INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM Office for Intellectual Freedom, an Office & PRIVACY of the American Library Association

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JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM Office for Intellectual Freedom, an Office & PRIVACY of the American Library Association

Mary Beth Tinker and John Tinker display the anti- war armbands they fought to wear at their school

READING FOR RIGHTS, EDUCATING FOR ETHICS

OLIVIA MARTIN 6 15 NEWS: 36 GRIFFITHS: INSIDE GARNAR: CENSORSHIP SUMMER/FALL 2016 BURNING TO READ ETHICS EDUCATION IN DATELINE, FROM THE VOL. 1 _ NO. 2–3 LETTERS FROM ISSN 2474-7459 LIS CURRICULA BENCH, AND MORE STUDENTS CONTENTS _ SUMMER/FALL 2016

3 6 The Second Issue! Professional Principles and Barbara Jones Ethics in LIS Graduate Curricula Martin Garnar 4 Let the Information Flow 13 Franklin D. Roberts ALA Committee on Professional Ethics Scott P. Muir and Sara Dallas

15 Burning To Read Olivia Griffiths

21 People Behaving Badly, or Can We Get an Adult in the Room? James LaRue EDITORIAL FEATURES

30 36 Ethics and Values in Censorship Dateline Librarianship: A History 45 31 From the Bench Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World 50 Is It Legal? 33 Data and Goliath 58 Success Stories 35 Surveillance in America: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and the Law

REVIEWS NEWS

YOU CAN’T CHANGE THINGS IF YOU DON’T ACKNOWLEDGE THE REAL PROBLEM, AND PROBLEM IS CERTAINLY NOT THE BOOKS.

Eleventh grader Elise Planski in “Burning to Read” _ 19

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND PRIVACY _ SUMMER/FALL 2016 1 SUMMER/FALL 2016 _ ABOUT THE COVER

_ The cover photo shows Mary Beth and John Tinker, two of the young public school plaintiffs in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District 393 U.S. 503 (1969). They were suspended from school for wearing those armbands, a symbol of their grief over the one thousand soldiers killed in Vietnam at that time. In an interview with attorney Robert Corn-Revere, Mary Beth Tinker recalls that her father, a Methodist min- ister, and her mother both believed in “putting faith into action,” and were actively involved in the social gospel movement. This led them to take part in the civil rights movement and the fair housing movement. Their activ- ism influenced the Tinker children to join other students in Des Moines in wearing black armbands to school to mourn the dead on both sides of the Vietnam war. The armbands were also in support of a Christmas truce called by Sena- tor Bobby Kennedy that year. The American Civil Liberties Union represented the Tinkers and their classmate Christopher Eckhardt and the case was decided in their favor. This 7–2 landmark decision written by Justice Abe Fortas famously stated, “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Mary Beth now heads up the Tinker Tours, which provide programs for youth to get involved in First Amendment advocacy.

Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy (ISSN 2474-7459) vol. 1, no. 2–3 _ Summer/Fall 2016

Editor Publisher Barbara M. Jones James LaRue, Director, Office for Intellectual Freedom News Editor Henry Reichman, California State University, Managing Editor East Bay Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Deputy Director, Office for Intellectual Freedom Editorial Board Rosanne Cordell, Northern Illinois University, Production DeKalb, IL ALA Production Services: Chris Keech, Tim Clifford, Lauren Ehle, and Hannah Gribetz Martin Garnar, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, CO Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy is published quarterly (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) Mack Freeman, West Georgia Regional Library, by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, an office of Carrollton, GA the American Library Association, 50 E Huron St., Clem Guthro, Colby College Libraries, Colby, ME Chicago, IL 60611. Michael Wright, Dubuque County Library, Asbury, IA

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND PRIVACY _ SUMMER/FALL 2016 2 EDITORIAL OCTOBER 2016

The Second Issue!

Barbara Jones (bmjconsulting@ gmail.com), Former Director, OIF and FTRF, and Editor of Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy, vol. 1, no. 1.

hank you for your positive response to the first issue. We are particularly happy with your feedback on how to shape this publication as we move forward. Franklin Rob- Terts’s thoughtful opinion piece urges discussion and collaboration on analyzing free speech issues, both theoretical and practical. If any of our readers want to grab a topic and turn it inside out with their colleagues, we would welcome it! There are many provocative books out there right now, and are likely to be many more after this very divisive election season. In this issue are four reviews and an essay response to a fifth book, and any one of them could be the topic for an entire issue. I love that our re- viewers did a deep read of each book and are fair but fearless in their reviews. I am gratified that my successor, Jamie LaRue, calls for civility in our discourse, just as Mr. Roberts does in his opinion piece. Martin Garnar’s review reflects his experience teaching library ethics and caring deeply about this subject. He is followed by Sara Dallas, who tells us how to get involved with ALA’s Committee on Professional Ethics. I think you will especially enjoy Olivia Griffiths’ “Burning to Read,” an account of how she engaged her students in Fahrenheit 451. I never cease to be inspired by high school students, like those in her essay, and those at Lane Tech High School in Chicago who protest- ed the attempted removal of Persepolis from the Chicago Public Schools curriculum. And, of course, look at our cover. Mary Beth Tinker was thirteen and her brother John was fifteen, when they wore those black armbands protesting the Vietnam War. I wish Mary Beth well on her Tinker Tours!

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND PRIVACY _ SUMMER/FALL 2016 3 EDITORIAL Information

Let the Information Flow

Franklin D. Roberts ([email protected]), Assistant Dean of Library Services, Georgia Gwinnett College

bout twenty years ago I became the library director at a small state college in a far-northern state, known mostly for liberal social stances even among its conser- Avative electorate. So I was taken aback when the head of computing recommended I install the same filtering software used in the public school system to protect students from getting into “mischief” online. College students are taking their first steps into adulthood, I explained when declining his offer, and they should get into mischief. They should be testing their boundaries, finding out the world is much different than the dinner conversations they grew up with surrounded by people whose main goal was protecting them.

