Online Learning

Upcoming Webinars/Webcasts

"Defending the Freedom to Read: Updates on current court cases from the Freedom to Read Foundation" (Recorded webcast)

Date: Coming February 2012

Description: Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) General Counsel Theresa Chmara provides an overview of current court cases involving FTRF, including those in which the organization is a plaintiff, has filed an amicus brief, or is monitoring.  

Cost: This webcast is offered as a free benefit to all individual and organizational members of FTRF.  Join the Freedom to Read Foundation.  ALA members: $20.00. Non-members: $25.00.  Groups (two or more individuals at one location): $35.00

"Conflict Resolution in the Library Workplace: Coping with challenges, censors, and other difficult situations"

Date: Wednesday, April 11, 2012, 12:00 p.m. CDT.  Recorded webcast will be available at a later date. 

Description: Many librarians find themselves in tough spots when confronted with challenges to library material, policies, or practices.  Whether coming from their higher ups or governing bodies, or from pressure in the community or from parents, such situations can result in poor communication and decision-making, and the result can be negative for all concerned.  To help librarians deal with such situations, the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund, in cooperation with ALA’s Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment and the Office for Intellectual Freedom, is pleased to sponsor this training session to suggest some ways that librarians can turn potential crises into teaching/learning opportunities.

Cost: Free

"Choose Privacy Week: Government surveillance in a digital age" (Live webinar)

Date: Thursday, April 19, 2012, 1:00 p.m. CDT.  Recorded webcast will be available at a later date.

Descrption: This year, Choose Privacy Week will focus on deepening public awareness about the growth of government surveillance and its impact on personal privacy, free speech rights, and civil liberties.  This webinar will review particular topics – such as data mining, social media surveillance, biometrics, and the impact of government surveillance on local communities  – and suggest programming and resources that libraries can use to foster community discussions during Choose Privacy Week.  For more information and resources on Choose Privacy Week, please visit www.privacyrevolution.org.

Cost: Free

"Self-Service Holds: Efficiency doesn't need to compromise reader privacy" (Live webinar)

Date: Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 2:00 p.m. CDT.  Recorded webcast will be available at a later date.  

Description: The move to self-service holds (also known as open-shelf holds) has enabled many libraries to continue user hold services despite ongoing staff cuts and budget reductions.  But many libraries have implemented self-service hold systems that reveal personally identifiable information – including users' full names – that link the user to the specific book or materials on hold, thereby compromising the  library user's privacy and confidentiality.  Such practices violate the ALA Code of Ethics and may, in some states, violate library confidentiality statutes.  In response to this situation, the ALA Council passed a resolution addressing self-service hold practices that encourages both libraries and vendors to adopt self-service hold systems that preserve users' confidentiality.  This webinar will explain the legal and ethical standards that support the move to privacy-protective hold systems and discuss various self-service hold systems that both protect user privacy and save the library money.

Cost: Free

Come back to this page, follow OIF on Twitter, visit the OIF Blog, or subscribe to the IFACTION e-list for announcements of future webinars.

Webcasts

"Intellectual Freedom Across the Globe" Now available as webcasts

Description: During November 2011, OIF and the IFLA Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression offered a series of online learning opportunities focused on intellectual freedom issues in an international context. Topics covered included issues regarding religion and libraries; comics, manga and graphic novels in libraries; and access to health and sexuality information in the developing world.  Click on individual webinars below for more information.

Cost: Single webcast - Individual: $15 (ALA/IFLA member); $20 (non-member); $35 (Group of two or more individuals at one location).  Series of three - $40 (ALA/IFLA member); $50 (non-member)

How to purchase: To purchase any or all of the Intellectual Freedom Across the Globe webcasts, visit http://bit.ly/wHVlGP and click on the “Register” link to the right of the webcast you’re interested in. You will need to enter your ALA ID and password. If you do not have an ALA ID, you will be asked to create one in order to register.

 "Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga, and Libraries"

Speakers: Charles Brownstein, Executive Director, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, New York, NY, USA; Yasuyo Inoue, Professor, Dokkyo University, Japan [FAIFE Committee member]; and Angela Maycock, Assistant Director, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Chicago, IL, USA.

