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News You Can Use
Controversies over library meeting room policies, drag queen story times, and library displays have all made headlines in recent months. What are the legal principles and precedents that apply to these issues? Does the First Amendment apply? What rights do library users – and library workers - possess? Panelists will discuss these issues and provide practical guidance on crafting library policies that comply with the law, protect intellectual freedom, and meet the needs of the library and its community. The program will provide ample time for audience questions and discussion.
This program is part of the "Law for Librarians" initiative sponsored by the Freedom to Read Foundation and the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. The initiative seeks to improve librarians’, trustees’, and library workers' understanding of the laws governing the provision of library services in the United States by creating educational opportunities and publications that provide expert information and instruction about the laws governing free speech, user access, and user privacy in libraries.
Panelists:
Theresa Chmara is an attorney in Washington, DC. She also is the General Counsel of the Freedom to Read Foundation. She is the author of Privacy and Confidentiality Issues: A Guide for Libraries and their Lawyers (ALA 2009). She has been a First Amendment lawyer for over thirty years and is a frequent speaker on intellectual freedom issues in libraries. She is a contributing author for the Intellectual Freedom Manual published by the Office of Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association and a frequent instructor for the Lawyers for Libraries training seminars.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone is Deputy Director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. An attorney by training, she works closely with librarians, teachers, and library trustees on a wide range of intellectual freedom issues, including book challenges, Internet filtering, meeting room policies, and library privacy and confidentiality. She has served on the faculty of the ALA-sponsored Lawyers for Libraries and Law for Librarians workshops and speaks frequently to library groups around the country. Before she joined ALA in 2000, Deborah practiced appellate law before the state and federal courts in Chicago, Illinois.
ALA Unit/Subunit: ALA, FTRF, OIF
Meeting Type: News You Can Use
Cost: Included with full conference registration.
Open/Closed: Open
Deborah Caldwell-Stone
Deputy Director, Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association, Freedom to Read Foundation
ALA
Theresa Chmara
General Counsel
Freedom to Read Foundation