Michigan Library Association

Thursday, March 17, 2022 12:00 AM

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

When a book or materials challenge is made by people with legitimate interests in the outcome, however difficult it is to discuss, there will be an outcome 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.

For public libraries, these challenges are used to attack the library's funding, its staff, or even its existence. In school libraries, these performative and politicized challenges seem to attack or negate the students the books represent. In order to face these unusual types of challenges, library leaders in both public and school settings need to see that these challenges are more expansive than previous intellectual freedom fights - and need to be prepared to engage them on multiple fronts at once.

Join MLA and MAME 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 community or students your library serves.

View Coffee Hour Recording

Written by Tashia Miller, ALA Councilor, MLA Board of Directors

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2022 Michigan Library Awards Honorees

The Michigan Library Awards are brought to you by the Michigan Library Association (MLA), the Library of Michigan, the Library of Michigan Foundation, the Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME), and the Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA). It’s the Michigan library community's own version of the Academy Awards, the Emmys, the Grammys, and the Tonys, and the can't-miss event for recognizing Michigan's amazing library professionals and libraries.

Couldn’t attend the Michigan Library Awards in person? Grab some popcorn and watch a replay of the show on Facebook as we continue to recognize and celebrate our honorees! The recorded Michigan Library Awards program will be broadcast on MLA’s Facebook page on Thursday, November 3 at 7:00 PM.

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