Internet Archive’s Post

It was such a privilege to contribute to these foundational principles on ownership of digital books, empowering libraries to build and maintain permanent digital collections. Download and use these principles at https://lnkd.in/enU_NU33

Libraries should be able to own books--including digital books. The Principles on Library Ownership for Digital Books from Library Futures lay out the why and how.

"Library work structures intellectual worlds as library workers collect, organize, make accessible, and preserve materials for use. This work is not neutral. Libraries, like all institutions, are produced in and through systems marked by racism, patriarchy, and capitalist modes of production. Critical librarianship offers a framework for thinking about our work that asks how library structures came to be and what ideologies underpin them."

WHAT BOOKS DID JUDGE BORK CHECK OUT OF THE LIBRARY? Interesting article about the government’s Library Awareness Program, which involved the FBI approaching librarians and asking for names and other details of people (particularly those with “foreign” names or who came from countries hostile to the US) who had used the library to locate things like engineering journals, scientific texts, government publications. But don’t worry (much) about the government learning how many romance novels you’ve read - the program no longer exists, and there are now laws protecting the confidentiality of library records. #law #privacy https://lnkd.in/gYweRrJv

Call to action: keep the public in public libraries! The freely available access to all kinds information & ideas (especially those you may disagree with) is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy.

Great article about the ongoing battle that US libraries are facing today! Even mentions the budget cuts that the New York Public Library narrowly avoided this past summer. If you have a few minutes, give it a quick read!

" The US library system, once the model for the world, is under assault from politicians, rightwing activists and corporate publishers. Book bans are at record levels, and libraries across the country are facing catastrophic budget cuts, a fate only narrowly avoided by New York City’s public libraries this summer. In a separate line of attack, library collections are being squeezed by draconian licensing deals, and even sued to stop lending digitized books. School libraries are an ally to students needing an escape. We can’t let them vanish.  This war on libraries – and on the traditional values of equal opportunity, universal education and cultural preservation they represent – directly contravenes the will of the majority in the United States. Polls reveal that public support for libraries is as strong as ever. But the profession of librarianship has become a hazardous one, because of the actions of a hostile minority. It’s time to reverse course. " [Excerpted]

October 1-7 is the American Library Association's #bannedbookweek. According to their website: "Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. For more than 40 years, the annual event has brought together the entire book community — librarians, teachers, booksellers, publishers, writers, journalists, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. In a time of intense political polarization, library staff in every state are facing an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom ALA documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021. Of the record 2,571 unique titles targeted for censorship, most were by or about LGBTQIA+ persons and Black, Indigenous, and people of color." Thank you Mary-Frances Winters for this sweatshirt. I wear it proudly. #letfreedomread

There were 3,362 cases of banned books nationwide in the 12 months through June 2023, a 33% year-over-year increase, according to a recent study by PEN America. WSJ media reporter Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg tells how one major publisher has waded into the sensitive debate. “Penguin Random House has responded by challenging the removal of books from school libraries and classrooms in two states. It joined with PEN America, authors and parents in filing a federal lawsuit against the Escambia County School District in Florida opposing the removal of hundreds of titles on First Amendment grounds. "In doing so, the publisher said it was defending the rights of authors to have their books read in schools by students who would benefit from them. No publisher has had more titles affected by nationwide bans, according to the company’s CEO. "In Iowa, Penguin Random House filed suit to block book banning and to protect teachers and administrators from potential penalties that would have gone into effect Jan. 1.” Penguin Random House has started hosting anti-book-banning events, giving away several thousand copies of its most-frequently banned titles, and has orchestrated a letter-writing campaign targeting local and school board officials. School boards and school districts removed more than 1,500 book titles from an assortment of publishers from public school classrooms and libraries in the 12 months through June 2023, according to a recent study by PEN America, a literary and free-speech organization that has been vocal in opposing bans. More than 1,400 book bans took place in Florida, followed by 625 bans in Texas. Parents have expressed concerns about picture books for elementary school students that they said included inappropriate content related to sex and gender. The current book-banning push has proved a potent political issue and has galvanized intense opposition in some states. In November, about a third of candidates endorsed by the conservative group Moms for Liberty were elected, down from around 45% in prior races.  Those results reflect a survey taken on behalf of the American Library Association in early March 2022 that found a majority of parents believed “school librarians in their district generally listen to the concerns of parents and try to work with them if they have concerns.”