Reason: Homosexuality, Drug Use, Sexually Explicit Complainant: Parent Action: Collaboration with Florida Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee. Jamie LaRue wrote a letter to the superintendent commending his use of policy and offering any assistance with policy review. Resolution: Removed from middle school but retained in the high school library collections. This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki Henning School District, Minnesota Reason: Pervasively Vulgar, Obscene Complainant: Parent (with the agreement of the librarian, principal, and superintendent) Action: We received a report of the original challenge and talked with the librarian and superintendent. The school district has no policy and doesn’t feel the need for one. With permission, OIF posted a blog the need for policies to prevent censorship based on personal objections. Resolution: Originally removed. School Board voted 4-2 to retain This One Summer in the library but the book must be shelved in a separate section and only available to students in grades 10-12 with parental permission. Looking for Alaska by John Green Marion County High School; Lebanon, Kentucky Reason: Use of Profanity, Pornography Complainant: Parent, supported by many community members Action: John posted about the removal of this book on Twitter. OIF collaborated with NCTE and NCAC. We talked with the English teacher and the public librarians who attended the school board meeting supporting the teacher who had to publicly defend the book. OIF provided a letter from James LaRue to the reconsideration committee, defending the work and the professional judgement of teachers. Resolution: Reconsideration Committee voted unanimously to retain the book in the classroom. Parents appealed the decision to the superintendent. She retained the book but the book can no longer be taught as a whole class assignment. It has to be taught with other books and in small group instruction. Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Northville Public Schools, Michigan
Intellectual Freedom and Minors 5/26/2016 Theresa Chmara, Chris Crutcher An overview of minors' First Amendment rights and suggestions on protecting and respecting those rights of parents, teachers, and library staff who are concerned about age-appropriate materials. Dear Representative 4/22/2016 Lisa Lindle, Deborah Caldwell-tone Discussion about working with federal and state legislators to advocate for libraries and intellectual freedom issues Raising Privacy Awareness in Your Library and In Your Community 3/24/2016 Erin Berman, Michael Zimmer, Jamie LaRue Programming and planning suggestions for libraries observing Choose Privacy Week Finding Intellectual Freedom Friends 3/7/2016 Charles Brownstein, Brock Discussion about how to find and recruit allies to support libraries, librarians, and educators addressing book challenges and other IF controversies Privacy Subcommittee The IFC Privacy Subcommittee submitted five new privacy guidelines for approval by the Intellectual Freedom Committee. include: Privacy Guidelines for Students in K-12 Schools Privacy Guidelines for Library Management Systems; Privacy Guidelines for Library Websites, OPACs, and Discovery Services; Privacy Guidelines for Public Access Computers and Networks; and Privacy Guidelines for Data Exchange Between Networked Devices and Services. The new guidelines are intended to provide guidance to library and information technology professionals on best practices and policies for protecting user privacy in libraries. The Intellectual Freedom Committee approved all five guidelines. They are attached as information items 19.4 – 19.8. At this meeting, the Privacy Subcommittee agreed to work on two additional privacy guidelines that will address the privacy issues raised by libraries’ use of mobile applications and the privacy needs of library patrons who employ assistive devices and technology to access library resources. The subcommittee also decided to prepare additional materials and programs to assist libraries