an entirely different class of book bans that are political, politicized, and performative which must be understood in order to be properly engaged. Many times, these challenges use books to attack the library's funding, its staff, or even its existence as a community anchor. Other times, performative and politicized challenges seek to attack or negate the people the books represent. 

In order to face these unusual types of challenges, library leaders need to see that they are more expansive than previous intellectual freedom fights and to be prepared to engage them on multiple fronts at once. 

Join us for a discussion with EveryLibrary executive director John Chrastka about ways to anticipate and answer highly politicized challenges with integrity to your mission and compassion for the people your library serves. 

Please note recordings of all MLA Advocacy Hours are available to watch for free and on-demand on our website at milibraries.org/mla-connect-archives

John ChrastkaEveryLibrary’s founder is John Chrastka, a long-time library trustee, supporter, and advocate. Mr. Chrastka is a former partner in AssociaDirect, a Chicago-based consultancy focused on supporting associations in membership recruitment, conference, and governance activities. He is a former president and member of the Board of Trustees for the Berwyn (IL) Public Library (2006 – 2015) and is a former president of the Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System (RAILS) multi-type library system. Prior to his work at AssociaDirect, he was Director for Membership Development at the American Library Association (ALA). He was named a 2014 Mover & Shaker by Library Journal.

 
 
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