Intellectual Freedom Committee

Purpose

To uphold the value of intellectual freedom in Virginia's libraries by monitoring and reporting on intellectual freedom issues in the Commonwealth.

Committee Member Roster

Resources and Continuing Education

Intellectual Freedom Issues and General Resources

ALA Intellectual Freedom Blog
Virginia Coalition for Open Government (The VLA is a member of VCOG)
Intellectual Freedom Resources
ALA Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit for Public, School, and Academic Libraries
"Exhibit Spaces and Bulletin Boards: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights,” American Library Association
“Library-Initiated Programs as a Resource: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights,” American Library Association
“Meeting Rooms: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights,” American Library Association
"Addressing Challenges to Books by Problematic Authors Q&A," American Library Association
Keeping PRIDE Books on Display https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/fight-censorship-keeping-pride-books-on-display/

Privacy Issues

Protecting Your Online Privacy: Risks And Strategies (An Infopeople Webinar, 11/9/2017)
Library Freedom Project
“Library Privacy Guidelines & Checklists,” American Library Association
Choose Privacy Every Day
Data Privacy Week

Banned Books

Fake News Info & Resources

A great list of resources and webinars related to Fake News from the library world

Reporting Challenges

Has your library experienced a challenge or a reconsideration of your materials, displays, website content, or another intellectual freedom issue? Let the VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee know, and we can offer support, guidance, and resources for you and your library. If you aren’t sure what constitutes a reconsideration or a challenge, please report it and let us know anyway.

Contact: VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee Chair, Brian Manning

The American Library Association collects statistics on challenges as well to monitor trends in intellectual freedom issues. If you have received a challenge at your library, please fill out their quick and easy challenge report (this can be submitted anonymously).

Virginia Intellectual Freedom In the News

Recent News

July 2022

July 26, 2022: A Weird State Law Lets Virginians Sue Books. Politicians Are Using it to Dictate what We Can Read
July 26, 2022: Republican AGs Urge Google Not to Censor Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers
July 24, 2022: College Alumni Groups Spread Nationally to Counter ‘Cancel Culture’
July 23, 2022: Attorney General Miyares Leads Multistate Letter Urging Google Not to Censor Crisis Pregnancy Centers from Search Results
July 22, 2022: To the Editor: Censorship, Parents and Queer People
July 21, 2022: To the Editor: Moms for Liberty Is Hardly About Liberty
July 20, 2022: Bedford School Libraries to Offer Alerts to Parents on what Students Check Out
July 16, 2022: Roanoke County Librarians Raised Concerns about New Media Policy
July 14, 2022: A Look at the Draft Model Officials Created for Virginia School to Notify Parents of School Materials Including Sexually Explicit Content
July 14, 2022: Treatment of Recent Bedford County Library Display Prompts Comments to Supervisors
July 14, 2022: Fauquier County Parents Want Books Removed from School Over Content
July 13, 2022: Fauquier County Parents Clash over Book Censorship
July 13, 2022: Letter: Call It What It Is: Censorship
July 12, 2022: Bedford County Library Addresses Concerns Following Protests Over Pride Display
July 11, 2022: Letter: Discussion, Not Censorship, Would Be a Better Goal
July 7, 2022: Books Hearing Slated for Late August
July 6, 2022: With Rising Book Bans, Librarians Have Come Under Attack
July 6, 2022: Some Parents Want Kettle Run Library to Remove 3 Books They See as Pornographic, Violent
July 6, 2022: Free-Speech Groups, Book World Fight Back in Virginia Obscenity Case
July 4, 2022: Maia Kobabe's Legal Response To Gender Queer Obscenity Lawsuit
July 3, 2022: As Debate Over Books in Schools Continues, Relatively Few Formal Complaints Have Been Filed in Hampton Roads
July 2, 2022: How, in 2022, Are We Still Having Debate over Book Bans?

