Guest speaker sessions via Zoom:
Wednesday, Apr. 17 from 12:00 to 4:00 pm ET (recordings available)
The last few years have seen a drastic uptick in book bans and curriculum challenges. As a librarian, teacher, administrator, or trustee, it can be difficult to know your options for managing these challenges and advocating for intellectual freedom and diverse educational materials. This course will focus on proactive preparation to ensure you are set up for success. Live sessions will be available on-demand.
In this half-day online course, you will learn tangible ways to handle censorship, including tips for finding allies and building coalitions, tactics for creating inclusive programs despite censorship issues, and strategies to ensure your library policies are up to date to help proactively defend intellectual freedom. We’ll discuss ways to protect yourself as well as best practices for talking about censorship externally to help equip you with appropriate responses when challenges arise.
The live sessions run on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 from 12:00-4:00 pm ET (recorded for on-demand viewing). Don’t miss this opportunity!
When you sign up early, you’ll have immediate access to our Early Access On Demand Resources—a series of webinars from Library Journal and School Library Journal contributors along with rich, supporting materials in the form of readings, activities, and videos—to explore at your own pace.
Advocate for your programs, curricula, collections, and services
Conduct a policy audit and ensure your protections are up to date and comprehensive
Make a plan to find allies and build coalitions to support you
Access resources and communities dealing with similar challenges
Develop and refer to talking points and best practices for speaking at school board meetings and connecting with stakeholders and community members
Create a plan for how to cope and take care of yourself in the midst of challenges
Any librarian or educator who needs support preparing for or dealing with current book bans and curriculum challenges. Whether you’re a frontline staff member or teacher, or a director or school administrator, this course will include proactive information that will give you tactical tools to defend intellectual freedom.
If you attend or watch the recordings of all live sessions, you'll spend approximately 4 hours on this course. You'll earn 4 hours of PD credit and a Library Journal certificate of completion.
Can’t make a live session? All guest speaker sessions are recorded and available on demand for six months following the initial broadcast.
4 professional development credit hours
For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co
All guest speaker sessions feature live captioning and are made available on demand after the initial broadcast. Please email libraryjournal@edmaker.co upon registration if you require any special accommodations and we will make our best efforts to facilitate them.
Discounted registration fees are available for groups of 3 or more.
Send us a request for a quote.
By registering for this event you confirm that you have read and agree to our Code of Conduct.
For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co.
Session 1 | 12:00-12:45 pm ET
Whether you’re preparing for challenges or you’re already dealing with them, this session will give you the practical tools you need to manage censorship. You will learn innovative policy ideas to reduce and resist censorship in your area, as well as strategies for auditing your current practices to ensure they will adequately defend intellectual freedom in your area. You will leave this session with new ideas for streamlined procedures and protocols that you can establish in your library to help you resist book bans and defend the right to read.
Speaker:
Lori Fisher, State Librarian, Maine |
Session 2 | 12:45-1:30 pm ET
Defending intellectual freedom can’t be the job of just one person. This session will teach you how to find allies inside and outside of your library or school, build coalitions, gain local legislative support, and work as a community to combat censorship challenges. You will leave with shared resources and tools for how to connect with others to drive change in your community.
Speaker:
Lisa R. Varga, MLS (she, her) Executive Director at Virginia Library Association; 2024 Librarian of the Year, Library Journal |
Break | 1:30-1:45 pm ET
Session 3 | 1:45-2:30 pm ET
Book challenges and censorship disproportionately target and affect books by and about LBGTQIA+, BIPOC, and other marginalized identities. As a librarian, how can you continue to create and advocate for inclusive programs and collections even and especially when your organization is facing censorship? Hear from a panel of librarians and join the discussion during a facilitated Q&A.
Speakers:
Hal Patnott, Rainbow Services Librarian |
Cicely Lewis, 2020 SLJ School Librarian of the Year, is the media specialist at Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, GA |
Session 4 | 2:30-3:00 pm ET
One challenge of censorship issues is knowing when and how to craft external communications. This session will help you know how to address the media as well as how to create systems in your library to ensure you’re ready to address FOIA requests efficiently and effectively.
Speaker:
Julie M. Milavec, (she, her hers) Library Director, Downers Grove Public Library |
Cindy Khatri, Marketing & Communications Manager, Downers Grove Public Library |
Break | 3:00-3:10 pm ET
Session 5 | 3:10-3:50 pm ET
Learn how to talk about censorship with patrons and your community in a rhetorically and politically effective way. This session will discuss how best to communicate the value of libraries and frame the conversation around censorship in a way that brings people together in common ground.
Speaker:
Rory Steele, Executive Director, Freedom to Learn Advocates |
Session 6 | 3:50-4:30 pm ET
Too often, librarians and educators are being publicly targeted by people attempting to advance censorship. This session will teach you how to protect yourself online from doxxing and other harassment. You will also learn strategies for setting and maintaining boundaries, advocating for yourself in the workplace, and prioritizing wellness through rest and connection to others through affinity groups.
Speaker:
Amanda Jones, Teacher-Librarian, 2021 SLJ Co-Librarian of the Year, a 2021 LJ Mover and Shaker, and the 2020 Louisiana School Librarian of the Year |
Live session with Andrea Blackman and Tasneem Ansariyah Grace |
Live Guest Speakers
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Recordings of guest speakers |
Recordings Available After The Live Session
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Early Access On Demand Resources |
Early Access and Ongoing Resources To Support Learning
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