I believed then, and still believe now, that my job as an want to read about how people justify having The Story information professional is to help people challenge the of Little Black Sambo books alongside the updated Sam and ideas they have been exposed to, to find out that other the Tigers, or how we inform students that even though people have other ideas and other ways of living their lives expression of contrary opinions might offend them, it is that may even be diametrically opposed to what they have dangerous to simply say there can be no expression of con- been exposed to as “normal.” The only way students, or trary opinions. And regarding those contrary opinions, the patrons I used to serve as a public librarian, can know who decides which ones we get to explore and which ones that there are other ways of looking at the world is to have we do not—who says something is “good,” or something as much unfettered access to information as I can give is “bad?” Should only prevailing opinions be considered, them. However, I also believe it is my role as an informa- or should we consider not only what is orthodox, but also tion professional to help equip these people with informa- what is speculative? There are pluses to sharing a common tion literacy skills to locate the most accurate sources they culture, but there can also be strength in considering ideas can find in the middle of all of the “noise” out there. It is that are not our own. I want to know how librarians are also to help inform students (and faculty and administra- helping people who may be exploring new roles or ideas tors and many others) that the First Amendment does al- in the world—sexual orientation, emancipation from bad low for disagreement, even if it is messy. relationships, politically unpopular ideas—and making As a newly reformed journal devoted to intellectual these ideas accessible to their patrons in what is perceived freedom and privacy, The Journal of Intellectual Freedom and to be an increasingly insular political climate. How do we Privacy has a key role for both the information profession- stand up to censors, left and right, who want to protect al and the layperson. It is a place we can spar about how us from our own thoughts, not to mention the thoughts we weigh freedom of access with freedom from offense—I of “evil” Muslims or “racist” white male oppressors? The

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND PRIVACY _ SUMMER/FALL 2016 4 INFORMATION _ EDITORIAL

status quo should never be the status quo—if everything is revelation even matter? Is it just another means to vi- always comfortable, how are we learning anything? I want ral-video fame? I want to read about how my colleagues to find out how my colleagues challenge the status quo are struggling with disclosure versus discretion, and I simply by letting information flow. want to know if someone has found an answer, or at least Along with intellectual freedom, this journal focuses a direction, to help balance those scales. And then there on privacy issues. We are living in a world that is rapidly is regulatory disclosure—do terrorist acts like Septem- becoming post-privacy—a world of Edward Snowden and ber 11 or the Bataclan concert hall attacks in Paris justify Anonymous and many other groups government having a back door to all or individuals who are making it encryption in the name of protecting their cause to expose everything that us from bad guys? Does this back door is private to the public. This leads to IN A POST-PRIVACY open our lives to too much intrusion? powerful revelations, like torture at WORLD, DOES Does safety only mean no one has Abu Ghraib or learning of the Tali- privacy? Is that too high of a price for ban trying to silence Malala Yousafzai REVELATION EVEN reassurance, or do the lives of our chil- in Pakistan. But it also opens us up to dren matter more than who we are as embarrassing personal revelations— MATTER? individuals in the privacy of our own is there more than titillation driving homes? revelations of who among our neigh- My hope is that others out there bors may have had an Ashley Madison account? How do will take notice of this discussion and take part in it. It we weigh the need for shedding light for the greater good can be rational, passionate, dynamic, linear, or even blank with the public’s seemingly insatiable need for dirt? As we verse, for all I care. The thoughts of others are important. nudge closer to Andy Warhol’s “fifteen minutes of fame” My son taught me the quote, “None of us is as smart as prophecy, how much, ethically, do we really need to know all of us.” All of us have voices and experiences—it is my about everyone else? And, in a post-privacy world, does hope we share both in these pages.

Seeking Nominations and Applications for Editor

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom seeks an Editor for the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy, a quarterly journal dedicated to both professional discourse and current news about intellectual freedom and privacy issues in libraries. The Editor will responsible for overseeing the journal’s editorial content and working with its volunteer editorial board to shape the journal’s direction. Responsibilities include soliciting and editing long-form submissions and book reviews, overseeing the peer-review process for submitted manuscripts that require review, and working with the news editor and OIF staff to identify and develop content for the journal’s censorship news and court reports sections. The position is part- time and editors are compensated on a per-issue basis. Candidates should ideally have an advanced degree in library and information sciences, law, or human- ities and a strong background and interest in intellectual freedom, privacy, and professional ethics. Interested candidates should send letters of inquiry to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60611. Correspondence may also be sent electronically to [email protected].

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND PRIVACY _ SUMMER/FALL 2016 5 PROFESSIONAL FEATURE PRINCIPLES

Professional Principles and Ethics in LIS Graduate Curricula

Martin Garnar ([email protected]), Dean, Kraemer Family Library, University of Colorado Colorado Springs

s a degree, the master of library science is regularly questioned as to whether it is still effective as preparation for professional roles in the field.1 Concerns range Afrom a lack of technical proficiency and practical skills in graduates to whether a graduate degree is even necessary to be a librarian. Defenders of the degree talk about the theoretical foundation given to graduates of library and information science (LIS) programs, including a grounding in the principles and values that undergird the professional work of a librarian. If that is one of the primary justifications of the degree, then it is important to understand how those principles and values, including professional ethics, are taught in library and information science programs. More than twenty years have elapsed since Shel- ley Rogers conducted a comprehensive review of ethics education in LIS program,2 so the American Library Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics decided to undertake a survey of all accredited LIS programs to ascertain the current state of ethics education in graduate programs, compare it to historical approaches, and discover how the committee can best use its resources to support the teaching of ethics to future librarians.