June 2022

June 29, 2022: Washington County Residents Debate Banning Library Books
June 29, 2022: It’s 2022 and Two Books Are on Trial for ‘Obscenity’
June 29, 2022: Virginia Politicians Sue Oni Press and Maia Kobabe Over Gender Queer
June 23, 2022: Frederick School Board Retains Textbook Despite Complaint
June 22, 2022: Lawyers Say ‘Defective’ Virginia Obscenity Claims Should Be Tossed
June 22, 2022 Virginia School Board Votes to Make 'Misgendering' and 'Deadnaming' a Potential Crime
June 21, 2022: After Book Removal, Library Policy Up for Adoption by Roanoke County School Board
June 21, 2022: Why I Left My Job Teaching this Year
June 18, 2022: 'Our Community Is Not Monolithic:' Bedford Library Discusses Pride Month Materials
June 17, 2022: Youngkin Proposes Amendment To Make Picketing At Justices’ Homes A Felony
June 17, 2022: Book Challenges in Virginia Beach Should be Dismissed, Barnes & Noble, Authors Say
June 15, 2022: Pride Month Book Display Taken Down After Complaints at Forest Library
June 15, 2022: Author on Book Ban Vote: 'Much Love to Everyone in Hanover County'
June 15, 2022: Only Two Book Complaints Filed With City, County Schools
June 15, 2022: Editorial: In the Roanoke Valley, Dodging Discussions by Making Books Disappear
June 14, 2022: Hanover School Board Meets Tuesday to Discuss Removing Book
June 8, 2022: Hate Legal Group ADF Sues Virginia School Board over Trans Policies
June 6, 2022: Virginia School District Sued for Forcing Teachers to Hide Students' Gender Identity from Parents
June 4, 2022: Lawsuit Filed Against City Schools

May 2022

May 22, 2022: Barnes & Noble Pressured to Restrict Sales of 2021's Most Banned Book
May 20, 2022: Va. Republicans Seek to Limit Sale of 2 books in Barnes & Noble for ‘Obscenity’
May 20, 2022: GOP Pols Want Barnes & Noble to Stop Selling ‘Gender Queer’ Book to Kids
May 19, 2022: Battle Over Books in Virginia Beach Now Targets Barnes & Noble, Amazon. And it’s Making its Way through Circuit court
May 19, 2022: 'Doesn't Mean the Books are Banned': Va. Judge Rules Pair of Books Obscene for Kids
May 19, 2022: Barnes & Noble Being Sued in Virginia Beach over Gender Queen, Court of Mist and Fury
May 19, 2022: Virginia Delegate Seeks Restraining Order Against Barnes & Noble Over ‘Gender Queer’
May 16, 2022: Virginia Mom Suing Biracial Son's School Over CRT Curriculum Says It 'Totally Changed His Perspective' on Race
May 16, 2022: Virginia Beach School Board Group Removes ‘Gender Queer’ Book from Libraries, Calls it ‘Pervasively Vulgar’
May 16, 2022: Fairfax County, Va., to Punish Students Who “Deadname” and “Misgender” Others
May 16, 2022: Using ‘Wrong’ Pronouns Could Lead to Suspensions in Virginia Public Schools
May 14, 2022: Discuss Books, Don’t Ban Them
May 12, 2022: Virginia Schools Pull Books from Libraries
May 11, 2022: Virginia Beach School Board to Remove ‘Gender Queer’ Novel Off Bookshelves
May 7, 2022: Attorney General Miyares Argues that the Proposed Disinformation Governance Board will Hurt Americans’ Constitutional Freedom to Speak Freely, Debate, and Disagree with the Government
May 7, 2022: 23 Va. School Districts Have Taken Books Off Shelves in Past Two Years
May 5, 2022: 20 Republican-Led States Threaten Legal Action against DHS, Urge Disbanding of 'Un-American' Disinfo Board
May 5, 2022: New School Principals Announced; School Library Books Called into Question
May 4, 2022: Northern Virginia Students and Parents React to the Effort to Ban Books Deemed Sexually Explicit
May 4, 2002: Henrico Parent Withdraws Request for Review of Youth Novel
May 4, 2022: Woman Demands City Council Ban Award-Winning LGBTQ Book from Public Library – They Refused
May 4, 2022: Reckoning with Beloved
May 4, 2022: Does UVA Have a Self-Censorship Problem?
May 4, 2022: WJCC School Board Reverses Decision to Nix History Textbooks
May 3, 2022: How a Debut Graphic Memoir Became the Most Banned Book in the Country
May 2, 2022: Novel Under Review by Henrico Schools Committee after Complaint of ‘Indoctrination,’ ‘Marxist’ Ideology