"Religion, Free Expression, and Libraries"  

Speakers: Paul Sturges O.B.E., Professor Emeritus, Loughborough University and Professor Extraordinary, University of Pretoria, United Kingdom [past FAIFE chair]; Almuth Gastinger, Senior Research Librarian, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway; and Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Deputy Director, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Chicago, IL, USA.

"Access to Health Information and Education in the Developing World"

Speakers: Alejandra Martinez del Prado, Reference Librarian, School of Medicine Library of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico [FAIFE Committee member]; and Barbara Jones, Director, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Chicago, IL, USA.

"Intellectual Freedom Summer School" Now available as webcasts

Description: During August 2011, OIF offered a series of online learning opportunities on a wide range of intellectual freedom issues to meet the needs of busy library professionals. “Intellectual Freedom Summer School” webinars will provide information and insight on some of the most current and pressing topics in libraries today. Specific programs are offered for public, academic, and school librarians. These one-hour, interactive sessions feature speakers from OIF as well as practicing librarians in the field.  Click on links below for individual webcast descriptions.

Cost: Single webcast - Individual: $15 (ALAmember); $20 (non-member); $35 (Group of two or more individuals at one location).  Series of five - $60 (ALA member); $80 (non-member)

How to purchase: To purchase any or all of the "Intellectual Freedom Summer School" webcasts, visit http://bit.ly/wHVlGP and click on the “Register” link to the right of the webcast you’re interested in. You will need to enter your ALA ID and password. If you do not have an ALA ID, you will be asked to create one in order to register.

Hot Topics in Academic Libraries  Presenters: Barbara Jones, Michael Wright, Deborah Caldwell-Stone

Privacy Law, Ethics, and Policy In the Library  Presenter: Deborah Caldwell-Stone

Hot Topics in School Libraries  Presenters: Frances Jacobson Harris, Angela Maycock

Collection Diversity and Self-Censorship  Presenter: Angela Maycock

Hot Topics in Public Libraries  Presenters: Kent Oliver, Angela Maycock

"Finding a Legal Comfort Zone on the Web" Now available as webcast

Recorded July 27, 2011

WebJunction webinar in collaboration with ALA TechSource and ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. Presenters Eli Neiburger, Associate Director for IT & Production, Ann Arbor District Library and Barbara Jones, Director, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, discuss how libraries can navigate through issues of intellectual freedom and privacy issues in emerging technologies. Full archive, slides, and chat log available at http://www.webjunction.org/events/webinars/webinar-archives/-/articles/content/121476666.

Past Webinars

"Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read at Your School, Public, and Academic Library"

Tuesday, September 13, 2011
This webinar was recorded and will be freely available in archive format. Check back for availability.

During Banned Books Week (September 25 through October 2, 2011), hundreds of libraries across the country draw attention to the harmful effects of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events celebrating the importance of the freedom to read.  Is you library interested in celebrating Banned Books Week? Would you like to get tips and ideas on how to celebrate in your library? Please join us for a free, hour-long webinar on Tuesday, September 13, at 1:00 PM Central for more information on how to celebrate the freedom to read @ your school, public, and academic library.  All attendees will receive a special discount code to purchase Banned Books Week materials through the ALA Store.

Mindy Null, Librarian, Downers Grove South High School; Patty McCarthy, Development Director, Iowa City Public Library; and Julia Glynn Warga, Social Sciences Librarian at Kenyon College and Chair-Elect of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table will discuss how their libraries celebrate their freedom to read.  Nanette Perez, Program Officer for the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom will moderate.

Webinar: "Controversial Materials in the Library: Supporting Intellectual Freedom in Your Community"

Training for library trustees, friends, and advocates, co-sponsored by OIF and ALTAFF.  This webinar covered the basics of intellectual freedom in libraries, collection development policies, procedures for handling challenges to library materials, and tips on responding to controversies that may arise.  Instructor: Angela Maycock, OIF Assistant Director.  This one-hour session was offered three times in February 2010.