LibWorm.com provides a librarian RSS filtering service. Over 1500 RSS librarian sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest headlines from journals and sites in the Censorship interest group. http://www.libworm.com/rss/librarianqueries.php Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:09:27 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://blogs.ala.org/oif.php?title=nominees_sought_for_the_pla_gordon_m_con&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 Note: This is being posted as a courtesy to the Public Library Association. The PLA Gordon M. Conable Award is NOT to be confused with the Freedom to Read Foundation's Gordon Conable Conference Scholarship, which provides funding for a library school student or new professional to attend an Annual Conference, with a focus on intellectual freedom programs and meetings. The application process for the 2009 FTRF Conable Scholarship will open in early 2009 - stay tuned! Nominees are being sought for the PLA Gordon M. Conable Award. The Conable Award honors a public library staff member, a library trustee, or a public library that has demonstrated a commitment to intellectual freedom and the Library Bill of Rights. This award is sponsored by LSSI. The recipient of the Gordon M. Conable Award must have demonstrated a commitment to intellectual freedom and the Library Bill of Rights in various ways, including, but not limited to, the following: developed and promoted collections that include diverse points of view; provided programs that promote community dialog on controversial issues; created and nurtured an organizational climate that fosters an understanding of the Library Bill of Rights amongst the library staff, library board, and elected and appointed officials; initiated activities at the local, state, or national level that promote, support, or defend intellectual freedom, the Library Bill of Rights, or the First Amendment; guaranteed open access to library materials and services for children and young adults; guaranteed open access to electronic information; defended library materials, programs, or services when confronted with a censorship challenge. The award consists of a $1,500 check and a commemorative plaque that will be presented at the ALA Annual Conference. For information about the award, please go to http://www.pla.org/ala/mgrps/divs/pla/plaawards/gordonmconableaward/index. ... Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:28:01 +0100 674903 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Libraries_Say_Families_are_Responsible_for_Regulating_What_Kids_--- There's an exhibit at the McIntyre Library on the UW Eau Claire campus right now, called Censorship in Schools and Libraries. The exhibit illustrates (Source: pligg - all) Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:00:33 +0100 674657 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Censoring_the_Sorcerer_%AB_Quinnrsquos_Quick_Quill The American Library Association, or ALA, defines the attempted censorship of book like the Harry Potter series as any attempt to "remove or restrict (Source: pligg - all) Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:00:33 +0100 674287 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Scientists_self-censor_in_response_to_political_controversy_--- ... including those who had reported self-censorship practices. She says that the findings are a powerful example of how the political environment ca (Source: pligg - all) Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:00:30 +0100 673793 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=CLA_Montreal_Chapter_Food_for_Thought_A_Cookbook_for_the_--- Food for Thought: A Cookbook for the Canadian Library Community. For all you foodies out there - both newbies and expert (seasoned) - the Canadian As (Source: pligg - all) Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:00:22 +0100 673374 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=The_Washington_Independent_-_Wasilla_Library_Censorship Wasilla Library Censorship. By TWI 11/10/08 11:49 AM. Click to enlarge:. Print print Subscribe to RSS Subscribe to Iowa Independent RSS Feed · discus (Source: pligg - all) Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:00:30 +0100 673117 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=A_Western_Heart_Offensive_censorship_proposal The Vatican got away for two millennia with a library of forbidden books - the Index Librorum Prohibitorum - but I don't know that a government in a (Source: pligg - all) Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:00:24 +0100 672810 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/iRcS/~3/453096070/friday-brain-teaser-from-credo_14.html The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Assassinations. Answers here.1. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 set off a chain of events that led to the start of which war?2. Which American president was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1865 while attending a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC?3. Which Roman dictator was assassinated on the Ides of March, 44 BCE?4. Lee Harvey Oswald was alleged to have assassinated which American president in 1963?5. Which Russian revolutionary was assassinated in Mexico City with an ice pick in 1940?6. Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd was the prime minister of which country when he was assassinated in 1966?7. French aristocrat Charlotte Corday is remembered as the assassin who stabbed which revolutionary leader in his bath in 1793?8. What was the name of the eldest son of Indira Gandhi, who became prime minister of India after her assassination in 1984, and was himself assassinated in 1991?9. Which Egyptian president was assassinated in 1981 - Nasser, Sadat or Mubarak?10. Which Irish dramatist wrote "Assassination is the extreme form of censorship"? (Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog) Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:30:29 +0100 672534 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=If_you_canrsquot_trust_a_librarian_who_can_you_trust_%AB_Eleventh_Stack Most librarians I know feel very strongly about equal access to library resources and services, the strict confidentiality of your library records, t (Source: pligg - all) Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:00:22 +0100 672353 http://www.lisnews.org/and_tango_makes_three_wins_one_california Despite a push to have it banned from Chico Unified School District, a book some parents found offensive will remain on library shelves among picture books and easy-to-read children's literature. Three parents challenged "And Tango Makes Three" by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, on grounds that it was not appropriate for its targeted 3- to 8-year-old audience. But a committee formed to review the book denied the challenge, said Carolyn Adkisson, director of elementary education. (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:00:14 +0100 672376 http://lisnews.org/and_tango_makes_three_wins_one_california Despite a push to have it banned from Chico Unified School District, a book some parents found offensive will remain on library shelves among picture books and easy-to-read children's literature. Three parents challenged "And Tango Makes Three" by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, on grounds that it was not appropriate for its targeted 3- to 8-year-old audience. But a committee formed to review the book denied the challenge, said Carolyn Adkisson, director of elementary education. (Source: LISNews.org) Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:00:14 +0100 672018 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Librarians_Matter_-_Blog_Archive_-_Our_paper_about_library_--- Con Wiebrands and I gave a paper about library unconferences last week at the LIANZA conference. You can find the whole 5000 or so words here: The un (Source: pligg - all) Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:00:31 +0100 671901 http://www.lisnews.org/book_causes_parental_stir_florida TAVARES (FL) -- A book in a middle school library already has upset one parent. David Myers, of Tavares, brought the book "Me, Penelope" to school board members Monday and read a sexually explicit passage involving a 16-year-old girl. Myers' 12 year old daughter, a student at Tavares Middle School, checked the book out after getting permission from the librarian, he said. "I'm to the point right now where I'm about ready to pull my daughter out and start signing the check to private school," Myers said. "But 95 percent of the parents of the kids that