Throughout the year, SRRT offers a variety of events and programs to educate, connect, and maintain forward momentum in our work to make ALA more democratic and to establish progressive priorities not only for the Association, but also for the entire library profession.
Upcoming Events & Programs
Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members
Join us on Zoom for an hour, two Saturdays each month, to discuss specific news topics and world events. Our goal is to promote global awareness and to facilitate a truly educational, fruitful and civil discussion on a regular basis. We are also aiming to discuss creative solutions to problems. Read more and register...
Intellectual Freedom, Social Responsibility, and Praxis in Librarianship and Education
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 12:00–1:30 pm Central Time. Online, via Zoom
Event description: Intensified battles around book bans, censorship, public and school library funding, Critical Race Theory, African American Studies pedagogy, gender identity, and sexual orientation are at fever pitch across the country, raising critical questions about the nature of intellectual freedom, the purpose of literacy and education, the dissemination of information, and the interrelationships among them. The pervasiveness of these issues also illuminates how race and racism continues to structure key conversations and contexts about information access, pedagogy, and the historical record.
What is behind this most recent wave of the longstanding challenges to intellectual freedom, historical reckoning, and “dangerous ideas” in America? How does it connect or stand apart from previous repression and suppression of information, literacy, and history? And how can the related professions of librarianship and education inform one another’s efforts to uphold information access, historical integrity, and democratic principles? This panel will dig into these key questions and help contextualize, inform, and ignite our collective understanding and advocacy in these areas. Please join us!
Panelists:
- Nicole Cooke, Augusta Baker Endowed Chair, School of Information Science, University of South Carolina
- Carolyn Foote, Co-Founder of FReadom Fighters
- Johannah Genett, Deputy Director, Hennepin County Library
- Robin D.G. Kelley, Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History, University of California, Los Angeles
This event is free and open to the public.