April 2022

April 30, 2022: W-JCC School Board Let the Minority Win
April 30, 2022: Study of American Government Requires Examination of Conflict
April 29, 2022: Banning Books is a Crude Attempt to Roll Back Societal Gains
April 28, 2022: Matney: 'Lawn Boy' Was Listed as Juvenile Book before Being Moved
April 27, 2022: Public Libraries Are Heart of Democracy
April 27, 2022: Inside The Debate Over Sexually Explicit Content In Virginia Schools
April 25, 2022: Virginia Dad Goes Nuclear on Teachers' Union Boss
April 25, 2022: Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Virginia School District’s Critical Race Theory Indoctrination
April 22, 2022: Why the University of Virginia is Becoming a Battleground for Speech
April 21, 2022: Gov. Youngkin Signs “Sexually Explicit Content” Bill Impacting Virginia Schools
April 20, 2022: Commissioner of Revenue Takes Aim at Library Book
April 20, 2022: IW School Board Splits on Removing ‘Partisan’ iPad Apps
April 19, 2022: School Board Debates the Use of ‘Detrimental’ Book in New Middle School Class
April 19, 2022: LGBTQ Community, People of Color in the Crosshairs of Banned Book Movement
April 18, 2022: How ‘Drag StoryBook Hour’ Set Off Culture Wars at a Virginia Community Center
April 10, 2022: Girls Lacrosse Team Ordered to Stop Wearing Prayer Shirts
April 8, 2022: Debate Ensues over BHS Lacrosse Players' Call for Peace in Ukraine
April 8, 2022: Virginia Bill Signed Requires Parent Notification of ‘Sexually Explicit Materials’
April 8, 2022: Youngkin Signs Bill Regulating Explicit Content in Schools
April 8, 2022: More than 1,500 Books Have Been Banned in Public Schools, and a U.S. House Panel Asks Why
April 8, 2022: Youngkin signs bill regulating explicit content in schools
April 7, 2022: Virginia Parent Speaks at Congress Against Banning of Books
April 7, 2022: Residents Outraged Over Potential Book Banning in Warren County Public Schools
April 7, 2022: Warren County School Board Hears Concerns about Book
April 7, 2022: Mike Pence to Speak at the University of Virginia Causes Uproar
April 7, 2022: UVA Faculty Bash Students Over Attempt to Ban Mike Pence from Campus
April 7, 2022: 'Quiet Protest:' South Boston Event Celebrates Banned Book
April 7, 2022: Free Speech Under Attack: Book Bans and Academic Censorship
April 7, 2022: Library Read-In strikes blow for freedom of ideas
April 6, 2022: Push to purge some books from schools highlights nation’s cultural schism
April 6, 2022: Virginia Part of National Uptick in Attempts to Ban or Censor Books
April 5, 2022: Books at center of Fairfax Co. controversy also caused nationwide stir
April 5, 2022: Warren County Supervisor Says 'Inappropriate' Books Spark Parents' Concerns
April 5, 2022: House Hearing on Book Bans Set for this Week
April 1, 2022: Arlington Public Library Takes a Stand Against Banning Books in Schools

