Intellectual Freedom

CHICAGO — Nominations are now open for the April 2014 Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) Board of Trustee elections.  Five positions on the FTRF board of trustees will be filled in the election to be held April 1 – May 1, 2014.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Library Association is rallying librarians to support the USA Freedom Act, a bill that will improve the balance between terrorism prevention and personal privacy protection. The USA FREEDOM Act, which was introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and PATRIOT Act author Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), would place restrictions on bulk phone and Internet government surveillance, and permit companies to make public the number of FISA orders and National Security Letters received.

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) is seeking nominations for its 2014 John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award. The John Phillip Immroth Memorial 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. Individuals, a group of individuals or an organization are eligible for the award. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 1, 2013.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Library Association recently joined 86 other civil liberties groups, Internet activists and authors to sign an open letter to Congress (.doc), calling for a congressional investigative committee, similar to the Church Committee of the 1970s. The letter is in response to the recent leaking of highly classified documents about the government’s monitoring of private Internet and telephone communications.

The letter calls on Congress to: