First, Jeffrey Chester’s Google and Data-Seizure, about the significance of Google’s acquisition of Doubleclick, the internet marketing and company whose business is based on showing banner ads and tracking users’ … Read more Two articles of interest from The Nation
A creative MIT student made a thing out of a circuit board and some LEDs and wore it on her shirt. She’s young, 19, so it’s understandable that she didn’t … Read more I’m shocked and appalled that you’re shocked and appalled
The New York Tims has a story dated yesterday about a change dictated from the top in the libraries of U.S. Federal Prisons, called the “Standardized Chapel Library Project.” With … Read more No intellectual freedom in U.S. prison chapel libraries
For Immediate Release July 11, 2007 American Library Association urges Congress to reform laws governing the FBI’s use of National Security Letters CHICAGO – The American Library Association’s governing body … Read more ALA on National Security Letters
Elaine Harger, outgoing coordinator of the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table, compiled a list of resolutions by ALA Council on the War on Terror, for distribution to congressional offices on … Read more American Library Association statements re: the “War on Terror”
From Al Kagan: One of my colleagues here has encouraged me to distribute this letter more widely, so here it is. It appears in the latest issue of the IFLA … Read more Al Kagan, letter to IFLA Journal on Freedom of the Press, Social Responsibility and the Danish Cartoons
The justice department has been abusing a provision in the PATRIOT Act allowing them to issue “national security letters” to obtain information on citizens (140,000 so far) without a court … Read more 140,000 National Security Letters
In Seattle last week ALA passed this Resolution in Support of Immigrants Rights: Resolved, that ALA strongly supports the protection of each person’s civil liberties regardless of that individual’s nationality, … Read more ALA Council supports immigrant rights
The Progressive Librarians Guild has endorsed a resolution by the American Historical Association, titled Resolution on United States Government Practices Inimical to the Values of the Historical Profession. The resolution … Read more PLG endorses AHA resolution on US gov’t and historical preservation
ALA’s Don Wood has a blog that he uses as a channel for his communications on libraries and intellectual freedom. Today he has a post about the ALA Washington Office … Read more Privacy, Libraries, ALA and FBI
Morgan Wilson of explodedlibrary.info has a nice summary of the blog traffic and library-world discussions about the UCLA library taser incident.
Posted with permission December 13, 2006 Dr. Norman Abrams Acting Chancellor University of California at Los Angeles University Chancellor’s Office Box 951405 2147 Murphy Los Angeles, CA 90095-1405 Dear Acting … Read more ALA President Leslie Burger’s letter to UCLA regarding the taser incident
Today is Human Rights Day. Two sites I will recommend: OHCHR Human Rights Day page Human Rights Education Association Human Rights Day page Also note Toni Samek’s upcoming book: Librarianship … Read more Human Rights Day
The website of The Progressive magazine has a running feature called McCarthyism Watch, a series of brief articles about present-day attacks on freedom of expression in the United States. A … Read more The Progressive – McCarthyism Watch feature
The Progressive Librarians Guild approved endorsement of the following Amnesty International statement last night… AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA PRESS RELEASE Tuesday, October 17, 2006 Amnesty International Vows to Push for Clarification … Read more The Progressive Librarian’s Guild stands with Amnesty International
Are other people getting the same result when they add these things up? Pentagon monitoring peace activists’ email to “combat terrorism”…. suspending habeas corpus to prevent the fate of (pre-judged) … Read more Doing the math
I’ve got a t-shirt that says “Peace” in Arabic. If I attempt to board a flight while wearing it, at least a JetBlue flight, apparently I will not be allowed … Read more Arabic writing on your t-shirt? Good luck getting on a plane.
Urgent message from the ALA Washington Office: On Wednesday, July 28, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the amended H.R. 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), by a vote … Read more Contact your Senators about DOPA
The Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) would deny E-Rate funds to libraries that do not block whatever social networking sites and chat services the FCC puts on a “bad” list. … Read more DOPA Resolution
A new FAIR Action Alert reports that FEMA security guards are blocking journalists from talking to Katrina victims in FEMA trailer parks. FAIR cites the original story from the Baton … Read more Katrina victims muzzled