As the pressure to remove and censor books from our libraries increases, librarians have to be prepared to defend everyone’s right to read. Learn how one school corporation has dealt with several recent challenges to their school library collections and has been able to educate their staff and community on the tenants of intellectual freedom. While challenges can be stressful situations, the presentation will offer you several tools, resources and guidance to help you find some unintended positive outcomes when these contentious situations find their way to your library.
Date Recorded: 1/24/2024
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Tara White, Director of College and Career Readiness / New Prairie United School Corporation
Resources:
Libraries give their communities access to amazing online resources with enormous potential to improve lives and build skills, but these databases and digital courses are a challenge to promote and often underutilized. The St. Joe County Public Library has had success with Bendable, a life long learning platform that pairs online learning with in person connections. Community engagement and outreach are at the heart of our strategy, and we work directly with community members, organizations, and businesses to curate learning opportunities. These strategies focus on workforce development and partner networks. This webinar will provide an introduction to Bendable and also explore strategies for learning-centered engagement and outreach that can be implemented by any library.
NetGalley is a free website for librarians to request and download digital review copies and audiobooks, while connecting with publishers and staying up to date with upcoming releases. The service is quick, efficient, secure, and always free for library staff. Learn how to get started (registration, filling in your Profile, and requesting your first book or audiobook), helpful features and tools, and ways NetGalley can specifically help librarians with collection development and readers’ advisory.
In this panel, four librarians will share their experience with a variety of challenges. Book, display, and program challenges, as well as experience with book banning groups will be discussed. Cheri Harris, from the Indiana State Library, will also go over a summary of key legal points to remember when dealing with challenges.
Almost all libraries have materials for users with print disabilities, such as large print books and audiobooks, but are those collections being given the attention they deserve and are they serving as many users as possible? According to two recent studies, large print collections are a still vital part of library services, and their usage has not diminished in the age of electronic resources. Learn what users with print disabilities need and want, and how best to create and maintain vibrant print disabled-friendly collections, no matter how small or large.
