Joe Kohlburn is a doctoral candidate in information science, librarian, activist, and an arts advocate in St. Louis, MO.
Earlier this week, we sent a letter to the Cameron School Board in Cameron, MO objecting to recent blocking of standing orders for books speaking to diverse readership, as well as use of BookLooks, which frankly is an absolute Orwellian nightmare of a censorship platform. A day or so later, we received a response from …
Great news today! Our MLA-IFC won the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award given by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign! As always it is a great honor to be part of the MLA-IFC when it isn't winning awards, but I'm incredibly excited that our long years of work (especially long over the past 3 or so …
Continue reading "We won the Downs Intellectual Freedom Award!"
Latest article, a pilot study on the impact that intellectual freedom challenges is having on Missouri public librarians. This trend in stigmatizing library workers is not good, and we need to make it stop. These folks are my colleagues and friends, who work everyday to provide access to information and resources for their community. We, …
The opinions expressed in the below blog post are mine, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the MLA, MASL, or the MO-ACLU. As a member of the MO House for the past seven years, I have to assume Cody Smith must know the true nature of the MLA, MASL, and MO-ACLU’s suit against …
Continue reading "Defunding Libraries Hurts Missouri, Obviously."
What is there to say about the MO House of Representatives voting to remove funding from Missouri Libraries? I have no doubt that MO-Reps already know all of this, but for those of you who are unaware, MLA and MASL receive no state funding. They are all-volunteer-run membership organizations working on behalf of professional librarians. …
Continue reading "Missouri Legislature Hellworld Intellectual Freedom News Roundup"
The Missouri ACLU has announced a lawsuit on behalf of MASL and the MLA against Jackson County to address SB 775, and the undue burden it puts on school librarians as well as other librarians in the state. Given the overlapping peril with the latest HB's coming out to codify the Secretary of State's proposed …
Continue reading "MO-ACLU Files Lawsuit on Behalf of MASL and MLA"
Intellectual freedom advocacy in Missouri asks a lot and promises very little. What makes it possible to continue to advocate and push against totalitarian impulses in law and policy around here is keeping in mind the wellbeing of the communities we serve and having absolutely exceptional and badass colleagues like Tiffany Mautino and Colleen Norman. …
Continue reading "Intellectual Freedom Chairs (MLA) 2021-2023"
This panel brings together several brilliant folks to chat about the state of access in these fraught political times (especially as regards information resilience). I will be talking about book bans and local legislatures efforts to block access for historically marginalized populations among other topics. This panel will be on Halloween at 2 PM EST …
The latest proposed rule is a solution in search of a problem. A few of the requirements in the proposed rule are already best practices in libraries. The ALA and MLA already recommend that libraries have written collection development policies (A) and challenge processes and procedures (F). Indeed, many of our latest qualms about school …
Continue reading "Statement on Proposed Rule 15 CSR 30-200.015"
My profound thanks to my colleagues on all their excellent work this year. Here is a non-exhaustive list of our appearances in print and television this year. Well done advocates! KSDK - February 2022 https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/education/aclu-missouri-file-suit-against-wentzville-school-district-book-ban-the-bluest-eye/63-65f9c4e8-cb79-4a26-805b-2c1d9ec360ab St. Louis Post- Dispatch - June 2022 https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/library-group-again-implores-wentzville-school-board-to-stop-banning-books/article_12c41756-63b1-5e69-b645-a1af44551151.html#tracking-source=home-the-latest Independence Examiner - July 2022 https://www.examiner.net/2022/07/09/end-school-library-censorship-and-address-the-damage-it-has-done/ KOMU - August 2022 (https://www.komu.com/news/state/new-missouri-law-will-ban-sharing-visually-explicit-materials-with-students/article_97717864-2493-11ed-9871-bb4c9247515f.html) St. …
Joe Kohlburn 