263: Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller – Summer Reading Spectacular

As part of the Summer Reading Spectacular, Steve chats with Kirsten Miller, author of Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books, about her deep love for libraries, the real-life banned books that inspired her book, and how she tackled book banning, censorship, and the power of literature, all while retaining a humorous and engaging tone. Stick around for another edition of The Circ Desk with Rebecca and Yaika as they discuss different types of satire, “books about books”, and give their read-alikes from Library Reads and NoveList!

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Kirsten Miller is the author of Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books and The Change, a GMA Book Club pick, as well as the groundbreaking YA series starring Kiki Strike. Born and raised in a small town in North Carolina, she now lives in Brooklyn, New York. 

SHOW NOTES:

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books
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246: Book Banning in 21st Century America, with Emily J. M. Knox

Steve chats with Emily J. M. Knox, author of Book Banning in 21st Century America and Foundations of Intellectual Freedom, about her path to the library field, understanding the reasons behind book banning and challenges, the fight for public services, and the power of the book.

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Emily Knox is an associate professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include information access and intellectual freedom and censorship. She is a member of the Mapping Information Access research team.

Her most recent book Foundations of Intellectual Freedom (ALA Neal-Schuman) won the 2023 Eli M. Oboler Prize for best published work in the area of intellectual freedom. Her previous book, Book Banning in 21st Century America (Rowman & Littlefield) is the first monograph in the Beta Phi Mu Scholars’ Series. Emily’s articles have been published in the Library QuarterlyLibrary and Information Science Research, and the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy.

Emily serves on the board of the National Coalition Against Censorship. She is also editor of the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy.

Emily received her PhD from the doctoral program at the Rutgers University School of Communication & Information.

SHOW NOTES:

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Book Banning in 21st Century America
Foundations of Intellectual Freedom

220: Book Censorship Database, with Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson

Steve chats with researcher and writer Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson, and John Chrastka, Executive Director of EveryLibrary, about Dr. Magnusson’s Book Censorship Database and why EveryLibrary Institute wanted to support and promote it, the integrity of the book challenge process and how it’s often hijacked and corrupted, and why Steve and John will never get email addresses with just their first names.

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Tasslyn Magnusson is a researcher, writer, and poet living in Prescott, WI. She has a PhD in History from Case Western Reserve University and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. 

John Chrastka is the founder and Executive Director of EveryLibrary and is a long-time library trustee, supporter, and advocate.  Mr. Chrastka is a former partner in AssociaDirect, a Chicago-based consultancy focused on supporting associations in membership recruitment, conference, and governance activities.  He is a former president and member of the Board of Trustees for the Berwyn (IL) Public Library (2006 – 2015) and is a former president of the Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System (RAILS) multi-type library system. Prior to his work at AssociaDirect, he was Director for Membership Development at the American Library Association (ALA). He is a member of ALA as well as the Illinois Library Association (ILA), and the American Political Sciences Association (APSA). He as named a 2014 Mover & Shaker by Library Journal and tweets @mrchrastka.

SHOW NOTES:

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EveryLibrary Institute
Book Censorship Database

211: Practicing Intellectual Freedom in Libraries by Shannon M. Oltmann

Steve chats with Shannon M. Oltmann, author of Practicing Intellectual Freedom in Libraries, about the definition of intellectual freedom, why intellectual freedom is important to the library profession, how to handle materials challenges, and how intellectual freedom overlaps with the right to privacy.

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Shannon M. Oltmann is an Associate Professor in the School of Information Science at the University of Kentucky. She obtained her Ph.D. from Indiana University. Her research interests include information ethics, censorship, intellectual freedom, information policy, public libraries, privacy, and qualitative research methods. Oltmann is the Editor of the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy and on the Editorial Board for Library Quarterly. She recently published a book, Practicing Intellectual Freedom in Libraries. She has presented her research at academic conferences such as the Information Ethics Roundtable, the Annual Conference of the Association for Information Science & Technology, the iConference, and the International Congress on Qualitative Inquiry. Her work has been published in the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Library Quarterly, Public Libraries Quarterly, Collection Management, Libri, and Library and Information Science Research.

SPONSORS:

Book Buddies: Ivy Lost and Found, from Candlewick Press
Ivy Lost and Found, the first of a charming new early chapter book series about library toys and the children who borrow them, written by Newbery Honoree Cynthia Lord and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin. In a starred review, Booklist called Ivy Lost and Found “an engaging story of insecurity overcome by hop, courage, and love.” Ivy is the library’s newest book buddy —a toy that can be checked out just like a book—but she’d rather go back to being what she was before: the librarian’s favorite childhood doll.  So when Fern—a child with a new stepfamily who also wishes she could go back to the way things were—takes Ivy home, they embark on an adventure together that helps both of them find confidence and belonging in their changing worlds. Ivy Lost and Found is available now, and look for upcoming books in the Book Buddies series coming in Spring 2022!

Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing
Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was recently awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards. To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit their “News” tab to check out the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of 2020’s most popular titles in public and academic libraries.

SHOW NOTES:

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Practicing Intellectual Freedom in Libraries