Homeless Connect: It's that time of year again!

Hey everyone!

This is just a reminder that FLIF will be participating in Homeless Connect on October 19th from 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. (Two weeks from today!)

Homeless Connect takes place at the Shaw Conference Centre, 9797 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton.

If you're volunteering, see you there!

10th Homeless Connect Event

Thank you to all of the FLIF volunteers who helped to make the Homeless Connect event a success this weekend! Homeless Connect is a bi-annual event hosted at the Shaw Conference Centre that provides homeless and at-risk individuals with access to many important services at no cost. FLIF has traditionally taken part in Homeless Connect by setting up a “library” of sorts containing free books. This would not be possible without the help of our volunteers, so thanks again to everyone who was able to volunteer at this busy time of year!

A special thank you as well to AP!RG and EPL for their generous support in helping us to take part in this event.

CTV News is reporting that over 1,000 individuals were able to access the 65+ services provided by approximately 400 volunteers at this event.

Chicago Public Schools Remove Copies of Graphic Novel Persepolis

Many news outlets have reported on the removal of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis from Chicago Public Schools (CPS). According to American Libraries, though the CPS CEO initially asked for copies of the graphic novel to be removed from both classrooms and libraries, the decision was quickly revised to include just classrooms. Even though the school libraries may retain their copies of Persepolis, some library organizations have criticized the decision to remove the graphic novel from schools. Barbara Jones, the Director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom and Executive Director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, has written a letter to the decision-makers, urging them to reconsider their decision. In addition, the Freedom to Read Foundation has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information from the CPS regarding the removal of Persepolis.

The Chicago Public Libraries has published a press release regarding this issue, explaining that the title has been singled out for “strong” content including torture.

NCAC Winning Short Films Announced

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is made up of about 50 not-for-profit organizations and associations. A full list of the organizations making up the coalition is available on the NCAC website. Though the various organizations do not all agree on all aspects of opposing censorship, all support the NCAC Statement of Concern:

“Freedom of communication is the indispensable condition of a healthy democracy. In a pluralistic society it would be impossible for all people at all times to agree on the value of all ideas; and fatal to moral, artistic and intellectual growth if they did.

Some of the Coalition's participating organizations reject all barriers abridging access to any material, however controversial or even abhorrent to some. Others reject barriers for adults, so long as their individual right of choice is not infringed. All of us are united in the conviction that censorship of what we see and hear and read constitutes an unacceptable dictatorship over our minds and a dangerous opening to religious, political, artistic, and intellectual repression.”

The winners of the 2012 NCAC Youth Free Expression Project film contest have recently been announced. NCAC has given youth 19 years of age or younger who are living in the United States the chance to participate in this contest since 2004. The theme for 2012 was book censorship - You’re Reading What?!?.  The 1^st place winning entry is a four minute film called “Waking” created by Eden Taylor Ames, which features a life-changing visit to the library. All winning entries are available on the NCAC website.

Ancient Texts Saved from Timbuktu Library

The BBC, Time Magazine, and Wall Street Journal are reporting that though militants in Timbuktu did burn a number of texts at the Ahmed Baba Institute early last week, the majority of ancient manuscripts were saved. The destruction of the texts occurred as French and Malian forces closed in with the aim of retaking the city.

No information is thought to be lost, as all of the material burned is believed to be digitized as a result of a partnership with the University of Cape Town. Other ancient manuscripts were reportedly removed before the militants took control of the city last year. The Wall Street Journal has described how a number of texts were more recently removed from the library: history professor/acting library director, Prof. Abdoulaye Cissé , and security guard, Abba Alhadi, moved approximately 28,000 texts to safety in early January by hiding them in burlap sacks and taking them out of the city by donkey cart and boat.

More details on this story will likely become available over the course of the next week.

Human Library Events Recap

Local libraries and other centres across Canada, in partnership with the CBC, hosted a number of Human Library events on Saturday January 26. Events took place in Yellowknife, Surrey, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, and St. John's. In Edmonton, the event took place at the Stanley A. Milner branch of the Edmonton Public Library. The Edmonton Journal has written an article about the event and includes the perspectives of the “books” as well as the “readers.” An associate manager of Stanley A. Milner was also quoted, describing the purpose and importance of the event:

“An event like this provides people with the opportunity to have a conversation with a person they might not otherwise meet and to help them understand the world, maybe, in a different way.”

The CBC hosted live webcam chats with a variety of Canadians: Susan Ormiston, Measha Brueggergosman, Robert Munsch, Shad, Grace Park, Margaret Trudeau, and Tammy Marquardt. A recording of the sessions is available from the CBC.

Sweater Vest Sunday

Today is also Sweater Vest Sunday! Raise awareness of the need to report challenged material to the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) by wearing a sweater vest. Visit the OIF Blog to find out more about Sweater Vest Sunday and how you can show your support.

Classic Christmas Poem is Edited

There is just one month until Christmas! With this in mind, this post focuses on a recent controversy regarding a newly published edited version of a Christmas classic: Twas the Night Before Christmas (also known as A Visit from St. Nicholas). In this “updated” version, Pamela McColl, an anti-smoking advocate, edited out all references to smoking included in the Clement C. Moore original. The National Post has published an article on the debate surrounding these changes. While McColl views the edited version as way to protect children, others have criticized the move as censorship. Ann Curry, Gail de Vos, and Alvin Schrader, all from the University of Alberta, have spoken out to oppose the changes and are quoted in the article. Although the version is controversial, the book is available through Indigo and Amazon.ca.

Gail de Vos has reviewed the book for the magazine CM: Canadian Review of Materials.  In this review, she describes exactly how the book has been edited. According to the jacket cover, Santa Claus himself edited out the two lines which reference smoking. In de Vos’ opinion, the changes are detrimental to the development of children’s critical thinking skills. For more information on the book, see the book review.

Censorship and Self-Censorship of “Fifty Shades of Grey”

The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) recently added a blog post entitled Fifty Shades of Grey: Why Should We Care About a “Bad” Book?. Barbara Jones, the Executive Director of FTRF, discusses why we should resist attempts to ban materials that censors do not consider to have “literary quality.” The book “Fifty Shades of Grey” is used as an example in examining librarians’ professional values and practices as well as in thinking about the larger economic context. See the article for one librarian's thought-provoking view on book quality and censorship.

Barbara Jones has also written an article for the American Libraries Magazine on library self-censorship. Controversy in Fifty Shades of Grey discusses how collection development policies have been used by libraries to censor controversial material such as “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Though we are typically concerned with outside censorship, self-censorship is a related issue that we should reflect on as library and information professionals.

Recap of the Homeless Connect Event

A big thank you to everyone who was able to come out and help us on Sunday with the first Homeless Connect event of the year! We handed out over 20 boxes worth of books to at-risk and homeless individuals. A CBC news article has reported that approximately 1800 individuals attended the event alongside over 400 volunteers. This is an important event for FLIF and for the city of Edmonton - your help in making this possible is greatly appreciated!

If you were not able to make it out to the fall Homeless Connect, you may want to consider joining us at the spring event. The date is to be determined, but should be in either April or May.

Thanks again to the great volunteers who took the time on Sunday to help out the at-risk and homeless community in Edmonton!

See more photos of the event after the jump!

Banned Books: Comic Books and Graphic Novels

With Banned Books Week drawing to a close, we are highlighting comic books and graphic novels. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) has a list of comic books and graphic novels which have been challenged or banned over the years. Some of the materials included in this list are Amazing Spider-Man: Revelations, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, In the Night Kitchen, and Watchmen, among many others. For the location and reason of these challenges, as well as to learn the outcome, see the original CBLDF post.

Author George R. R. Martin (Game of Thrones, Wild Cards) has spoken out in support of Banned Books Week. His message can be read in a post on the CBLDF website.

Banned Books Week

Reprinted by permission of the American Library Association.

The American Library Association (ALA) is celebrating Banned Books Week from September 30 to October 6, 2012. Canadians typically promote the discussion of censorship issues during Freedom to Read Week in February, but Banned Books Week provides another venue to learn specifically about book challenges and book bannings. According to the ALA FAQ about banned and challenged books, "A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.  A banning is the removal of those materials."

In celebration of the 30^th anniversary of Banned Book Week, the ALA has created an interactive timeline which highlights a banned or challenged book for every year in the past 30 years. The title of the book for each year is provided along with a brief synopsis of where the book was challenged or banned and why. The ALA also maintains a list of the top 10 most frequently challenged books for each year.

How can you tell the Hunger Games books are really popular?

How can you tell the Hunger Games books are really popular?

They are climbing the banned and challenged book list of YA literature quickly! The release of the first Hunger Games book has seen increasing mainstream media attention on this great book series and the books have cracked the top three banned and challenged books list put out by the ALA each year. Last year The Hunger Games came in at number five but this year the entire series hit number three in complaints from parents and educators for being "anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence."

Interestingly many of the complaints levelled against Suzanne Collins' series are not in fact about the books, according to Barbara Jones, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, but were actually related to the movie version:

There was complaining about the choice of actors for the film. You had people saying someone was dark-skinned in the book, but not in the film, or dark-skinned in the film and not in the book. In general, a lot more people were aware of the books and that led to more kinds of complaints.

The number one banned or challenged book for 2011 is list repeat YA series TTYL written by Lauren Myracle which has appeared on the list since first being published in 2004. The series follows a group of teenage girls and is written in the form of emails, texts, and IMs. It is interesting that, although the protagonists deal with some difficult but realistic issues, the books are not terribly graphic or controversial and some articles I read about the books posit that the reaction might have more to do with the texting language and slang than actual content.