Literature Review record, and equity of access.3 Koehler also noted that ex- When we discuss ethics education, what do we mean? amining codes of ethics from a variety of professional li- How do we agree upon the values that are covered by the brary and information organizations revealed six common broad topic of ethics in library and information science topics: patrons’ rights and privileges, social issues, access (LIS)? Koehler drew upon the LIS literature to identify issues, selection issues, responsibilities to the employer, and commonly supported values within the library profession, professional practice.4 Surveys conducted by Koehler and including intellectual freedom, privacy, intellectual prop- others found that while librarians tend to share these com- erty, professional neutrality, preservation of the cultural mon professional values, there is no agreement within the

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profession as to how they should be ranked in importance. way through a required seminar on issues in LIS in the final Therefore, Koehler believes that LIS students should be ex- semester.13 Dow et al. noted that case-based learning for posed to the range of thinking on ethics within the field. ethics was an effective approach for enhancing the ability How professional ethics are taught in LIS programs has of students to describe basic principles of ethics, apply those been studied in varying degrees of detail. Rogers conducted principles when faced with a dilemma, and increase overall a survey of ALA-accredited LIS programs in 1992 regard- interest in information ethics.14 ing ethics in the curriculum.5 With responses from 52 out As part of the broader topic of professional ethics in of 59 institutions, Rogers determined that while only six LIS, the field of information ethics has also been the sub- programs had stand-alone ethics courses, virtually every ject of some discussion regarding its place in the curricu- institution reported that ethics was woven throughout the lum. Holverstott-Cockrell made the case that information curriculum, with many programs introducing related top- ethics needed to be added to the LIS curriculum, as the ics in foundational or introductory concerns of traditional profession- courses.6 Only one of the programs al ethics may not reflect the com- with an ethics course required all plications of information use in the students to take it. Rogers noted that IT IS TROUBLING digital world.15 Carbo and Almag- the majority of respondents felt that no reported on the University of a stand-alone course was not the best THAT SOME Pittsburgh’s multiple projects related approach because of the importance to information ethics, including a of ethics to so many topics within li- PROGRAMS HAVE NO course, information ethics fellows, a brary and information science. Prior website, and a lecture series.16 Carbo to the publication of Rogers’s survey APPARENT FOCUS followed with an update detailing results, there were attempts to doc- ON ETHICS IN THEIR their institution’s approach to the ument approaches to ethics educa- course, including the importance of tion at the state level. Blake examined COURSES. examining decision-making mod- the distributive approach to ethics in els and how to address the challeng- LIS curricula at graduate programs es of teaching students from diverse in New York State and suggested backgrounds.17 Britz and Buchanan three options for ensuring that all graduates are exposed to advocated for an immersive approach to information ethics ethical concepts: take a required course, pass a competency education, and suggested that the topic should be embed- exam, or complete a required non-credit colloquium series ded across the curriculum, not restricted to a single class before graduation.7 Representatives from the LIS programs or relegated to one week in another class.18 in North Carolina also reported a distributive approach to Whether it is the broader topic of professional ethics in ethics education in the curriculum.8 library and information science or the narrower topic of Other scholars have written about ethics education in information ethics, the literature shows that most pro- their own institutions. Woodward detailed the topics cov- grams have been taking a distributive approach to ethics ered in an ethics class in Drexel, including ethical theo- in the curriculum, though a handful of programs continue ry, freedom of information versus privacy, ownership of to highlight ethics through dedicated classes. More than information, social responsibilities, affirmative action, and twenty years after Rogers’ research was published, this censorship.9 Woodward believed that anyone working with study aims to discover if the same trends for ethics educa- personal information or making decisions about information are continuing. tion curation should be required to take an ethics course.10 White discussed the heavy use of case studies in his ethics Method classroom and noted the challenge of getting students to This survey was proposed in the spring of 2015 by the think analytically about the cases rather than to just rush to Committee on Professional Ethics (COPE) of the Amer- finding solutions.11 White also noted that the library pro- ican Library Association (ALA).19 Deans and directors of fession’s primary ethical concern is access to information, LIS graduate programs that offer a master of library and and therefore it is the primary focus of ethics education.12 information science accredited either by the ALA or joint- Paskoff described the distributed approach to ethics in the ly by the American Association of School Librarians and curriculum at Louisiana State, giving examples of ethi- the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Prepara- cal topics embedded in the new student orientation all the tion (AASL/CAEP) were contacted by email and asked to

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complete a survey asking about the institution’s approach ethics and principles at the master’s level. However, upon to teaching ethics, as well as how COPE could be of assis- further examination of the course descriptions, only 4 met tance in supporting ethics education in their programs.20 the criteria used by the author when examining the offer- The survey is available in the appendix. ings of non-responding institutions, so there is a large gap Data collection began in the summer of 2015 after a in what the institutions believe to be a specific course on lengthy approval process by the institutional review board ethics compared to the author’s perception. Of the insti- (IRB) at the author’s previous institution. When the author tutions that did not respond, an additional 5 had required moved to his current institution in September 2015, he was courses clearly identifiable as having a specific focus on required to halt data collection and resubmit his project for professional ethics and principles, bringing the overall to- review by his current institution’s IRB. The project was tal to 9 out of 97 institutions (9.3%). approved in October 2015 and data collection resumed, For elective courses with a specific focus on profes- with another round of emails sent to the target institutions sional ethics and principles at the master’s level, 18 of the in October 2015 and again in January 2016 after the author responding institutions indicated the existence of such a presented at the annual Association for Library and Infor- course, with another 13 identified from the non-respond- mation Science Educators (ALISE) conference in Boston ing institutions, for a total of 31 out of 97 institutions and made a plea for greater participation. Of the 97 institu- (31.96%). For courses that include professional principles tions contacted (59 ALA accredited, 38 AASL/CAEP ac- and ethics as part of the learning objectives, 30 of the re- credited), the total number of responses after seven months sponding institutions listed qualifying courses at the mas- of collection was 36 (27 ALA accredited, 9 AASL/CAEP ter’s level, with another 42 non-responding institutions accredited), with an overall response rate of 37.1% (45.8% identified as having courses in this category. Additional- ALA accredited, 23.7% AASL/CAEP accredited). For the ly, 4 of the responding institutions reporting a required institutions that did not respond, the author examined their core class that was later judged by the author to be in the websites and course catalogs to determine (when possible) wrong category did not give an answer for this question, which classes included professional ethics and principles so those courses will be included here, leading to a final as part of the course objectives. Other parts of the survey total of 76 out of 97 institutions (78.35%). could not be completed using this method. Of those programs offering a doctorate (all in institutions also offering an ALA-accredited master’s program), Results only 1 out of 24 (4.17%) has a required course on profes- Ethics Courses sional principles and ethics, while another 10 (41.7%) have Of the institutions that responded, 17 stated that they elective courses on these topics. That means that the ma- had a required course specifically focused on professional jority of doctoral programs (54.17%, or 13 out of 24) have