go to these schools can't do that." (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:01:13 +0100 672381 http://lisnews.org/book_causes_parental_stir_florida TAVARES (FL) -- A book in a middle school library already has upset one parent. David Myers, of Tavares, brought the book "Me, Penelope" to school board members Monday and read a sexually explicit passage involving a 16-year-old girl. Myers' 12 year old daughter, a student at Tavares Middle School, checked the book out after getting permission from the librarian, he said. "I'm to the point right now where I'm about ready to pull my daughter out and start signing the check to private school," Myers said. "But 95 percent of the parents of the kids that go to these schools can't do that." (Source: LISNews.org) Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:01:13 +0100 671615 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ouseful/~3/450541034/ Somewhen last week, I posted about a Recent OU Programmes on the BBC, via iPlayer hack that uses an Open2 twitter feed to identify recently broadcast OU programmes on the BBC, to create a feed of links to watchable versions of those programmes via BBC iPlayer. So yesterday I had a little play and put an iPhone/iPod Touch web front end onto the pipe. Here’s the front page (captured using an old version of iPhoney) - I’ve given myself the option of adding more than just the seven day catchup service… The 7 day Catchup Link takes you through to a listing of the programmes that should, according to the BBC search results (but sometimes don’t always?) link to a watchable version of the programme on iPlayer. Clicking on the programme link takes you to the programme description - and a link to the programme on mobile iPlayer itself: Clicking through the programme link take you to the appropriate iPlayer page - where you can (hopefully) watch the programme… :-) As is the way of these things, I gave myself half an hour to do the app, expecting it to take maybe 90 mins or so. The interface uses the iUI library, which I used previously to build iTwitterous/serendiptwitterous, (various bits of which broke ages ago when Twitter switched off the friends RSS feeds, and which I haven’t tried to work around:-( so all I expected to do was hack around that… …which was okay, but then the final link out to the iPlayer site didn’t work… Hmmm… now the URLs to the iPlayer mobile programme pages look like http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/iplayer/index.html#episode/b00fj0y4′, and the way that the iUI pages work is to display various parts of a single HTML page using anchor/name tags of the form http://ouseful.open.ac.uk/i/ioutv.php#_proglist. ... Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:00:48 +0100 672513 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Palin_on_Banning_Books-_%AB_Mudflats Palin now denies that she wanted to censor library books, but Bess insists that his book was on a "hit list" targeted by Palin. "I'm as certain of th (Source: pligg - all) Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:00:42 +0100 671398 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/teleread/KHnj/~3/449763234/ I have created a new blog entitled Stealing Speech: A Commentary on the Long History of Publishers’ Attempts to Restrict Free Speech. I’ll do some cross-posts, most of which will be quite relevant to TeleRead. David Rothman’s vision of well-stocked national digital libraries would obviously have come true by now in the absence of copyright. But what is the connection between copyright and the translation issue mentioned in the headline here? Copyright reduces the number of translations available—and the pleasures available to readers. The case history below shows what’s at stake here. Why the nuances of the Verne novel matter When the remake of Journey to the Center of the Earth came out, I thought I should go to the trouble of reading the book—I saw the older movie a long time ago and therefore am familiar with the story. Jules Verne is without a doubt an interesting author. He was one of the founders of western science fiction and a singularly imaginative person. His books have enough suspense and unexpected, even miraculous, events that should entertain all but the most die-hard action junkies. If that were not enough, his books are also an excellent source of information about how the world appeared through the eyes of a 19th Century western scientist. Hollywood rarely, if ever, depicts faithfully an author’s original story, so reading the book would also give me the only complete picture of this seminal bedrock of modern culture. I could not read the original, though, because I do not read French. Thereupon I turned my search to Project Gutenberg to find the English translation of this famous work. This would be the closest I could get to the original without years of study in a language for which I have no interest. The Gutenberg surprise This is where Project Gutenberg surprised me. ... Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:32:22 +0100 671205 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Democrats_The_party_of_censors_nationally_and_in_Kentucky During the presidential campaign, Democrats tried to make an issue of censorship by falsely accusing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin of trying to ban books i (Source: pligg - all) Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:00:29 +0100 670983 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=AMERICAN_BOOKSELLERS_FOUNDATION_FOR_FREE_EXPRESSION ... librarians and others organized to celebrate Banned Books Week and provided information to the public about book censorship and ways to support f (Source: pligg - all) Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:00:21 +0100 670554 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=LISTen_The_LISNews-org_Podcast_-_Episode_47 Technical troubles didn't censor the podcast this week. This week's episode brings a chat with Blake, a chat with an artist about the business of ar (Source: pligg - all) Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:00:08 +0100 670563 http://www.lisnews.org/audio/download/31869/LISTen-47.mp3 Technical troubles didn't censor the podcast this week. This week's episode brings a chat with Blake, a chat with an artist about the business of art, and a commentary. Although we have had video releases accompanying audio releases, such is delayed until a later day this week. (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:12:05 +0100 671339 http://lisnews.org/audio/download/31869/LISTen-47.mp3 Technical troubles didn't censor the podcast this week. This week's episode brings a chat with Blake, a chat with an artist about the business of art, and a commentary. Although we have had video releases accompanying audio releases, such is delayed until a later day this week. (Source: LISNews.org) Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:12:05 +0100 670547 http://rabid-librarian.blogspot.com/2008/11/diversion.html Your result for The Find Your Philosophical Era! Test...The Modern31% Ancient, 6% Medieval, 38% Modern and 25% Post-Modern! Congratulations! You are: a Modern!(Keep in mind, by Modern, I mean the era which began around the 17th century and ended in the 20th century.)Throughout the Modern era, philosophers and scientists were forced constantly to do battle with the forces of censorship, philosophical conservatism, and pure inertia.This was the age in which “innovation” was a bad word, and the Moderns were all about innovation. Despite all the opposition they faced, Modern philosophy is the most optimistic of any era. The Moderns seem really to have believed that, for instance, giving men freedom from kings and priests and tyrants will make men happier and better. Their goal was a political community based on reason. But while some Moderns concentrated on becoming more and more scientific, rational and civilized, others, such as Wordsworth and Rousseau, reacted against this trend by turning back to what they saw as the pure, uncorrupted truths of nature. However, the Romantic and the Scientific trends in Modernism are two sides of the same coin. The two are united in their disdain for the status quo and for social norms, and their search for more real, trustworthy truths upon which to build the new society they all dreamed of.Some modern philosophers: Newton, Voltaire, Bacon, Hume, Rousseau, Hobbes, La Rochefoucauld, La Bruyère, Darwin, J.S. MillSome modern artists: Da Vinci, Molière, Shakespeare, Bernard Shaw, Mozart, Cervantes, SwiftTypical modern art forms: opera, comic plays, portraiture, the concerto, the confessional memoir, descriptions of natureTake The Find Your Philosophical Era! Test at HelloQuizzyFunny that I've mostly studied mediaeval and ancient philosophy, yet my outlook is modern and I scored REALLY low in the mediaeval category. YKWIA, who told me about this quiz, came out as mediaeval, which didn't surprise me. ... Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100 671269 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Breaking_News__FROM_THE_ARCHIVE_Palin_Library_censorship_--- WASILLA -- In the wake of strong reactions from the city's library director to inquiries about censorship, Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin on Monday was ta (Source: pligg - all) Sun, 09 Nov 2008 08:00:21 +0100 670337 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Teton_Co-_Library_presents_quotTurning_Real_Life_Into_Fictionquot_with_--- As the author of ten novels for teens, a therapist and child protection advocate, Crutcher tackles subjects such as child abuse, depression, censorsh (Source: pligg - all) Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:00:23 +0100 670037 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/earlham/dGCQ/~3/446713863/more-on-google-settlement-4.html Here are some more comments from the press and blogosphere on the Google-Publisher settlement.  (This is my fourth collection; also see 1, 2, and 3.) From AuthorLink: ...The good news [for authors] is this: authors and publishers will at last receive a small share of net online sales of their digitized work. They will also receive a share of the advertising revenues generated from the book search pages, in an amount yet determined by Google. Google will provide links to online stores such as Amazon.com where consumer can purchase hard copies of books. The announced publisher or author share of consumer sales is 63%, while Google retains 37%. Sounds good. But there’s some fine print in the massive legal document that everyone in the industry should study.... The 63%, however is not what the author or publisher will actually take home. First, the rightsholder must pay the Book Registry a $200 “inclusion” fee for the privilege of being listed (or not listed) in the database Google uses for its searches and price setting....In addition, the Book Registry plans to take another 10-20% of the 63% to cover its “administrative costs, which whittles the publisher/author’s income down to 43%, less the inclusion fee. The search giant also gets to charge 10% in operating costs off the top of the selling price before “net purchase revenues” are calculated....Google gets to set discounts for advertisers, which in turn affects author compensation. So, does anyone out there know the actual cost to the author of having two “middle men” (Google and the Book Registry), each taking cuts of revenue? Google can with the sanction of the Book Registry set discounts deeper than the author may intend. For example, a $7.99 book may not net the 63% sum of $5.03 at all (especially after all fees are deducted). If Google decides to deep discount the book, to, say $1.99 that 63% share is whittled down to $1.25. ... Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100 670255 http://www.unshelved.com/blog.aspx?post=1220 We've added a lot of new readers lately, so I'd like to take this chance to tell and/or remind you about some Unshelved features: My favorite way to read comics and blogs is by RSS feed, specifically via Google Reader. It means going to one website instead of dozens. Follow this link and follow the directions to get started with Unshelved's RSS feed. If you already get our main RSS feed, you may not know that we have a second feed for Drop-In Titles, our service for finding out about books that were released too late to get into catalogs. If you can't get enough of my blatherings, you can always follow my Twitter feed, a stream-of-conciousness dump of my brain, combined with witty back-and-forth with fellow Twitterers. It's a good time. Warning: I censor myself substantially less on Twitter. And, in case it isn't manifestly obvious, we have a store. Our books and merchandise are not only awesome, they are the way our readers help support us. Have a look around and see if anything appeals. Now back to our regularly-scheduled comic strip. Posted by Bill on 11/5/2008 8:49:00 PM (Source: Unshelved) Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:58:02 +0100 669630 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Permitted_and_prohibited_desires__mothers_comics_and_censorship_--- Boulder, Colo : WestviewPress, 1996. HQ 18 J3 A43 1996 HQ 18 J3 A43 1996 (ON SHELF) (Source: pligg - all) Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:00:31 +0100 669473 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Elsua/~3/443651695/ It’s been a little while now since last time I posted about this. My holidays kicked in, a bunch of business trips followed and the usual catchup has delayed a bit the sharing of this blog post. Yes, indeed, as you may have seen it already, The Sweettt Show is back! And with that both Matt Simpson, my fellow co-host, and yours truly are back into the full swing of things with our podcasting series! You may have noticed how over the last couple of weeks we have slowed down a bit. Like I said above already, it is in part due to my not being there for our weekly recordings, but we still get together and record the episodes which you can then listen and engage with at a later time, whenever we have got the opportunity to push them forward. And, as you may have noticed already, we are on Episode 8 already, this time around on the following topic: Inside and Outside the Firewall - Part 1 of August 22nd Discussion. Matt already shared his show notes, which are an excellent read and a must go through, if you woud want to find out more on the essence of this particular episode, before you start listening to it. I will take the opportunity now, though, to recap and share my own show notes to provide you folks with an additional set of commentary that would help digest the content of the podcast or, at least, help venture what we have been talking about over the course of a bit over 35 minutes. Thus here they are. I have tried to keep the same spirit and flow as with previous episodes, hoping to spark as well a smile here and there and hoping as well it would give you an opportunity to chime in with that special request that Matt mentions towards the end of the recording: - Still lingering around on the awesome experience of the Enterprise 2.0 conference in Boston, back in June.- Robin Carey, from Social Media Today gets a mention. ... Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:50:29 +0100 669357 http://www.librarystuff.net/2008/11/03/majority-backs-library-on-gay-sex-book/ Helena Independent Record - “Last week’s Question of the Week asked whether the library should have censored the book “Joy of Gay Sex.” In a huge turnout, as befits this election week, a majority of readers came out against censorship.” (Source: Library Stuff) Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:26:42 +0100 669301 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Library_Censorship_-_Assata_Shakur_Speaks_-_Hands_Off_Assata_--- Library Censorship YouTube - Library Censorship. ... YouTube - Library Censorship. "We may be investigated, incarcerated or murdered for the things w (Source: pligg - all) Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:00:25 +0100 669149 http://www.lisnews.org/censorship_or_what_really_weirds_out_weird_al Visitors to MTV’s new online music video site can listen to songs with plenty of crass and vulgar lyrics, but may be surprised to find that certain other language had once been deemed too nasty for broadcast — that is, the names of the file-sharing sites Morpheus, Grokster, Limewire and Kazaa, all of which have been the bane of the music industry. The foul-mouthed musician swept up by MTV’s speech code is Weird Al Yankovic, whose lyrics to “Don’t Download This Song,” a tongue-in-cheek complaint about file-sharing first released in 2006 included those so-called offensive terms. (Since then, two of those sites — Grokster and Morpheus — have become inactive.) Full story in the NYT Music video to "Don't Download this Song (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:25:20 +0100 669189 http://lisnews.org/censorship_or_what_really_weirds_out_weird_al Visitors to MTV’s new online music video site can listen to songs with plenty of crass and vulgar lyrics, but may be surprised to find that certain other language had once been deemed too nasty for broadcast — that is, the names of the file-sharing sites Morpheus, Grokster, Limewire and Kazaa, all of which have been the bane of the music industry. The foul-mouthed musician swept up by MTV’s speech code is Weird Al Yankovic, whose lyrics to “Don’t Download This Song,” a tongue-in-cheek complaint about file-sharing first released in 2006 included those so-called offensive terms. (Since then, two of those sites — Grokster and Morpheus — have become inactive.) Full story in the NYT Music video to "Don't Download this Song (Source: LISNews.org) Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:25:20 +0100 669145 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Library_Censorship_-_AfroChat_-_African_American__Black_--- YouTube - Library Censorship. ... YouTube - Library Censorship. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You curr (Source: pligg - all) Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:00:26 +0100 668851 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Canadas_approach_to_web_censorship_-_first_let_the_flowers_grow_then_lop_them_off Kevin Libin: "If indeed censorship is now the Anglosphere's reflex - even the Americans have their famously curmudgeonly FCC, though its arena of inf (Source: pligg - all) Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:00:13 +0100 668864 http://www.lisnews.org/canadas_approach_web_censorship_first_let_flowers_grow_then_lop_them Kevin Libin: "If indeed censorship is now the Anglosphere’s reflex — even the Americans have their famously curmudgeonly FCC, though its arena of influence is far more limited — at least one can say this about the Human Rights Commissions: it’s possible they have a relatively saner approach than our Commonwealth compatriots (Australia and the UK have institutions known as human rights commissions, too, but they lack the power to suppress speech). " (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:34:11 +0100 669195 http://lisnews.org/canadas_approach_web_censorship_first_let_flowers_grow_then_lop_them Kevin Libin: "If indeed censorship is now the Anglosphere’s reflex — even the Americans have their famously curmudgeonly FCC, though its arena of influence is far more limited — at least one can say this about the Human Rights Commissions: it’s possible they have a relatively saner approach than our Commonwealth compatriots (Australia and the UK have institutions known as human rights commissions, too, but they lack the power to suppress speech). " (Source: LISNews.org) Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:34:11 +0100 668579 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Best_of_the_Web_The_Forbidden_Library_Banned_and_Challenged_Books The Forbidden Library: Banned and Challenged Books. Books and literature targeted for censorship or banned throughout history, from Confucius to Harr (Source: pligg - all) Sat, 01 Nov 2008 07:00:26 +0100 668463 http://www.lisnews.org/protest_logged_australia_internet_filter_illegal_sites THE Rudd Government is facing a backlash over its plan to ask internet service providers to test filters on a blacklist of about 1000 illegal websites. The majority of online readers of The Courier-Mail yesterday angrily hit out at the Government plan, which wants to test how filters could effectively block illegal material. A poll asking readers if they supported the proposed internet filter showed 88 per cent – or 3222 voters – were against the plan and likened it to mandatory censorship. Only 11 per cent, or 426 people, supported it. (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:28:33 +0100 668515 http://lisnews.org/protest_logged_australia_internet_filter_illegal_sites THE Rudd Government is facing a backlash over its plan to ask internet service providers to test filters on a blacklist of about 1000 illegal websites. The majority of online readers of The Courier-Mail yesterday angrily hit out at the Government plan, which wants to test how filters could effectively block illegal material. A poll asking readers if they supported the proposed internet filter showed 88 per cent – or 3222 voters – were against the plan and likened it to mandatory censorship. Only 11 per cent, or 426 people, supported it. (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:28:33 +0100 668196 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Australia_to_implement_mandatory_internet_censorship__Library_Stuff Herald Sun - Australia will join China in implementing mandatory censoring of the internet under plans put forward by the Federal Government. (Source: pligg - all) Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:00:35 +0100 668022 http://www.librarystuff.net/2008/10/30/australia-to-implement-mandatory-internet-censorship/ Herald Sun - “Australia will join China in implementing mandatory censoring of the internet under plans put forward by the Federal Government.” (Source: Library Stuff) Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:20:59 +0100 667598 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Gordon_McShean_papers_in_American_Library_Association_Archives-_No_--- I just ordered his book, Running a Message Parlor: a Librarian's Medium-Rare Memoir About Censorship [ by Gordon McShean. Binding: Hardcover ISBN-13: (Source: pligg - all) Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:00:32 +0100 667505 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Dbjx/~5/436339235/ellis-2008-10-20.pdf The Internet filtering plan of the Australian government has been covered widely elsewhere ...Internet censorship in Australia - letter from Mark Newton -- Librarians MatterMark Newton’s letter to Kate Ellis about Internet filtering and censorship No Clean Feed - What is the government's planNo filter! -- Ruminations... If you want a taste of internet censorship, it is now possible to try it out by installing the China Channel plugin for Firefox. According to Techcrunch a search for "free Tibet" or "Tiananmen Square" will get you 10 minutes of dead air.Librarians wishing to promote net education over censorship are welcome to use this badge. (Source: Innovate) Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:05:03 +0100 667970 http://librarian.lishost.org/?p=1590 I was thinking about the question, “Are Archives a Luxury?” so I looked about for a few founding items from the American Library Association Social Responsibilities RoundTable [SRRT] at the ALA Archives. I ran across the papers of Gordon McShean, founder and coordinator of the SRRT Task Force on Sex-Related Media (SRMTF) (1971-73). He was coordinator, Illinois Social Responsibilities Round Table (1969-70); director, National Freedom Fund for Librarians (NFFL), to support librarians who are victims of censorship (ca. 1970); coordinator, Librarians for Full Employment (LIFE), 1972; and president, Society for Creative Political Literature (SCRUPLE), 1973-74; including papers and articles, publications, resolutions and statements, clippings, correspondence, memoranda and bibliographies concerning efforts to educate librarians on a need to acquire sex-related materials, especially minority viewpoints; freedom of access to information; censorship cases involving materials and librarians; consideration of ALA’s position on social issues, especially intellectual freedom; communication among activist librarians; the role SRMTF as a unit of SRRT; and sensitivity of librarians to community needs. Gordon McShean resigned from his librarian job in Roswell, New Mexico, over censorship involving “hippie” poets in 1967 (Robbins, L. S., 1996. Censorship and the American Public Library: The American Library Association’s response to threats to intellectual freedom: 1939-1969. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood., p. 140). Katharine J. Phenix and I included Gordon McShean in our essay, “A Commitment to Human Rights: Let’s Honor the Qualities Required of a Librarian Dedicated to Human Rights”, in ‘Libraries and Information Workers in Conflict Situations’, Information for Social Change No. 25, Summer 2007. ... Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:11:01 +0100 667608 http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/4792 The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is pleased to announce the launch of the Global Network Initiative, a dynamic effort developed in partnership with leading human rights groups, academics, socially responsible investment firms, and information and communications technology (ICT) companies. This unique coalition is working together to uphold the human rights to freedom of expression and privacy in the ICT sector, supporting companies as they resist governments seeking to enlist them in acts of censorship, filtering, and surveillance that violate international standards.read more (Source: Berkman Blog) Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:00:00 +0100 667125 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/iRcS/~3/435780193/global-network-initiative-launched.html "A diverse coalition of leading Internet companies, major human rights and free press organizations, investors and academics have launched the Global Network Initiative to protect and advance freedom of expression and privacy in information and communications technologies. CDT and Business for Social Responsibility co-facilitated an 18-month effort by these groups to craft the key documents underlying this effort. The documents provide guidance for companies, NGOs, investors, academics and others working together to resist efforts by governments that seek to enlist companies in acts of censorship and surveillance that violate international standards. The documents also provide specific implementation commitments and outline a framework for accountability and learning." (Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog) Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:16:41 +0100 667293 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=The_Hoffman_Survey_2005_on_Ethics_and_the_ALA This personal conviction runs opposite to the ALA Code's second principle, which aims to "resist all efforts to censor library resources". Hoffman's (Source: pligg - all) Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:00:26 +0100 667043 http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.law.harvard.edu/files/GNI_-_Press_Release.pdf In an effort to protect and advance the human rights of freedom of expression and privacy, a diverse coalition of leading information and communications companies, major human rights organizations, academics, investors and technology leaders today launched the Global Network Initiative.read more (Source: Berkman Blog) Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:30:00 +0100 667096 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LibrariansMatter/~3/434496704/ After my suggestion on twitter today, Peta got creative and made this badge, Net Education, Not Censorship .It’s released under Creative Commons without any need for attribution.   It’s going straight to the sidebar.   By the way, if you tune into ABC Radio National’s Media Report tomorrow (Thursday 29 October, 8:30am), you can hear Senator Conroy *and* Mark Pesce talk about the filtering debate. Mark Pesce is one of the keynote speakers for the New Librarians’ Symposium, coming up on 5 and 6  December -  to which I will *not* be going, but would dearly love to. (Source: Librarians matter) Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:57:32 +0100 667234 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/Dbjx/~5/435258933/2981066350_e3a621f84b_o.jpg petaj posted a photo: A badge you can use if you want to promote education over censorship on the internet. No need to attribute the artwork. (Source: Innovate) Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:20:33 +0100 667201 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Are_Anti-Obama_Bloggers_Being_Censored_at_RealClearPolitics I hope all of you are keeping MULITIPLE printed copies of your blogs and seeing that they get archived with some organization, such as a local librar (Source: pligg - all) Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:00:25 +0100 666577 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/434907538/new-steps-to-protect-free-expression.html In a world where governments all too often censor what their citizens can see and do on the Internet, Google has from the start promoted global free expression and taken the lead in being transparent with our users. We've pressed governments around the world to stop limiting free speech and made it possible for dissidents, bloggers and others to have their voices heard.As part of those ongoing efforts to promote free expression and protect our users' privacy, today we're announcing Google's participation as a founding company member of a new program called the Global Network Initiative.This initiative is the result of two years of discussions with other leading technology companies, human rights organizations, socially responsible investors and academic institutions. Thanks to hard work and cooperation from all parties, the Initiative sets the kinds of standards and practices that all companies and groups should use when governments threaten internationally recognized rights to free expression and privacy.The Global Network Initiative also offers an important commitment from all parties to take action together to promote free expression and protect privacy in the use of all information and communication technologies. We know that common action by these diverse groups is more likely to bring about change in government policies than the efforts of any one company or group acting alone.Companies that join the Initiative commit to putting into effect procedures that will protect their users by:Evaluating against international standards government requests to censor content or access user informationProviding greater transparencyAssessing human rights risks when entering new markets or introducing new productsInstituting employee training and oversight programsThese are things that Google does now, but joining the Initiative will help us refine our methods and maintain our leadership position. ... Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 667213 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LibrariansMatter/~3/433520404/ Mark Newton, who works for an ISP, has written a letter as a private citizen to his local member of federal parliament about Senator Stephen Conroy’s proposal to apply mandatory (opt-out only)  “clean feed” filters to the internet in Australia. It is a well thought out, well researched letter that Mark has made available in the public domain. It is here and well worth reading in full: Mark Newton’s letter to Kate Ellis about Internet filtering and censorship . His main points are: The government has not demonstrated a need for an online censorship system The government has not demonstrated that mandatory online censorship is technologically feasible The government has not demonstrated that online censorship is effective The government has failed to consider the unintended consequences arising from the policy Senator Conroy has invalidated the government’s claim for a mandate by lying to the Australian public about the scope of the policy If you want to find out more, you can check out the No Clean Feed pages set up by the Australian Electronic Frontiers Federation or the Somebody Think of the Children blog.  According to the No Clean Feed page, here is the current state of play: The Government is keeping its cards close to its chest on the plan. However, we know that ISP-level filtering has been ALP policy for some time and is still being zealously pursued by the Minister. What has been confirmed so far: Filtering will be mandatory in all homes and schools across the country.1 The clean feed will censor material that is “harmful and inappropriate” for children.2 The filter will require a massive expansion of the ACMA’s blacklist of prohibited content.3 The Government wants to use dynamic filters of questionable accuracy that slow the internet down by an average of 30%.4 The filtering will target legal as well as illegal material. ... Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:28:35 +0100 666561 http://www.lisnews.org/library_backs_book_same_sex_parents The Calvert County Board of Library Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to keep a controversial book about two male penguins where it is shelved: in the children's section of county libraries, along with other picture books. "It is a great book for a certain family, but not for my family and a lot of families I know," Bubser said at the meeting. "I believe in everyone's rights. I believe in freedom of speech, but this is not right for my family." (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:39:07 +0100 666497 http://lisnews.org/library_backs_book_same_sex_parents The Calvert County Board of Library Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to keep a controversial book about two male penguins where it is shelved: in the children's section of county libraries, along with other picture books. "It is a great book for a certain family, but not for my family and a lot of families I know," Bubser said at the meeting. "I believe in everyone's rights. I believe in freedom of speech, but this is not right for my family." (Source: LISNews.org) Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:39:07 +0100 666237 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/iRcS/~3/433450209/listen-lisnewsorg-podcast-episode-45.html LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #45 : "This week's episode brings a discussion involving Stephen, Blake, and Mike Meloni in Australia. The topic discussed was Internet censorship in one particular part of the Anglosphere. Considering the decisions of the US Supreme Court in recent years to apply wholly alien legal principles from abroad in the US, something like this happening in one part of the Anglosphere may flow outward. A commentary is also presented in regards to two recent stories on LISNews.". Previous Podcasts can be found here (Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog) Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:38:56 +0100 666381 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Censorship_new_technology_and_libraries__Table_of_Contents The Office of Film and Literature Classification has taken steps to inform libraries of those obligations. Originality/value - The paper outlines ch (Source: pligg - all) Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:00:22 +0100 666167 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=LISTen_The_LISNews-org_Podcast_-_Episode_45 This week's episode brings a discussion involving Stephen, Blake, and Mike Meloni in Australia. The topic discussed was Internet censorship in one p (Source: pligg - all) Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:00:06 +0100 666186 http://www.lisnews.org/audio/download/31731/LISTen-45.mp3 This week's episode brings a discussion involving Stephen, Blake, and Mike Meloni in Australia. The topic discussed was Internet censorship in one particular part of the Anglosphere. Considering the decisions of the US Supreme Court in recent years to apply wholly alien legal principles from abroad in the US, something like this happening in one part of the Anglosphere may flow outward. A commentary is also presented in regards to two recent stories on LISNews. Related links: Piece by Michael Meloni discussing the Australian net censorship proposals Discussion from ZDNet's Australia section about telecommunications market issues there Reporting from ComputerWorld in the matter (WARNING: Some language may be deemed offensive in the report text) Post discussing a possible re-imagining of librarian education Post discussing a future without physical library buildings Press release on the BlogWorldExpo disc offering And here is the commentary in video form: (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:16:48 +0100 666499 http://lisnews.org/audio/download/31731/LISTen-45.mp3 This week's episode brings a discussion involving Stephen, Blake, and Mike Meloni in Australia. The topic discussed was Internet censorship in one particular part of the Anglosphere. Considering the decisions of the US Supreme Court in recent years to apply wholly alien legal principles from abroad in the US, something like this happening in one part of the Anglosphere may flow outward. A commentary is also presented in regards to two recent stories on LISNews. Related links: Piece by Michael Meloni discussing the Australian net censorship proposals Discussion from ZDNet's Australia section about telecommunications market issues there Reporting from ComputerWorld in the matter (WARNING: Some language may be deemed offensive in the report text) Post discussing a possible re-imagining of librarian education Post discussing a future without physical library buildings Press release on the BlogWorldExpo disc offering And here is the commentary in video form: (Source: LISNews.org) Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:16:48 +0100 666161 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=IMC_Censors_-_Butchers_of_Hanover 6/25 Modern Day Nazi Book "Burnings": When I bought several historical books for $ .25 at a library book sale, I realized that this was part of the d (Source: pligg - all) Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:00:22 +0100 665934 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Censorship_Beijing_would_be_proud_of The great writer of London life Iain Sinclair was due to launch his forthcoming book, Hackney, That Rose Red Empire at Stoke Newington Library. After (Source: pligg - all) Sat, 25 Oct 2008 07:00:22 +0100 665610 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/oct/25/lucie-smith Review: Censoring the Body by Edward Lucie-SmithThe title scheme comes unstuck for this one, which is not actually about censoring bodies, but about censoring images of bodies. (Source: Guardian Unlimited Books) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:02:56 +0100 665545 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/oct/25/lucie-smith Review: Censoring the Body by Edward Lucie-SmithThe title scheme comes unstuck for this one, which is not actually about censoring bodies, but about censoring images of bodies. (Source: Guardian Unlimited Books) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:02:56 +0100 665532 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/oct/25/petley Review: Censoring the Word by Julian PetleyIs an affront to my freedom of expression necessarily an act of censorship? (Source: Guardian Unlimited Books) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:02:54 +0100 665560 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/oct/25/petley Review: Censoring the Word by Julian PetleyIs an affront to my freedom of expression necessarily an act of censorship? (Source: Guardian Unlimited Books) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:02:54 +0100 665548 http://www.lisnews.org/schools_libraries_see_hundreds_requests_ban_books This USA Today Story has a neat sortable table of Books challenged 2003 - 2008. Anne Marie Wlodarczyk of Lackawanna, N.Y., said she was outraged earlier this year when a local school board member asked that six books dealing with the occult be pulled from shelves at the local middle school. "It's important for children to read, and I will not let my child be hindered," said Wlodarczyk, whose son is a high school freshman. "How do you expect a child to grow? I'm sorry, you can't hide the outside world from them." (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:47:20 +0100 665858 http://lisnews.org/schools_libraries_see_hundreds_requests_ban_books This USA Today Story has a neat sortable table of Books challenged 2003 - 2008. Anne Marie Wlodarczyk of Lackawanna, N.Y., said she was outraged earlier this year when a local school board member asked that six books dealing with the occult be pulled from shelves at the local middle school. "It's important for children to read, and I will not let my child be hindered," said Wlodarczyk, whose son is a high school freshman. "How do you expect a child to grow? I'm sorry, you can't hide the outside world from them." (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:47:20 +0100 665287 http://lisnews.org/schools_libraries_see_hundreds_requests_ban_books This USA Today Story has a neat sortable table of Books challenged 2003 - 2008. Anne Marie Wlodarczyk of Lackawanna, N.Y., said she was outraged earlier this year when a local school board member asked that six books dealing with the occult be pulled from shelves at the local middle school. "It's important for children to read, and I will not let my child be hindered," said Wlodarczyk, whose son is a high school freshman. "How do you expect a child to grow? I'm sorry, you can't hide the outside world from them." (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:47:20 +0100 665286 http://www.lisnews.org/australian_labors_web_gag_worse_iran The Australian Federal Government is attempting to silence critics of its controversial plan to censor the internet, which experts say will break the internet while doing little to stop people from accessing illegal material such as child pornography. Internet providers and the government's own tests have found that presently available filters are not capable of adequately distinguishing between legal and illegal content and can degrade internet speeds by up to 86 per cent. Documents obtained by Fairfax Media show the office of the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, tried to bully ISP staff into suppressing their criticisms of the plan. (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:29:37 +0100 665863 http://lisnews.org/australian_labors_web_gag_worse_iran The Australian Federal Government is attempting to silence critics of its controversial plan to censor the