Don’t Miss The Intellectual Freedom Conference

The Patriot Act - What are its implications and applications for libraries? Recent news stories report that while some in Congress seek to limit the reach of the Patriot Act, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is now touring the nation to defend and expand this legislation.

Internet Filtering - Does the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) protect children or infringe on civil liberties? What are the implications for libraries?

Censorship - Is it ever okay to ban books? Who should make decisions on selection policies?

These questions related to intellectual freedom are now, more than ever before, critical to the library profession. The questions are thorny and the discussions cover a broad range of opinions and practices.

North Country libraries have a unique opportunity to participate in a discussion of these and related issues with the Northern New York Library Network’s "Intellectual Freedom Conference" on September 18 at the Network office in Potsdam.

Leading our discussion will be Judith Krug. No person is more closely identified with libraries and the cause of intellectual freedom than Ms. Krug. Director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom since it was founded in 1968, Judith Krug continues to remain unparalleled in her commitment to educating the public about their rights to free access of all expressions and ideas.

For more than 20 years, Ms. Krug has advised countless numbers of librarians and trustees in dealing with challenges to library materials. She helped to found the Freedom to Read Foundation, a sister organization of ALA, and has served as its executive director since 1969.

Ms. Krug also helped found Banned Books Week, an annual celebration of the right of individuals to choose their own reading materials. Now entering its 22nd year, the program serves to raise awareness about censorship and remind Americans that our freedoms can be fragile if we are not vigilant in protecting them. Ms. Krug also is a noted speaker and author in the area of intellectual freedom.

Ms. Krug recently received the profession's highest honor, the Joseph P. Lippincott Award, in recognition of the leadership and support she has provided to the American Library Association, to the profession to which she is so integral and to the American public in upholding one of our most basic rights in a democratic society.

Please plan to join us for the Network’s Intellectual Freedom Conference. Registration information and an agenda can be found on the Network website at: www.nnyln.org/september.html