Table 1. Courses with Ethics Content in LIS Programs Master’s Programs ALA (n = 59) AASL/CAEP (n = 38) Total (n = 97) Required Ethics Course Reported* 2 2 4 Observed 3 2 5 Elective Ethics Course Reported 16 2 18 Observed 12 1 13 Course(s) with Ethics Content Reported** 25 9 34 Observed 28 14 42 * includes only those classes judged to be focused on ethics ** includes classes with ethics content reported elsewhere

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Table 2. Use of COPE publications in LIS programs No. (%) of Respondents Document (N = 36) Code of Ethics of the ALA 33 (91.7%) Copyright: An Interpretation of the Code of Ethics 22 (61.1%) Questions & Answers on Ethics and Social Media (An explanatory statement of the 14 (38.9%) ALA Code of Ethics) Questions & Answers on Conflicts of Interest (An explanatory statement of the ALA 13 (36.1%) Code of Ethics) Questions & Answers on Enforcement of the Code of Ethics of the American Library 13 (36.1%) Association Questions & Answers on Speech in the Workplace (An explanatory statement of the 10 (27.8%) ALA Code of Ethics) no identifiable courses with professional principles and with a required ethics course said that ethics is covered ethics as a focus. Given that the majority of master’s pro- both in the required class as well as in other classes across grams in LIS offer courses in this area, perhaps the doc- the curriculum and also noted that there are a few ethi- toral programs can assume that entering students will have cists on the faculty. Finally, two programs noted that the been exposed to these concepts at the master’s level. ethical use of information is emphasized through either Comparing programs accredited by ALA to those ac- through learning citation styles or using anti-plagiarism credited by AASL/CAEP, overall the ALA programs are software, in addition to discussions of professional values much more likely to have courses with content related to in various assignments. professional principles and ethics, though there is a slightly higher percentage of AASL/CAEP programs with re- COPE Documents and Activities quired courses (10.53%, or 4 out of 38 AASL/CAEP pro- COPE spends a significant amount of time on develop- grams compared to 8.47%, or 5 out of 59 ALA programs). ing policy statements and other documents intended to Looking at electives focused on professional principles and provide guidance to librarians in the field. As a result, the ethics, 47.54% of ALA programs (28 out of 59) have such committee wanted to know if any of the various docu- a course, while only 7.89% of AASL/CAEP programs ments produced by COPE were covered in their curricu- (3 out of 38) offer a course in this category. Likewise, lum. Table 2 shows the results by title. The Code of Eth- 89.83% of ALA programs (53 out of 59) have courses that ics, as a core document, has a solid place in the curriculum include ethics as part of (but not the focus of) the content, at responding institutions. The copyright interpretation, compared to 60.53% of AASL/CAEP programs (23 out of though the most recent of the documents, is also used by a 38). Without knowing enrollment patterns in the cours- majority of the respondents. es with ethics content, it is hard to say how many students Since the survey was conducted on behalf of COPE, in a given program are exposed to those professional val- some of the questions were geared to potential future ac- ues, but it does appear that a student in an ALA-accredit- tivities of the committee, such as new explanatory state- ed program is more likely to have an opportunity to learn ments related to the Code of Ethics and other services that about professional principles and ethics than is a student could be useful to LIS programs. When asked to rank top- enrolled in an AASL/CAEP-accredited program. ics for new documents related to the Code of Ethics, the When asked to “briefly describe your program’s ap- most popular response was for “Personal Beliefs and Pro- proach to ethics education in the curriculum,” the vast fessional Responsibilities” followed closely by “Profession- majority of respondents, including all AASL/CAEP pro- al Conduct.” Almost half the respondents also indicated grams that commented on this question, reported that the that a statement on “Professional Development” would be teaching of ethics was distributed throughout the curric- useful, while one respondent also suggested that the exist- ulum. A few noted that ethics was a focus in a required ing question and answer documents maintained by COPE foundations class, while one respondent from a program could be customized for the K-12 setting.

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As for other services that could be offered by the com- throughout the curriculum is still the favored method. mittee, two-thirds of the respondents said that infograph- What remains to be seen is how effective this method is. ics, pamphlets, or other brief publications would be useful, Though this survey was able to document the stability of and another third of the respondents said it would be help- the place of professional principles and ethics in graduate ful to get support or assistance in creating ethics courses or LIS curricula, it did not assess the effectiveness of this ap- curricula. The idea of direct connections between students proach. Future research is necessary to develop an assess- and COPE such as chat sessions or mentor connections ment tool for measuring whether the current practice of was less popular, so the higher level tasks of producing distributed ethics education achieves the goal of inculcat- policy statements and offering curricular advice were the ing new librarians with the core values of the profession. clear priority for the respondents. During the revision process of the most recent ALA Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Li- Discussion brary and Information Studies,21 COPE submitted com- The majority of LIS graduate programs include an elements regarding the place of professional principles and ment of ethics education as part of their curricula. How- ethics within those standards and pushed for more speci- ever, it is troubling that some programs have no apparent ficity regarding student learning outcomes. COPE should focus on ethics in their courses based on published mate- continue to work with the ALA Committee on Accredi- rials, including 1 ALA-accredited program and 13 AASL/ tation to assess the impact of ethics education in accredited CAEP-accredited programs. While it is certainly possible programs and should consider establishing a relationship that the actual levels of ethics-based content are not ap- with AASL to look at the place of ethics in CAEP-accred- parent from course descriptions or titles, the very lack of ited programs. Meanwhile, there are a number of oppor- prominence regarding professional ethics and principles is tunities for COPE to expand its library of documents and an indicator of their importance (or lack thereof) within statements related to professional ethics. The popularity the curriculum. of the copyright interpretation is notable given its relative When asked about their program’s approach to eth- newness. Whether this high usage rate is because of the ics education, one respondent included their program’s content or because of the document’s status as an interpre- student learning outcome addressing professional values tation, the committee may want to consider choosing to and ethics and noted that the application of the outcome create interpretations over question and answer documents in each class varies depending on the expertise of the in- when addressing new topics if they believe that the con- structor. Ultimately, this is the issue when the teaching of tent warrants more attention. ethics is distributed across the curriculum, as students may The second paragraph of the preamble to the ALA have different levels of exposure to and engagement with Code of Ethics closes with the following sentence: “The professional values and ethics depending on which in- American Library Association Code of Ethics states the structors they have. values to which we are committed, and embodies the Comparing these survey results to those from Shelley ethical responsibilities of the profession in this changing Rogers’s of more than twenty years ago, the number of information environment.”22 In order for those values and ALA-accredited institutions offering stand-alone, required ethical responsibilities to be embraced by future genera- ethics courses is virtually unchanged, and it appears that tions of library workers, they must be a central learning the approach of weaving professional principles and ethics outcome of any library education program.

