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.

Upcoming Activities and Events

Freedom of Information Day: Friday, March 16

VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee will attend the Wreath-Laying Ceremony at Montpelier on James Madison’s Grave on Friday, March 16 at 1:30 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

Sunshine Week: March 11-17th, 2018
Choose Privacy Week: May 1-7, 2018
VLA Professional Associates Conference: May 21, 2018, at Newport News Marriott at City Center

The VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee will present Front Line Staff: Are You Ready for Patron Challenges and Banned Book Questions? Front line staff in libraries are often the first to hear complaints from patrons about items in their collections. How do you respond? Has your library provided training or guidelines on how to listen to and respond to patron concerns? Let’s talk about it during this panel discussion!

Banned Books Week - September 23-29, 2018

Resources and Continuing Education

Intellectual Freedom Issues and General Resources

ALA Intellectual Freedom Blog
Emerging Issues in Intellectual Freedom (8/4/2017; The Freedom to Read Foundation does a free webinar on emerging issues 2x a year)
Thomas Jefferson Center for Free Expression
Virginia Coalition for Open Resources (The VLA is a member of VCOR)
Your Guide to Reporting Censorship
ALA Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit for Public, School, and Academic Libraries

Privacy Issues

Protecting Your Online Privacy: Risks And Strategies (An Infopeople Webinar, 11/9/2017)
Choose Privacy Week Webinars
Library Freedom Project

Banned Books Week Info

Banned Books Week Information
ALA Banned Books Information
Fifty Shades of Banned Books (8/10/2016)

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: Hayley Tompkins, VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee Chair [email protected]

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).