Both TTYL and Hunger Games are in good company this year with many excellent books making the ALA list - might make a great summer reading 'to do' ;-)

1) ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group


2) The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
Nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

3) The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence

4) My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
Nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

5) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

6) Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint

7) Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit

8) What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
Nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit

9) Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit

10) To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Offensive language; racism

The Censor's Library by Nicole Moore

Reposted from BoingBoing - March 23, 2012


It is a little known fact that for most of the 20th century Australian officials have banned more books than most other English-speaking or Western countries.
Australian literary historian Nicole Moore has written a book about the history of Australia's censorship of books between the 1920's and 1980's after discovering a hidden archive of banned books\in a government repository. nearly 800 boxes of books were stored discovered and provided Moore with the materials to write her new book The Censor's Library, about the history of Australian's literary censorship.

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

As Moore shows, such secret collections have accumulated in many parts of the world, often carefully tended by censor-librarians. Private Case, Public Scandal, the book that revealed the contents of the British Library's secret collection, was itself banned in Australia in 1966. Not surprisingly, the 20th century's largest and most notorious repository of forbidden literature was in the Soviet Union, with more than 1 million items.

Kurt Vonnegut's Response to Book Burning

Reposted from Letters of Note - March 30, 2012

In October of 1973, Bruce Severy — a 26-year-old English teacher at Drake High School, North Dakota — decided to use Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, as a teaching aid in his classroom. The next month, on November 7th, the head of the school board, Charles McCarthy, demanded that all 32 copies be burned in the school's furnace as a result of its "obscene language." Other books soon met with the same fate.

On the 16th of November, Kurt Vonnegut sent McCarthy the following letter. He didn't receive a reply.

November 16, 1973

Dear Mr. McCarthy:

I am writing to you in your capacity as chairman of the Drake School Board. I am among those American writers whose books have been destroyed in the now famous furnace of your school.

Certain members of your community have suggested that my work is evil. This is extraordinarily insulting to me. The news from Drake indicates to me that books and writers are very unreal to you people. I am writing this letter to let you know how real I am.

I want you to know, too, that my publisher and I have done absolutely nothing to exploit the disgusting news from Drake. We are not clapping each other on the back, crowing about all the books we will sell because of the news. We have declined to go on television, have written no fiery letters to editorial pages, have granted no lengthy interviews. We are angered and sickened and saddened. And no copies of this letter have been sent to anybody else. You now hold the only copy in your hands. It is a strictly private letter from me to the people of Drake, who have done so much to damage my reputation in the eyes of their children and then in the eyes of the world. Do you have the courage and ordinary decency to show this letter to the people, or will it, too, be consigned to the fires of your furnace?

I gather from what I read in the papers and hear on television that you imagine me, and some other writers, too, as being sort of ratlike people who enjoy making money from poisoning the minds of young people. I am in fact a large, strong person, fifty-one years old, who did a lot of farm work as a boy, who is good with tools. I have raised six children, three my own and three adopted. They have all turned out well. Two of them are farmers. I am a combat infantry veteran from World War II, and hold a Purple Heart. I have earned whatever I own by hard work. I have never been arrested or sued for anything. I am so much trusted with young people and by young people that I have served on the faculties of the University of Iowa, Harvard, and the City College of New York. Every year I receive at least a dozen invitations to be commencement speaker at colleges and high schools. My books are probably more widely used in schools than those of any other living American fiction writer.

If you were to bother to read my books, to behave as educated persons would, you would learn that they are not sexy, and do not argue in favor of wildness of any kind. They beg that people be kinder and more responsible than they often are. It is true that some of the characters speak coarsely. That is because people speak coarsely in real life. Especially soldiers and hardworking men speak coarsely, and even our most sheltered children know that. And we all know, too, that those words really don’t damage children much. They didn’t damage us when we were young. It was evil deeds and lying that hurt us.

After I have said all this, I am sure you are still ready to respond, in effect, “Yes, yes–but it still remains our right and our responsibility to decide what books our children are going to be made to read in our community.” This is surely so. But it is also true that if you exercise that right and fulfill that responsibility in an ignorant, harsh, un-American manner, then people are entitled to call you bad citizens and fools. Even your own children are entitled to call you that.

I read in the newspaper that your community is mystified by the outcry from all over the country about what you have done. Well, you have discovered that Drake is a part of American civilization, and your fellow Americans can’t stand it that you have behaved in such an uncivilized way. Perhaps you will learn from this that books are sacred to free men for very good reasons, and that wars have been fought against nations which hate books and burn them. If you are an American, you must allow all ideas to circulate freely in your community, not merely your own.

If you and your board are now determined to show that you in fact have wisdom and maturity when you exercise your powers over the eduction of your young, then you should acknowledge that it was a rotten lesson you taught young people in a free society when you denounced and then burned books–books you hadn’t even read. You should also resolve to expose your children to all sorts of opinions and information, in order that they will be better equipped to make decisions and to survive.

Again: you have insulted me, and I am a good citizen, and I am very real.

Kurt Vonnegut