Notes

1. Michael Kelley, “Can We Talk about the MLS?,” Library Jour- 2. Shelley L. Rogers, “Accredited Library School Education in nal 138, no. 8 (2013): 8; John Bertot, Lindsay Sarin, and Paul Ethics,” Journal of Education for Library & Information Science 35, Jaeger, “Re-Envisioning the MLS,” Public Libraries 54, no. 6 no. 1 (1994): 51–55. (2015): 23–33; James L. Mullins, “Are MLS Graduates Being 3. Wallace Kohler, “Professional Values and Ethics as Defined by Prepared for the Changing and Emerging Roles that Librari- ‘The LIS Discipline,’” Journal of Education for Library & Informa- ans Must Now Assume Within Research Libraries?,” Journal of tion Science 44, no. 2 (Spring 2003): 102. Library Administration 52, no. 1 (January 2012): 124–32. 4. Ibid., 105.

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND PRIVACY _ SUMMER/FALL 2016 10 Professional Principles _ FEATURE

5. Rogers, “Accredited Library School Education in Ethics.” 16. Toni Carbo and Stephen Almagno, “Information Ethics: The 6. Ibid., 53. Duty, Privilege and Challenge of Educating Information Pro- 7. Virgil L. P. Blake, “Ethics and Intellectual Freedom in the fessionals,” Library Trends 49, no. 3 (Winter 2001): 510. Library, Education of Library and Information Science Professionals,” Information Science & Technology Abstracts, EBSCOhost (accessed Bookmark 48, (1989): 28–31. April 26, 2015). 8. “Ethics in Library/Information Science Education,” North 17. Toni Carbo, “Ethics Education for Information Professionals,” Carolina Libraries 51, (Spring 1993): 23–27. Journal of Library Administration 47, no. 3/4 (2008): 5–25. 9. Diana Woodward, “Teaching Ethics for Information Profes- 18. Johannes Britz and Elizabeth A. Buchanan, “Ethics from the sionals,” Journal of Education for Library & Information Science 30, Bottom Up? Immersive Ethics and the LIS Curriculum,” Jour- no. 2 (1989): 132–35. nal of Information Ethics 19, no. 1 (2010): 12–19. 10. Ibid., 135 19. At the time of the survey’s proposal, the author was chair of 11. Herbert S. White, “Teaching Professional Ethics to Students COPE. of Library and Information Science,” in Ethics and the Librar- 20. The survey was developed by COPE members and initial re- ian, ed. F. W. Lancaster (Urbana-Champaign: University of search assistance was provided by COPE members Mary Jane Illinois, 1991), 41. Santos and Stephen Phelan, who compiled the contact infor- 12. Ibid., 36. mation for the graduate programs. 13. Beth M. Paskoff, “Teaching Professional Ethics in Library 21. American Library Association, “Standards for Accreditation of Schools,” LLA Bulletin 58 (1995): 39–42. Master’s Programs in Library and Information Studies,” 14. Dow, Mirah J., et al., “Case-based Learning as Pedago- accessed August 31, 2016, www.ala.org/accreditedpro gy for Teaching Information Ethics Based on the Dervin grams/sites/ala.org.accreditedprograms/files/content Sense-Making Methodology,” Journal of Education for Library & /standards/Standards_2015_adopted_02-02-15.pdf. Information Science 56, no. 2 (Spring2015 2015): 141–57. Library, 22. American Library Association, “Code of Ethics of the Ameri- Information Science & Technology Abstracts, EBSCOhost (accessed can Library Association,” accessed August 31st, 2016, www August 13, 2016). .ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics. 15. Michael Holverstott-Cockrell, “The Need for Information Ethics: A Graduate Student’s Perspective,” Library & Archival Security 14, no. 2 (July 1998): 67–73.

Appendix: Survey Instrument

The purpose of this survey is to examine the inclusion of ●● [open text boxes] professional ethics and principles in LIS education. For the ●● If you offer a doctorate, please list the title of any purposes of this survey, we will define professional ethics required course or courses specifically about profession- and principles to include access to information, intellectual ethics and principles. al freedom, privacy, copyright, and professional conduct. ●● Include an option for “NA” ●● What is the name of your institution? ●● If you offer a doctorate, please list the title of any ●● For your master’s program, please list the title of any elective course or courses specifically about professional required course or courses specifically about profession- ethics and principles. al ethics and principles. ●● Include an option for “NA” ●● Include an option for “NA” ●● If you offer a doctorate, please list the title of any other ●● For your master’s program, please list the title of any course or courses that cover professional ethics and prin- elective course or courses specifically about professional ciples as part of the coursework ethics and principles. ●● Name of course: % of course about professional ethics ●● Include an option for “NA” and principles: ●● For your master’s program, please list the title of any ______other course or courses that cover professional ethics and ______principles as part of the coursework ______●● Name of course: % of course about professional ethics ●● Briefly describe your program’s approach to ethics edu- and principles: cation in the curriculum.

