Tag Archives: intellectual freedom

Liability Issues Will Plague the Future of Social Media | PCMag.com

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Liability Issues Will Plague the Future of Social Media | PCMag.com

Banned Books 2013: ‘Captain Underpants’, ‘Fifty Shades’ Make List Of Most Challenged | Huffington Post Books

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Banned Books 2013: ‘Captain Underpants’, ‘Fifty Shades’ Make List Of Most Challenged | Huffington Post Books

See article source: ALA’s State of America’s Libraries Report 2013, specifically, the Intellectual Freedom section from the report.

The OIF’s [ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom] Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books in 2012:

  • Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey (offensive language, unsuited for age group)
  • “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie (offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group)
  • “Thirteen Reasons Why,” by Jay Asher (drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group)
  • “Fifty Shades of Grey,” by E. L. James (offensive language, sexually explicit)
  • “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell (homosexuality, unsuited for age group)
  • “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini (homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit)
  • “Looking for Alaska,” by John Green (offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group)
  • Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz (unsuited for age group, violence)
  • “The Glass Castle,” by Jeannette Walls (offensive language, sexually explicit)
  • “Beloved,” by Toni Morrison (sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence)

City of New York settles with Occupy over destruction of the People’s Library » MobyLives

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“The City of New York and Brookfield Properties has agreed to pay more than $233,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Occupy Wall Street over the destruction of the People’s Library during the eviction of Zuccotti Park by the New York Police Department last fall. During the raid to clear the park in the early morning hours of November 15th 2011, the majority of the collection of more than 4,000 books donated by the public and organized by the Library Working Group was destroyed or damaged, an act roundly condemned by the  American Library Association, as did the New York Civil Liberties Union and the National Lawyers Guild.” via City of New York settles with Occupy over destruction of the People’s Library » MobyLives.

UPDATED: Letters to a Young Librarian | When Publishers Attack

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UPDATED: News: Book publisher to drop lawsuit against McMaster librarian – Tame the Web (March 4, 2013)

“I feel like Edwin Mellen suing Dale [Askey] is yet another escalation in this increasingly adversarial relationship between publishers and librarians.” via Letters to a Young Librarian: When Publishers Attack.

The ALA President Maureen Sullivan responded today to this lawsuit.

As a recent MLIS graduate and future librarian, I will be following this lawsuit closely. In my opinion, publishers/presses have bigger (re: Amazon) concerns to focus their resources on than suing librarians for libel.

Also see CLA Supports Dale Askey in Libel Suit Defence.

Egypt Crowdsources Censorship | Fast Company

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“The Egyptian government is now crowdsourcing censorship efforts. A new web page created by the country’s National Telecommunications Registry Agency, allows citizens to report blasphemous websites (Arabic-language links). According to Alix Dunn of tech activism blog The Engine Room, the site is designed to help find pages showing a controversial anti-Islam film.”

via Egypt Crowdsources Censorship | Fast Company.

UPDATED: Mali rebels fleeing Timbuktu burn library full of ancient manuscripts | World news | guardian.co.uk

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UPDATED: See this story by Alex Crawford with Sky News for more details and video.

“Islamist insurgents retreating from the ancient Saharan city of Timbuktu have set fire to a library containing thousands of priceless ancient manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th century, in what the town’s mayor described as a “devastating blow” to world heritage.”

via Mali rebels fleeing Timbuktu burn library full of ancient manuscripts | World news | guardian.co.uk.

NYTimes.com – A Casualty on the Battlefield of Amazon’s Partisan Book Reviews

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The following editorial is a great case study of trolls (a fan base in this instance) using the Amazon reviewing system to suppress the popularity of a publication, when in the past the problem has been over inflated reviews. No longer is it only governments and other political groups trying to suppress intellectual freedom.

A Casualty on the Battlefield of Amazon’s Partisan Book Reviews – NYTimes.com

Quotable: “In the biggest, most overt and most successful of these campaigns, a group of Michael Jackson fans used Facebook and Twitter to solicit negative reviews of a new biography of the singer. They bombarded Amazon with dozens of one-star takedowns, succeeded in getting several favorable notices erased and even took credit for Amazon’s briefly removing the book from sale.”

One Year After SOPA Blackout, Activists Celebrate ‘Internet Freedom Day’ | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

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Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Internet blackout in protest of SOPA and PIPA, and in celebration, Internet activists have dubbed it “Internet Freedom Day.” via One Year After SOPA Blackout, Activists Celebrate ‘Internet Freedom Day’ | News & Opinion | PCMag.com.

You may also like:

What is Internet Freedom Day? | Mashable
Celebrating Internet Freedom Day: When the Internet Met Copyright | Michael Geist
A year after the Blackout: Where do we stand post-SOPA? | Information Space

Mashable | What Its Like to Experience New Technology After 25 Years in Jail

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Some of the commentary from Michael Santos’ book Earning Freedom. A fascinating case study of the impact and importance of technology. I also suggest reading some of the replies to this post, especially the one from Michael Santos.

“Technology has changed considerably during the 25 years that I served. I read extensively during my term of incarceration, but reading about technology felt a bit like reading about typing. Regardless of how much I read, I wouldnt grasp the power of technology until I started using it. Forget the power, I dont even understand the language of technology. For example, I never understood what people meant when they spoke of a “browser.” In fact, I just asked my wife to define a browser, and when she described it as a program that would allow me to access the Internet, I gave her a blank stare.”

via What Its Like to Experience New Technology After 25 Years in Jail | Mashable

Historic Baghdad Book Market Bulldozed in Late-Night Raid – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

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Historic Baghdad Book Market Bulldozed in Late-Night Raid – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.