March 2022

March 30, 2022: Shenandoah County Parents Invited to Review Textbooks as Book Challenges Remain Hot Button Issue
March 30, 2022: Controversial Books Continue to be Topic of Public Comment at County School Board Meetings
March 30, 2022: VMI Alumni Fight Back Against 'Diversity, Equity and Inclusion' Plans
March 30, 2022: Mike Pence Provokes Bipartisan Intolerance. He Deserves to be Heard.
March 28, 2022: Can We Talk?
March 28, 2022: University of Virginia Students Abandon Jefferson’s Legacy
March 25, 2022: Controversial Books Return to Henrico School Libraries after Parent Protests
March 24, 2022: EVMS Settles Lawsuit Over Single-Payer Healthcare Student Group
March 19, 2022: Virginia Woman’s Website Helps Parents Assess Library Books
March 17, 2022: Community Perspective: Democracy depends on the freedom to read
March 17, 2022: ACLU Adopts Southern Poverty Law Center’s ‘Hate Group’ Label to Fight School’s ‘Resistance’ to LGBTQ Policy
March 17, 2022: Virginia Passes Law that Critics Charge May Erase LGBTQ+ History
March 17, 2022: Dangerous Rhetoric is Not Entitled to a Platform: Speech that Threatens the Lives of those on Grounds is Unjustifiable
March 14, 2022: Silencing Happens — Just Not to Who You Think
March 14, 2022: ACLU of Virginia Threatens Hanover School Board with Federal Lawsuit
March 14, 2022: Bedford Shows How to Thwart Book Censors
March 14, 2022: 'Sexually Graphic' Books Won't Be Removed from Bedford Co. Schools
March 14, 2022: Rockingham County School Board Goes Over Curriculum Review Policy
March 14, 2022: College Board Warns Against Censoring Its AP Courses
March 14, 2022: Educators Rally Against 'Anti-Teacher' Actions by Gov. Youngkin
March 13, 2022: Bedford County Schools Will Not Remove Challenged Books - Including Toni Morrison's 'Beloved' - from School Libraries
March 12, 2022: Virginia Lawmakers Vote to Roll Back Open Records Reform
March 11, 2022: VA School Superintendents Urge Youngkin to Terminate Tip Line
March 10, 2022: Virginia Lawmakers Want to Keep Certain Police Records from the Public
March 9, 2022: When Railing Against Cancel Culture Is About Railing Against Accountability
March 9, 2022: What the New York Times’ College Cancel Culture Essay Gets Wrong About Censorship
March 9, 2022: Hanover Students, Residents Speak Out on School Board Decision
March 8, 2022: UVA Student's New York Times Editorial on Self-Censorship Sparks Debate on Social Media
March 7, 2022: I Came to College Eager to Debate. I Found Self-Censorship Instead.
March 7, 2022: Do Students Self-Censor? Here’s What the Data Tell Us
March 7, 2022: ‘Woke-Panic Claptrap’: College Student’s NY Times Op-Ed Leads to Mockery Over ‘Self-Censorship’ Complaint
March 7, 2022: Liberals Erupt at College Student's NYT Op-Ed about being Afraid to Speak out on Campus
March 3, 2022: Substitute Teacher Suspended for Telling Students He Supports Putin's Logic
March 2, 2022: Censorship Stirs Emotions, and Fuels Interest in Banned Books
March 2, 2022: Virginia Substitute Teacher Suspended for Allegedly Pushing Russian Propaganda in Class
March 2, 2022: Teacher Suspended After Parents Said He Taught ‘Russian Propaganda’ to Virginia Class
March 1, 2022: Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Expected to Sign Bill Regulating Explicit Content in Schools
March 1, 2022: Va. House Passes Bill Regulating Explicit Content in School

February 2022

January 2022

January 28, 2022: Questions Remain Over Youngkin’s New Tipline for ‘Divisive’ Practices in Virginia Schools
January 27, 2022: Bill to Regulate Explicit Books in Virginia School Libraries Killed (ABC News)
January 27, 2022: Bill to Regulate Explicit Books in School Libraries Killed (Washington Post)
January 27, 2022: Senate Committee Rejects Bill Aimed at Explicit Materials in Schools
January 27, 2022: Bills Targeting Explicit Content Reach Senate Committee
January 25, 2022:Henrico Schools Pull Two Books for Review over Sexual Content Concerns
January 20, 2022: Sparks Fly in Virginia Senate over Bill Notifying Parents of Sexually Explicit Materials
January 20, 2022: Henrico Schools Pulls Another Book from Library
January 18, 2022: Loudoun County Removes LGBTQ Book from School Libraries
January 18, 2022: Virginia School District Bans Controversial LGBT Book from Libraries for Inappropriate Content
January 18, 2022: Youngkin Defended his Plan to Rid Virginia’s Schools of Critical Race Theory
January 16, 2022: Virginia School District to Remove Controversial Gender Book
January 15, 2022: Loudoun County Schools Pull Controversial Gender Book from Library Shelves
January 12, 2022: The Inevitable Problem of Self-Censorship
January 11, 2022: Free Speech, Whole Foods, and the Endangered Apolitical Workplace