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND PRIVACY _ SUMMER/FALL 2016 11 Professional Principles _ FEATURE

●● Do the course(s) that cover professional ethics and prin- ❍❍ Personal Beliefs and Professional Responsibilities ciples include any of the following ALA statements in the ❍❍ Other ______course content? Check all that apply. ●● How can the American Library Association and Com- ❍❍ the Code of Ethics of the ALA mittee on Professional Ethics support your faculty in the ❍❍ Copyright: An Interpretation of the Code of Ethics teaching of ethics and related principles? Check all that ❍❍ Questions & Answers on Conflicts of Interest (An ex- apply: planatory statement of the ALA Code of Ethics) ❍❍ Mentor connections ❍❍ Questions & Answers on Enforcement of the Code of ❍❍ Email/Chats with students in related classes Ethics of the American Library Association ❍❍ Infographics, pamphlets, or other brief publications ❍❍ Questions & Answers on Ethics and Social Media (An ❍❍ Other ______explanatory statement of the ALA Code of Ethics) ❍❍ Questions & Answers on Speech in the Workplace (An explanatory statement of the ALA Code of Ethics) ●● On which topics would you find additional interpretations of the Code of Ethics and/or Q & As to be useful? ❍❍ Professional Conduct ❍❍ Professional Development

Call for Submissions

The Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy seeks submissions related to intellectual freedom and privacy, both in libraries and in the wider world. Submissions can include the following: • research articles (peer review upon request) • articles and essays discussing or describing policies, practices, projects, legal issues, and scholarly activities about or related to intellectual freedom, privacy, and professional ethics • personal accounts of censorship and intellectual freedom challenges • opinion pieces and essays on current and topical intellectual freedom and privacy issues • book and publication reviews The Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy encourages publishers and authors to submit books and other materials for review. Please send all inquiries, submissions, and review copies to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60611. Items may also be sent electronically to [email protected].

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND PRIVACY _ SUMMER/FALL 2016 12 FEATURE COPE

ALA Committee on Professional Ethics

Scott P. Muir ([email protected]), Associate Provost, Library information Services, Rowan University. Muir has been a librarian since 1978 and was formerly active in the Special Libraries Association and has been active in the American Library Association since 1987. He is currently a member of COPE. Sara Dallas ([email protected]), Director, Southern Adirondack Library System. Dallas serves as chair of COPE and is an American Library Association councilor at large. She served on the Public Library Association board and has been active in many ALA and PLA committees.

What is COPE and Why Does It Exist? What is the Code of Ethics? The Committee on Professional Ethics (COPE) is an The Committee on Professional Ethics has also been American Library Association (ALA) Council Committee. charged with reviewing the ALA Code of Professional COPE’s charge is to augment the ALA Code of Ethics by Ethics which can be found on their website. explanatory interpretations and additional statements, pre- The Code of Ethics, initially adopted in 1939, is in- pared by the committee or elicited from other units of tended to be a set of guiding principles for how librari- ALA. When units of the Association develop statements ans and library staff conduct themselves in their interac- dealing with ethical issues, a copy is sent to the Com- tions with library users, with their colleagues, and in the mittee on Professional Ethics for review so that it may be provision of excellent service. These guidelines are not compared to the existing ALA Code of Ethics in order prescriptive and neither this committee nor ALA has the to determine whether or not conflicts are present. COPE power to censure any librarian who does not follow the then offers non-binding opinions on issues before the ALA guidelines. Other library organizations such as the Special Council. Libraries Association and the Medical Library Association The Council on Committees appoints the seven mem- have similar codes of ethics. bers of COPE. In addition, ALA Divisions are asked to recommend a liaison to meet with COPE and to share What Does the Committee Do? areas of concerns from the Division and the field, as well The committee meets at ALA Annual and ALA Midwin- as report back to the Divisions on the work of the com- ter to discuss items of business, develop programming, mittee. The COPE liaisons offer a much richer process for and prepare a report each year for ALA Council. COPE engaging in discussion on ideas in the formal meetings. conducts some business electronically throughout the year.

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COPE members are also asked to serve on various ALA populations. She is President of Information New Wave, a working groups. One of major activities of the committee not-for-profit, seeking to bring education to multiethnic is to develop a program for ALA Annual. populations. Garcia-Febo is a member of the ALA Ex- COPE continuously looks for ways to raise awareness ecutive Board and the IFLA Governing Board. She was of potential ethical dilemmas in the field. The 2016 ALA instrumental in developing the IFLA’s Code of Ethics for Annual program was “No Room at the Library.” The Librarians and other Information Workers. Also serving committee decided the format “What Would You Do?” on the panel were Jeffrey Sowder, Anastasia Chiu, and created an opportunity help people think about real-life Sara Ahmed. The program room was packed with near- situations, before they might occur in their work setting. ly 125 people, with many standing in the back. Attend- Nine committee members acted in three short skits ees interactively engaged with the panel, each other, and highlighting scenarios that might occur in libraries. The the COPE members. The audience members offered their scenarios focused on religious insensitivity toward a Mus- ideas and concerns, with some sharing the difficulties they lim employee by a patron, a complaint about a transgender face in their local environments. This program format has person using a restroom, and a group planning to use li- been well received in the past and COPE plans to repeat brary meeting room space that wanted to limit participation it again. COPE is now considering potential scenarios for in their meeting only to people of a certain race. Each skit the 2017 Conference in Chicago. ended with the question, “what would you do?” The purpose of the program was to present provocative situations The Future for consideration. The scenarios and discussions were not Another way the committee is looking to raise ethical intended to state that there was a specific right answer to awareness is through a survey developed by past COPE any of these situations, but instead to help the audience con- Chair, Martin Garnar (see p. 6). The survey investigat- sider how they would want to respond to these situations if ed how professional ethics are taught in LIS programs, and when they happened in their library. Each scenario was with results being reported in this issue of the Journal of followed by comments and opinions from the audience. Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. Other awareness efforts The panel included Loida Garcia-Febo, who served include the possibility of developing an ethics toolkit and both as moderator and who set the tone of the program communicating with the ALA divisions and round tables by giving an overview of ethics. Loida is well known to improve communication and understanding regarding for her work with international human rights, advocacy the role of COPE. and access to information, and in working with diverse

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Burning To Read

Letters from My Students in support of Banned Books Week and the Freedom to Read Foundation

Olivia Griffiths ([email protected]) is an English teacher at Ursuline Academy in Dedham, Massachusetts. She previously taught at St. Johnsbury Academy in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where the students were and continue to be a source of inspiration and hilarity.

am cognizant of how lucky I am. When I decided to teach Fahrenheit 451 to my Acceler- ated Juniors during spring semester at St. Johnsbury Academy, the biggest administrative I roadblock I faced was finding two minutes in the English department head’s schedule to ask him face to face if I could. He said yes. And that was that. I did not have to fight with school boards, parents, or neighborhood committees. The books I handed out to my students may have been a little musty—ok, maybe a lot musty—but there were no “hells” and “damns” blacked out, no pages removed, and less than five minutes after Steve Jolliffe said “yes” I left the subterranean book room with an entire box of them at my disposal.

