PLA pre-Midwinter Institute to focus on intellectual freedom training
Contact: Kathleen Hughes
PLA
312-280-4028
For Immediate Release
November 8, 2005
PLA pre-Midwinter Institute to focus on intellectual freedom training
CHICAGO - The Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), will hold a training program prior to the ALA 2006 Midwinter Meeting that will focus on training public library staff on intellectual freedom issues. The workshop, “Defending Access with Confidence - An Intellectual Freedom Train-the-Trainer Institute (2-Day Event),” will be held on Thursday, January 19, 1 - 5 p.m. and Friday, January 20, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The goals of this training program are for public library staff to:
- Have a clearer understanding of the history and philosophy of intellectual freedom in American public libraries
- Be better able to understand and interpret policies related to intellectual freedom in a consistent manner in their own libraries
- Listen and respond to intellectual freedom challenges effectively and confidently, upholding policies while providing good customer care
- Be equipped to teach fellow library staff members how to follow and support the library's policies.
Attendees also will receive a copy of the best-selling PLA manual “Defending Access with Confidence: A Practical Workshop on Intellectual Freedom,” written by Catherine Lord (who will lead the workshop). The manual contains a PowerPoint presentation and reproducible training workbook, plus the valuable information that attendees will need to implement this training program in a library.
Registration costs are as follows: Advance: PLA Member: $235; ALA Member: $290; Nonmember: $345; Onsite: PLA Member: $285; ALA Member: $340; Nonmember: $395. The advance registration deadline is December 9. Register today at
www.ala.org. Call 800-545-2433 or write
pla@ala.org to get more information.