Defending Access with Confidence at your library

Several people who attended the MLA program “Defending Access with Confidence” have expressed interest in having it presented to their library systems. Mary Somers and Monica McAbee are available to present this 3-hour program, which discusses ALA’s Library Bill of Rights and how to support those rights in the public library. Based on a program developed by Catherine Lord, chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee for Washington State, “Defending Access with Confidence” presents strategies for responding to censorship challenges calmly and effectively. At the conclusion of the program, participants will be able to:

Define censorship, according to the ALA Intellectual Freedom Manual
List 3 ways in which censorship affects libraries and their customers.
Name 3 reasons that libraries oppose censorship.
Demonstrate 3 effective ways to respond to a would-be censor.
Name at least 2 organizations that libraries can call on for help in fighting censorship.

If you are interested, please contact us at least three months before your desired date. The cost of the program is $30 for MLA members, $45 for nonmembers, $25.00 for students. It is worth 3 contact hours of continuing education.

Mary Somers, Intellectual Freedom Officer, Maryland Library Association
msomers@harford.edu
410-836-4232

Monica McAbee, Secretary, Intellectual Freedom Advisory Panel
monica.mcabee@pgcmls.info
301-336-4388

IFAP Group at Hemingways in March

Left to right: Monica McAbee (Secretary), Leila Shapiro, Mary Somers (IF Officer, see inset photo - Ha! Thought she'd duck out of the pic), Pat Guyton, Margie Rhoden, Annette Goodman, Steve Labash, Moushumi (Mou) Chakraborty and Gaylord Robb.

Doesn't this look like a group you'd like to join? People you'd like to meet? Especially the one whose head is floating in water overhead? We have to admit, we are a fun group.

Have any questions? Want to find out more?
Contact Mary Somers(IF Officer): msomers@harford.edu 410-836-4232
Or Monica McAbee (Sec't): monica.mcabee@pgcmls.info 301-336-4388

2010 Banned Books Week Sept. 25 – Oct. 2

Banned Books Week is now on Facebook and MySpace.
Click below for more details.


This is not an ALA presence, but the links provided here to non-ALA sites may be of interest.