This is not the case everywhere. A quick Google search only demographic who have valid claim to libelous por- turns up three significant incidences of banning or cen- trayal in F451 are Dalmatians—firehouse dogs get a pretty sorship of F451 (we shortened the title in class for quick- sadistic rap.) But for me, it was easy; I wanted to teach a ness of discussion and also because I really like acronyms) book, and I was allowed to do so. It was my decision, my in America. In 1987, a school in Panama City, Florida right, my freedom. relegated it to the ignominious “third-tier” status, citing The irony of banning a book that is itself an indict- “a lot of vulgarity”; in 1992, a school in Irvine City, CA, ment of book banning of course provides a natural learn- redacted all the “obscene” words before distributing the ing opportunity. Before I began teaching, I spent ten years books to students; in 2006, during Banned Books Week, in publishing and participated in the outreach for and incidentally, a school in Montgomery County, Texas was promotion surrounding the ALA’s tireless Banned Books forced by parents to ban it due to offensive language, in- Week campaign. Given my familiarity with the campaign, cidences of Bible burning, violence, the negative portray- many of my lessons essentially planned themselves. Most al of Christians, and, both noteworthy and hilarious, the of my students already knew about Banned Books Week, negative depiction of firemen. (Personally, I think the at least peripherally, and could recall anecdotal incidences

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of Harry Potter being burned or evince a passing familiari- accurately as he did: for, in 1953, predicting that we would ty with titles like Beloved or Lolita being banned. Together, spend our lives absorbed in screens that told us what other we looked at the list of Banned Books throughout US his- people were doing; for, in 1953, predicting, literally pre- tory, and discussed the “rationale” behind the banning of dicting, reality, and now interactive, television. In “The each one. Some made sense to my students, some elicited Hearth and the Salamander,” when Montag asks Mildred gasps of horror or disbelief. Many found their own per- what’s on that afternoon, she tells him that she’s watch- sonal favorites on the list; Looking for Alaska and The Perks ing a play with one part deliberately left uncast: “When it of Being a Wallflower were particularly indignation-in- comes time for the missing lines, they all look at me out of ducing. Wesley Kane, who is as old school as they come, the three walls and I say the lines.” I hate to write this, but (literally, the kid is the reincarnation of Jimmy Stewart) I’m going to anyway: Ray Bradbury predicted Dora The nearly exploded when he found out that The Call of the Explorer. No wonder the future is so bleak. Wild had once been challenged. I asked my students, first Bradbury somehow saw that eventually we would in an all class discussion, then again in a written home- cease to be satisfied with merely observing our enter- work piece, if they had one book to save from such treat- tainment, that eventually we would need to be part of ment, what would it be and why? Perks came up, as did it, too. When those hashtags appear at the bottom of the The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey, Pride and Prejudice by Jane screen during . . . well, almost every primetime show Austen, and the Bible. I bit my tongue when Samantha now . . . that’s exactly what Mildred is saying. If I’m Molleur claimed My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult, and watching (OK, fine, judge) Property Brothers, HGTV is not reminded myself that she was young and would soon learn satisfied with me just watching. They want me to get on the error of her ways, that not everyone shared my deep, my phone and tweet which house I prefer, #concretechaos deep, deep disdain for ol’ J.P., and that it would break the or #woodenwonderland. Just now, when I went to the bounds of hypocrisy to shame her in a lesson surrounding show’s website to search hashtags, my computer offered censorship. What was interesting was the commonality to remind me when the next episode will air. The level of of reason behind each choice. All my students saved their interaction that is now demanded by my entertainment is one book because of the message it promoted, and because literally and figuratively the four walls that Mildred wants of the importance they perceived that message to have for Montag to install in their parlor. And let’s be honest with society. And that message was universally one of tolerance, each other, we give that interaction willingly. We can’t acceptance, and understanding. Saving a book that tells just watch a show anymore; we have to live inside of it. In you to be a good person doesn’t just save that one book, it class, we talked about Twitter, the twenty-four-hour news saves the idea of being a good person, too. And everyone cycle, reality television, Kim Kardashian, and (God help who reads it, or hopefully the majority who do, are good, us) Donald Trump and the 2016 primaries. I once had to are better, people, because of reading it. Saving a book tell a kid to take his headphones out so he could join our simply because it makes you happy is completely and ut- discussion of the ear Seashells that Mildred won’t stop terly legitimate. Saving a book because it makes you happy wearing. The concept of three-dimensional immersive en- and because it helps the world be a better place, that’s a tertainment, the desired addition of that fourth, encircling whole different story. So first, my students are awesome. wall, the idea of a population deliberately and increasingly And second, they know that books can change the world. blocking out everything to the exclusion of shiny, happy, (I refer you back to point one.) and of-the-moment things, all of this was so close, so real, Teaching F451 in 2016, too, added an entirely new and so terrifyingly predictive, that my kids were torn between entirely terrifying dimension to the work. I lost track of being impressed at Bradbury’s clairvoyance and being dis- how many times someone raised a hand and said “Wait, gusted at themselves for first creating and then perpetuat- are you sure this was written in 1953?” Bradbury’s dys- ing this world. It was simultaneously really cool and really, topian portrayal of a world constantly at war with itself, really scary. self-medicating with media, and deliberately blinkering So. All well and good. F451 offered pretty much ev- themselves to reality in favor of soap bubble entertain- erything you could want in a classroom text. Engaged and ment is freakishly similar to our current existence. The engrossed students, vibrant class discussions of censorship, parallels we can now draw between our society and that free speech, and mass media, contemporary parallels to of Guy Montag redefine the concept of foreshadowing. I everyday life, outrage, shock, hilarity, vocabulary, liter- don’t think we give Bradbury enough credit for predict- ary analysis, and the usual shouting, ridiculous dancing, ing the excesses of our entertainment obsessed culture as and esoteric tangents that generally punctuate my classes.

