Blog post # 8

The other day my mom called me very excited about an article she was sending me from my hometown newspaper.( my mom may be the only person I know who still loves to send mail, she constantly cuts clipping out of the paper to send) . She said they are shutting down the bible trailer! The bible trailer is a trailer that parks outside of the elementary schools in my small town and if you have a signed permission slip you can visit the trailer for a bible lesson. I'm from a small conservative town and the bible trailer has been supported by the community for many years. I attended the bible trailer in the first grade and so did my 32 year old sister. Recently a local judge voted that the trailer went against church and state laws. This was a big shock to most members of the community. Here is an article about the school corporation meeting .
It has a few weird typos but I'm pretty impressed it was available online.

This got me thinking about libraries and the community they serve. My hometown community has supported the bible trailer program for years . Our library is very conservative and follows the unspoken guidelines the community creates. IF is an important practice to have in your library but I feel many communities would not support the idea. The group that has the loudest voice tends to make the rules.

Blog post #7

I just read an article that gave me hope for Intellectual Freedom in schools! The article
is about Delphi high school and three books used in an English class that were challenged by parents. The books are Bobbie Ann Mason's "In Country," Chris Crutcher's "Chinese Handcuffs" and Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye." The best part about the article was that the students fought for the continued use of the books. They felt the discussions they had because of the books were so important.
I remember the books I read for English in high school and remember not being passionate about the books . I also felt as though I didn't gain any knowledge from the assigned books. The students were successful , the board voted to keep the books. It was great to read about students and teachers defending their Intellectual Freedom in the classroom.

Blog post #6

This week I was having trouble finding something to blog about. I started a general search for articles about libraries and I came up with this article about the ILA selling an Obama license plates that will benefit summer reading programs ( and other library programs). This article doesn't really have a lot to do with IF but I thought it was a very resourceful way for the ILA to raise funds.

Next I found an article about IF advocate Senator Pell . He worked on creating legislation for education and libraries from 1961 to 1997. He was also made an honorary member of the ALA for all of his efforts and attended this years ALA conference in Denver ( did you get a chance to see him Dr. ball?). Usually what I hear about senators is not very positive and certainly not about the impact they make on education or IF. Unfortunately he died this year at the age of 90. But sounds like he spend lots of time during his 90 years as an advocate for IF. That's a tall order but hopefully we will all get a chance to do our part for IF.