December 2021

December 23, 2021: Parents Who ‘Got Nowhere’ After Speaking Up Sue Virginia School District Over CRT Curriculum
December 20, 2021: Can Youngkin Really Ban Critical Race Theory in Virginia Schools?
December 19, 2021: Author of 'Gender Queer,' One of Most-Banned Books in U.S., Addresses Controversy
December 17, 2021: Glenn Youngkin's Promised 'Critical Race Theory' Ban has Virginia Teachers Worried
December 13, 2021: Officials Address Local Push to Remove Books from Bedford County School Libraries
December 10, 2021: VLA Executive Committee Statement on Censorship and the Freedom to Read
December 9, 2021: Censorship of Books in Public Schools Needs to Stop
December 9, 2021: Fairfax County Library Display Pairing Bible with Explicit Books Removed
December 9, 2021: Here’s how Virginia Beach school board meetings became a battleground over six books
December 8, 2021: Book Bans in VA, Across Nation Condemned by Authors, Publishers
December 3, 2021: Virginia Public Library Directors Association Statement on Challenges to Virginians Freedom to Read
December 2, 2021: Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office responds to book burning event promoted on Facebook

November 2021

November 28, 2021: Drawing the Line Between Censorship and Age-Appropriateness
November 25, 2021: US Libraries Report Spike in Organised Attempts to Ban Books in Schools
November 25, 2021: Fairfax County Public Schools Reinstates Two Books Saying They Do Not Violate Rules Despite Parents Condemning Them as Pedophilic
November 24, 2021: Virginia Cop Fired for Rittenhouse Support Demands his Job Back
November 24, 2021: Virginia Schools Reinstates Pornographic Books as a Commitment to ‘Diverse Reading Materials’
November 23, 2021: Virginia School System Returns Books It Pulled After Outcry
November 23, 2021: LGBTQ+ Books Allowed To Return To Fairfax County High Schools
November 23, 2021: Fairfax County Reinstates Controversial Library Books
November 23, 2021: Fairfax County to return two sexually explicit books to school libraries
November 23, 2021: Fairfax schools will return 2 books to shelves after reviewing complaints over content
November 22, 2021: Community Perspective: Reconsidering Books: Protecting Students and Their Right to Read
November 21, 2021: Diverse Societies Need Diverse Libraries: Letter to the Editor by Martha Hutzel, Free-Lance Star
November 16, 2021: Spotsylvania community turns out against school library censorship
November 16, 2021: Decision to pull graphic novel from school library now under review
November 15, 2021: Letter to Spoystlvania Country School Board from the National Coalition Against Censorship
November 15, 2021: ‘We’re Preparing For a Long Battle.’ Librarians Grapple With Conservatives’ Latest Efforts to Ban Books
November 15, 2021: Librarians Warn Of Threat To Intellectual Freedom In VA Schools
November 13, 2021: EDITORIAL: Freedom turns to ashes when books are burned
November 13, 2021: Spotsylvania School Board will revisit removal of sexually explicit library books
November 12, 2021: Book Challenges in Virginia
November 10, 2021: Spotsylvania School Officials Ban "Explicit" Books Amid Calls to Burn Them
November 9, 2021: Spotsylvania School Board Orders Libraries to Remove "Sexually Explicit" Books
November 9, 2021: Book Banning and Censorship Locally, Explained

ALA’s Book Challenges in the News: https://wakelet.com/wake/N7RZLAuxLEHqE1SRF_Wsl (The American Library Association (ALA) is fighting for the freedom to read! Leadership from the association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) is quoted in more than 139 news articles from Oct. 3 - Nov. 11, 2021, including coverage from print, radio, and TV news outlets.)

October 2021