internet, which experts say will break the internet while doing little to stop people from accessing illegal material such as child pornography. Internet providers and the government's own tests have found that presently available filters are not capable of adequately distinguishing between legal and illegal content and can degrade internet speeds by up to 86 per cent. Documents obtained by Fairfax Media show the office of the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, tried to bully ISP staff into suppressing their criticisms of the plan. (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:29:37 +0100 665407 http://lisnews.org/australian_labors_web_gag_worse_iran The Australian Federal Government is attempting to silence critics of its controversial plan to censor the internet, which experts say will break the internet while doing little to stop people from accessing illegal material such as child pornography. Internet providers and the government's own tests have found that presently available filters are not capable of adequately distinguishing between legal and illegal content and can degrade internet speeds by up to 86 per cent. Documents obtained by Fairfax Media show the office of the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, tried to bully ISP staff into suppressing their criticisms of the plan. (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:29:37 +0100 665406 http://lisnews.org/australian_labors_web_gag_worse_iran The Australian Federal Government is attempting to silence critics of its controversial plan to censor the internet, which experts say will break the internet while doing little to stop people from accessing illegal material such as child pornography. Internet providers and the government's own tests have found that presently available filters are not capable of adequately distinguishing between legal and illegal content and can degrade internet speeds by up to 86 per cent. Documents obtained by Fairfax Media show the office of the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, tried to bully ISP staff into suppressing their criticisms of the plan. (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:29:37 +0100 665402 http://lisnews.org/australian_labors_web_gag_worse_iran The Australian Federal Government is attempting to silence critics of its controversial plan to censor the internet, which experts say will break the internet while doing little to stop people from accessing illegal material such as child pornography. Internet providers and the government's own tests have found that presently available filters are not capable of adequately distinguishing between legal and illegal content and can degrade internet speeds by up to 86 per cent. Documents obtained by Fairfax Media show the office of the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, tried to bully ISP staff into suppressing their criticisms of the plan. (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:29:37 +0100 665400 http://lisnews.org/australian_labors_web_gag_worse_iran The Australian Federal Government is attempting to silence critics of its controversial plan to censor the internet, which experts say will break the internet while doing little to stop people from accessing illegal material such as child pornography. Internet providers and the government's own tests have found that presently available filters are not capable of adequately distinguishing between legal and illegal content and can degrade internet speeds by up to 86 per cent. Documents obtained by Fairfax Media show the office of the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, tried to bully ISP staff into suppressing their criticisms of the plan. (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:29:37 +0100 665397 http://lisnews.org/australian_labors_web_gag_worse_iran The Australian Federal Government is attempting to silence critics of its controversial plan to censor the internet, which experts say will break the internet while doing little to stop people from accessing illegal material such as child pornography. Internet providers and the government's own tests have found that presently available filters are not capable of adequately distinguishing between legal and illegal content and can degrade internet speeds by up to 86 per cent. Documents obtained by Fairfax Media show the office of the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, tried to bully ISP staff into suppressing their criticisms of the plan. (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:29:37 +0100 665396 http://www.lisnews.org/teachers_required_take_seminars_huck_finn Instead of dropping “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from its reading list, the Manchester school system has decided to hold seminars for teachers on how to deal with issues of race before bringing the book back to classrooms. The goal of the seminars is to put the book into perspective and create a dialogue on race, white privilege, satire and stereotyping, which were also issues when Twain published it in 1885. (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:11:50 +0100 665865 http://lisnews.org/teachers_required_take_seminars_huck_finn Instead of dropping “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from its reading list, the Manchester school system has decided to hold seminars for teachers on how to deal with issues of race before bringing the book back to classrooms. The goal of the seminars is to put the book into perspective and create a dialogue on race, white privilege, satire and stereotyping, which were also issues when Twain published it in 1885. (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:11:50 +0100 665181 http://lisnews.org/teachers_required_take_seminars_huck_finn Instead of dropping “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from its reading list, the Manchester school system has decided to hold seminars for teachers on how to deal with issues of race before bringing the book back to classrooms. The goal of the seminars is to put the book into perspective and create a dialogue on race, white privilege, satire and stereotyping, which were also issues when Twain published it in 1885. (Source: LISNews.org) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:11:50 +0100 665172 http://www.infotogo.com/users/index.asp?RSS=31484 "This year’s banned book focal point actually goes back to 1996 in Wasilla, Alaska, when the director of the local public library, Mary Ellen Emmons, received at least three requests from a... (Source: Info To Go: Navigating the Internet) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:07:00 +0100 664959 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=New_trend_in_book_banning_and_censorship But, now it appears there's been an about face, as the avowed book burner now claims the offending work, Book of Bunny Suicides, will be returned to (Source: pligg - all) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:00:22 +0100 665012 http://keptup.typepad.com/academic/2008/10/what-nebraskas-action-on-ayers-says-about-academic-freedom.html Late last week, the University of Nebraska rescinded an invitation to William Ayers to speak on its campus after the election. Mr. Ayers, the co-founder of the Weather Underground and the man responsible for bombing a number of federal buildings in the 1960s, has been the subject of much media attention recently, thanks to his associations with Barack Obama. The university cited "security concerns" as the reason for its action but it was seen, in certain quarters, as mere censorship. "It's a major infringement on academic freedom," David Moshman, an educational psychology professor told the Lincoln, Neb., Journal Star. Mr. Moshman called the decision "a dangerous precedent." Read more at: (Source: The Kept-Up Academic Librarian) Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 665289 http://freegovinfo.info/node/2080 Why are Docs From the Bailout Being Redacted?, by Ben Protess , ProPublica - October 22, 2008. Thanks, and a tip of the hat to Secrecy News! (Source: Free Government Information (FGI) blogs) Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:34:17 +0100 664690 http://www.lisnews.org/oregon_mom_now_says_shell_return_bunny_suicides_school_library An Oregon woman who refused to return "The Book of Bunny Suicides" has changed her mind. Taffey Anderson says she will make the book available for the Central Linn School District's review committee to screen. The Halsey woman recently said she would burn the book rather than take a chance on it returning to a shelf at the Central Linn High School