HomeLucy Collins Nazro and Kathryn Runnells receive Immroth Award

Contact: Nanette Perez
OIF
312-280-4223
nperez@ala.org

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2006

Lucy Collins Nazro and Kathryn Runnells receive Immroth Award

CHICAGO – Lucy Collins Nazro and Kathryn Runnells of St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, have been named the recipients of the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award for Intellectual Freedom for 2006, presented by the American Library Association (ALA) Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT).

“Lucy Collins Nazro and Kathryn Runnells represent the daily struggle that librarians and administrators face in building inclusive curriculum and collections,” said Immroth Award Committee Chair Laura Koltutsky. “By keeping Brokeback Mountain in the curriculum, they have represented the ideals of their school and their profession.”

Lucy Collins Nazro defended intellectual freedom at St. Andrew's Episcopal School by refusing a $3 million donation that was dependent on the removal of Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain from the senior English curriculum. The Board of Trustees, led by Kathryn Runnells, supported her decision by giving her full support and keeping the issue in the area of curriculum, instead of making it a financial issue in which they would have the authority to intervene.

The Immroth Award honors intellectual freedom fighters in and outside the library profession who have demonstrated remarkable personal courage in resisting censorship. The award consists of $500 and a citation.

The Immroth Award will be presented Saturday, June 24, 2006, at a special awards reception at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans.

For more information on the award, visit http://www.ala.org/ifrt.