Sites and Soundbytes

INTRO

• Parent in Texas objecting to teacher giving 9th grader a Cormac McCarthy novel - wants all McCarthy books classified as harmful to minors
• Banned Books Week - our freedom is fragile and must be protected
• Most books are not banned because communities stand up and say NO
• 500-600 challenges each year in last 25 years
• Only 30 books banned last year - compared to 100s 26+ years ago
• Patrons must be able to choose what they want to read - providing a broad range of ideas and info
• It is not "my" library - it is the public's library
• Broad range means that people will disagree with it
• Remember, complaining is OK.  They are exercising their 1st Amendment rights
• Anything legal is legitimate to have in a library
• We don't serve the loudest or most powerful - we serve EVERYONE, not just the majority
• 1st Amendment - 45 little words - Unique because it guarantees rights and lacks proscriptions of rights
• BUT speech does have consequences.
• 1st Amendment is important - the mechanism to govern ourselves
• Format doesn't change our role - just gives us a new arena to play in

HOT ISSUES

DOPA (Deleting Online Predators Act)
Requires schools and libraries to block access to social networking sites - would block MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, LiveJournal, etc.  Including class management software.  Also, IM, wikis, blogs, etc. 
Seeks to eliminate the virtual world our youth exist in. 
Penalty for not abiding is loss of federal funding.
Local decision making, not federal law should be used to decide these things.  DOPA is redundant and unnecessary.
Targets the communities who need the funding - though these are the same kids who cannot access these sites at home.
If we push this off to homes, there are no qualified professionals to aid in teaching children how to protect themselves online
North Caroline looking at requiring age verification of children.  HOW?!

Cyberbullying
Kids must have authority figures to trust with this
Don't respond to hate mail
Don't respond to chat or IM that makes you feel uncomfortable
Find someone you trust and show it to them
Kids do trust librarians and teachers
We are in a position to help
Urge kids to talk to parents about it

Illinois Library Association
Safe blogging - teens
Dealing with cyberbullies - kids
Social networking - parents
Click on link above for downloadable versions

Cambridge University Press Suit
Cambrdige Univ. Press folded and recalled books
British libel law is different than US law
Libraries do NOT need to turn over the books, unless there is a decision by a US court
Libraries hold title to their copies, which they can do with as they please
Libraries urged to purchase more copies due to the interest

Yale University Press
Kinder USA sued
Yale filed an anti-slap suit
Kinder USA withdrew challenge

Top Ten Banned Books of 2006

Kids need to read about these things to decrease their angst so they can cope on a day-to-day basis.
Many modern classics are on the list.
When censors condemn these books, they are saying more about themselves than the work. 
By removing books with gay themes, censors are telling people with homosexual friends, family, or they themselves do not have a right to exist.
Books return to the list year after year, showing that censors are not making headway.

Librarians are key in the battle to protect American values.  Right to access information freely without government watching us.

**********************************************************

More than a few moments where my eyes filled with tears.
"I found myself at the library."
Goodness, there is power in what we do, what we offer.  What a great way to be reminded of it.