Building a Practical Toolkit for Censorship and Challenges at your Public Library

Sunday, January 29, 2023

10:30 AM – 11:45 AM

Location: Morial Convention Center, Room 388-390

Level of Participation: Medium

Public library directors with intellectual freedom challenge experience will share their best practices and strategies for supporting staff, board, and school library colleagues throughout the different types and stages of challenges. Learn what should be included in your policy and procedures to protect materials from removal and how to prepare your board and staff for challenging situations such as First Amendment Audits, formal challenges and informal complaints, and board member concerns.

Learning Objectives:

After this presentation, participants will be able to draft policies and procedures to respond to challenges to materials, programs, and displays at their library.
Attendees will understand what resources are available to them and how to utilize them in their censorship challenges.
Library boards and library workers will be empowered to professionally respond to public inquiries and censorship attempts.

Content Leader(s)

Amanda Vazquez, MLIS (she/her/hers)

Director
Dubuque County Library District
SG

Sukrit Goswami, MSIS (he/him/his)

Library Director
Haverford Township Free Library
Peter D. Coyl, MLIS (he/him/his)

Library Director & CEO
Sacramento Public Library