With the increasing political polarization in our urban and rural communities, libraries have seen a dramatic increase in attempts to restrict content. While great libraries represent a wide variety of viewpoints and as a result usually contain something to offend everyone, some local residents and organized movements seek to limit or eliminate certain subject matter, often centered on race and/or LGBTQ+ topics, from library collections, programs, and displays. 

Join us for this story-driven, highly interactive workshop/discussion to learn about some of the challenges faced by California libraries; creative and positive strategies for responding in a way that maintains access to materials that our communities need and want to have available; and how to assure that staff and management are aligned in their approaches to these challenges. 

N.B. – This workshop, a modified version of a session presented at the California Library Association 2023 annual conference in Sacramento, is the first of two to be offered. The second, focusing on censorship, young adults, and the law, will be held on Wednesday, November 8, 2023 from 10-11:30 a.m..

Goal:

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

Concisely cite at least three foundational elements that support library advocates’ work as intellectual freedom/the right to read

Demonstrate how you can apply lessons learned from other advocates’ successful efforts to address intellectual freedom/right to read challenges

Cite at least three resources you can use to further hone your advocacy skills in the arena of intellectual freedom/right to read

Session Facilitators:  

Joyce McIntosh is the Assistant Program Director for the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF), an organization dedicated to First Amendment education, litigation, and advocacy. She has worked at the intersection of intellectual freedom, communication, and the First Amendment for three decades. Her background and education in journalism and library and information science have led her to work for newspapers, non-profits, and for the last two decades in libraries. She worked in a public library outside of Chicago, IL providing reference, programming, outreach, and assistive technology before joining FTRF.  With FTRF and the American Library Association her work has focused on education about the First Amendment and censorship, and helping librarians navigate challenges in their school and public libraries. 

Shawn Thrasher describes himself as “a bookish, nerdish, hobbitish, maker-ish, scribbler-ish, inker-ish, painter-ish, poet-ish, and an ever-changing array of other ishes librarian.” He has worked in the Kansas City Suburbs as a Youth Services Librarian for Johnson County (KS) Library; as Teen Librarian for Pasadena Public Library for five years; in Monrovia Public Library as Senior Librarian for Youth Services; and as Assistant Director at Ontario City Library, where he was promoted to Director in 2018. He has been serving on the California Library Association Board of Directors since 2018 and became Vice President / President Elect in 2022.  He also is one of the co-founders of the annual Serving With a Purpose conference for Friends of the Library, Trustees, Foundation Members, and library staff who work with them, and remains active in Inland Library System, where he was elected at-large member for the Executive Council. You can follow him on Goodreads, Instagram (ShawnMThrasher), LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Beth Wrenn-Estes, California Library Association Executive Director, is also a full-time lecturer in the School of Information at San Jose State University, where she teaches a variety of subjects including intellectual freedom and youth, children’s programming and services and early childhood literacy and development. Beth served on the California Library Association Board of Directors for several years holding the offices of Director at Large and Treasurer before becoming the Association’s Business Manager and then Executive Director.

About the Ursula Meyer Advocacy Fund Training Series