library. (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:43:30 +0100 664855 http://lisnews.org/oregon_mom_now_says_shell_return_bunny_suicides_school_library An Oregon woman who refused to return "The Book of Bunny Suicides" has changed her mind. Taffey Anderson says she will make the book available for the Central Linn School District's review committee to screen. The Halsey woman recently said she would burn the book rather than take a chance on it returning to a shelf at the Central Linn High School library. (Source: LISNews.org) Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:43:30 +0100 664590 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=That_is_just_so_amp In 1996 Palin asked Wasilla's librarian how she would feel about banning certain books at the library. While no books were banned, Palin's question s (Source: pligg - all) Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:00:23 +0100 664520 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Professional_Resources_Intellectual_Freedom_websites This is a website that provides information related to censorship, library policies, Supreme Court cases and other information. Ideally, this is a we (Source: pligg - all) Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:00:20 +0100 664093 http://lisnews.org/more_bunny_suicides More on the kerfuffle surrounding a mom trying to ban and burn a copy of The Bunny Suicides: This is the best part of the article: "Knoedler (Central Linn principal) said she knew people were passionate about books and the First Amendment, but is still shocked by the response that the story has generated. Asked if any of the e-mails or calls received by the school had taken Anderson's side, she said, "Not a single one."" (Source: LISNews.org) Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:44:09 +0100 664160 http://www.lisnews.org/more_bunny_suicides More on the kerfuffle surrounding a mom trying to ban and burn a copy of The Bunny Suicides: This is the best part of the article: "Knoedler (Central Linn principal) said she knew people were passionate about books and the First Amendment, but is still shocked by the response that the story has generated. Asked if any of the e-mails or calls received by the school had taken Anderson's side, she said, "Not a single one."" (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:44:09 +0100 663783 http://freegovinfo.info/node/2077 Recently John McCain was in the news for advocating Fair Use for his campaign videos on YouTube (Update: McCain protests YouTube's removal of his campaign videos, Heather Havenstein, Computerworld, October 15, 2008). It is an interesting story and now Lawrence Lessig puts it all in perspective for us: Copyright and Politics Don’t Mix, by Lawrence Lessig, Op-Ed, The New York Times, October 21, 2008. While the issue at hand deals with political speech, the same problems and issues apply to government information. Lessig says that the "explosion in citizen-generated political speech has been met with a troubling response: the increasing use of copyright laws as tools for censorship." His solution is to change the copyright law: It would be far better if copyright law were narrowed to those contexts in which it serves its essential creative function -- encouraging innovation and ensuring that artists get paid for their work -- and left alone the battles of what criticisms candidates for office, and their supporters, are allowed to make. While a lot of government information is free of copyright, or is supposed to be, strict interpretation and aggressive use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act has led to restrictions on access to government information. Perhaps the most visible example is in Google Books, which blocks full text access to its scans of government publications because they "might" be covered by copyright. (See, for example, Oversight of U.S. Government Intelligence Functions: Hearings Before the Committee on Government Operations, United States Senate, Ninety-fourth Congress, Second Session, Published by U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1976.) But copyright is only part of the problem that limits access to what should be free, open, re-usable, government information. Even if we get reasonable changes to the Copyright law, we will need more. Governments will have want to make their content freely usable. ... Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:31:39 +0100 663720 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Celebrating_Banned_Book_Week_0927-10408 Perhaps this post is a little late but I believe every day we should celebrate the idea of not banning books and embracing a place that encourages n (Source: pligg - all) Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:00:23 +0100 663587 http://www.lisnews.org/oregon_mom_wont_return_bunny_suicide_book One way or another, a Halsey woman promises to keep a popular cartoon book out of the Central Linn High School library. Taffey Anderson says "The Book of Bunny Suicides" is not appropriate for anyone, but especially children. She inspected the book her 13-year-old son checked out of the library, and what she saw convinced her to never return it. (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:45:56 +0100 663791 http://lisnews.org/oregon_mom_wont_return_bunny_suicide_book One way or another, a Halsey woman promises to keep a popular cartoon book out of the Central Linn High School library. Taffey Anderson says "The Book of Bunny Suicides" is not appropriate for anyone, but especially children. She inspected the book her 13-year-old son checked out of the library, and what she saw convinced her to never return it. (Source: LISNews.org) Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:45:56 +0100 663324 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/iRcS/~3/426356106/listen-lisnewsorg-podcast-episode-44.html LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #44 : "This week's episode brings an interview cross continents about censorship. The censorship case happens to be happening in Australia. An anti-censorship activist, Michael Meloni, was interviewed about the matter as inquiries to the Australian government department concerned went unanswered. Electronic Frontiers Australia has presented online a background review of the issue". Previous Podcasts can be found here (Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog) Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:10:41 +0100 663415 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=A_collection_of_webpageswebsites_regarding_banned_books The NCAC and ALA sites focus more on actions a librarian or other free thinker could take against intellectual censorship. The googlebooks site and f (Source: pligg - all) Mon, 20 Oct 2008 07:00:23 +0100 663192 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=LISTen_The_LISNews-org_Podcast_-_Episode_44 This week's episode brings an interview cross continents about censorship. The censorship case happens to be happening in Australia. An anti-censor (Source: pligg - all) Mon, 20 Oct 2008 07:00:06 +0100 663210 http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/?p=661#comment-634649 Sorry to move this thread from Palin to other challenged books, but there’s a book war here in rural Oregon, which made the front page of the Sunday paper (http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2008/10/19/news/top_story/1aaa03_bunnies.txt) and I was trying to find an appropriate forum to bring it to. (Source: Comments for Library Juice) Mon, 20 Oct 2008 07:00:04 +0100 663157 http://www.lisnews.org/audio/download/31643/LISTen-44.mp3 This week's episode brings an interview cross continents about censorship. The censorship case happens to be happening in Australia. An anti-censorship activist, Michael Meloni, was interviewed about the matter as inquiries to the Australian government department concerned went unanswered. Electronic Frontiers Australia has presented online a background review of the issue. A book also received a brief review. (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Mon, 20 Oct 2008 05:39:24 +0100 663800 http://lisnews.org/audio/download/31643/LISTen-44.mp3 This week's episode brings an interview cross continents about censorship. The censorship case happens to be happening in Australia. An anti-censorship activist, Michael Meloni, was interviewed about the matter as inquiries to the Australian government department concerned went unanswered. Electronic Frontiers Australia has presented online a background review of the issue. A book also received a brief review. (Source: LISNews.org) Mon, 20 Oct 2008 05:39:24 +0100 663179