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But what else? There comes that time in the teaching of a torch, light, beacon, whatever you want to call it, that text when you have to ask yourself “But what are my stu- would remind people what they were fighting for and dents going to do with this information? How will they why. show me that they have learned a skill or a thought pro- OK, so here is where I stop waxing lyrical and say as a cess, and how can I assess their knowledge?” The mes- caveat that I had no plans of death (mine or anyone else’s) sage of F451, is that books, words, ideas, should never, for this final project. Whilst I am the first person to go can never, be censored, by anyone, for any reason. That the wall for my students, and the first person to tell them censoring, blocking truth, limiting yourself to those shiny, to give it their all, advocating a fiery conflagration for happy, and of-the-moment things, engenders stupidity, the sake of a final grade might be pushing it slightly. But ignorance, and anarchy. As Bradbury himself writes in his the principle remained. I had ignited that (metaphorical) closing and mind-blowing letter to the reader, “The real spark, and I wanted to turn it into a raging fire. In my ten world is the playing ground for each and every group, to years in publishing, I worked fairly closely with the ALA make or unmake laws. But the tip of the nose of my books and their Freedom To Read initiative. Given my famil- or stories or poems is where their iarity with the campaign, it struck rights end and my territorial imper- me as an interactive, authentic, and atives begin, run and rule.” Within fun idea to have my students write the covers of a book exist whatever BANNING BOOKS a letter to the organizers of Banned thoughts, words, feelings, or ideas Books Week in support of their ef- the author desired to write down. WILL NOT SOLVE OUR forts. A letter would (articulately) If you as a reader wish to read and channel their indignation; it would share them, then great, read on. If PROBLEMS. READING light an (articulate) candle, which, you don’t, then don’t. It’s as simple THEM JUST MIGHT. hopefully, would never be extin- as that. What remains paramount, guished. It would serve as an (articu- crucial, essential, what remains nec- late) wake up call and an (articulate) essary for the survival and progress reminder to themselves and others of civilization itself, is the right of every human being to that censorship is alive and kicking, and that complacency read on, or not, as they themselves see fit. It’s that “un- in some cases is as good as support. alienable” right that those who seek to ban and censor For who better to speak out on behalf of the freedom have lost sight of, or have deliberately chosen to ignore. to read in schools than students themselves? Who bet- In discussing censorship, I had tapped outrage and dis- ter to express the desire to learn from whatever source belief that such a “dystopian” idea was put into practice on they choose, to expose themselves to whatever writing a regular basis. As a teacher, I had succeeded in sparking and ideas they choose, than the ones doing the learning? something inside my students. As a teacher, I now had to A letter would test their expository writing and interpre- take that spark and do something with it. I had to kin- tive skills, and, considering we were in the home stretch dle it, and keep it burning. But how? I suppose the word before summer vacation, would be a powerful and uplift- “spark” and F451’s ubiquitous flame metaphors had a lot ing note on which to finish. In class I distributed copies to do with what came next. In “The Hearth and the Sala- of the Freedom To Read Statement, readily available on mander,” that famous Hugh Latimer quote is spoken by an the ALA’s website. Included within it is the affirmation of old woman as the firemen burn down her house with her seven propositions, guaranteed by the Constitution, of an inside it: “Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day individual’s right to read. After reading the statement and light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust the propositions, the students were given the following shall never be put out.” Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were assignment: burnt at the stake for heresy in 1555. They were, when you think about it, some of the earliest activists against Write a letter to Banned Books Week. In it, explain that you censorship, together with Thomas Cranmer, in fighting have just read Fahrenheit 451 (itself a banned book!) and why for their freedom to read The Book of Common Prayer. But you as a student agree with the propositions above. How did as Latimer urged Ridley on that unfortunately damp Oc- your reading shape your interpretation and reaction to these tober day, in death they wanted to be a symbol of those propositions? You can pick one in particular to focus on, or who had gone before them and to those who would come treat them generally. We will be sending these to the Amer- after. They wanted their deaths to be that spark, candle, ican Library Association! Make them GOOD! If you wish,

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for extra credit on this project, you may create a video, a on the effort front was immediately pushed over the edge. piece of poetry, art, anything you feel represents your letter. These weren’t just going to be letters in support of intellectual freedom. These were going to be, and I quote, “The. My kids were excited. They loved the idea of their let- Best. Letters. EVER.” ters being sent to an influential, national organization. They And you know what? They kind of were. loved that they were able to express themselves passionate- Below is an excerpt from each student’s letter. Feel free ly and wholeheartedly, and that they could do it in their to tear up, cheer, or do a happy dance. I did, many times. own words. I jumped the gun slightly and, name-drop- I have to give them credit, they took this assignment and ping all the way, emailed Macey Morales, Director of the ran with it, producing work beyond anything I could ALA’s Public Awareness Office, ahead of time. Macey very have expected. I am immensely proud of all of them, and kindly put me in touch with James LaRue, Director of the it only breaks my heart that now, as I teach in a different Office for Intellectual Freedom. From him, I secured at school, I don’t get to deliver this article and the ensuing least a nebulous inkling that their letters (if worthy) might praise face to face. But my kids should consider that candle see the light of publication. When I broke that news the lit. And if they have anything to do with it, it will remain next morning, anyone remaining even vaguely ambivalent burning brightly for quite some time to come.

Taking away our intellectual freedom turns us into robots. writing, which leads me to another one of your resolutions: What someone decides to read in their free time should not “Both governmental intimidation and the fear of censor- be dictated by anyone. I have read some of the books that ship cause authors who seek to avoid controversy to practice take place on the banned books list and they should not be self-censorship, thus limiting our access to new ideas.” Peo- there. Those books tell beautiful, thought provoking sto- ple that republish Fahrenheit 451 will take out the words like ries and those stories are being taken away from us. Though “damn” and “hell” to allow it on to library and bookstore only a small amount of the many books out there are being shelves. It has happened to other books as well, for example, banned, the act of banning books in general is just anathe- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Gone with ma to me, whether it be a handful of books like they do in the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, and The Grapes of Wrath by our present day world, or all of the books like in Fahrenheit John Steinbeck. Where would society be if those books had 451. . . . Humans need to be trusted. People should able to been banned? I think that our society would be filled with read something and take what they will from it. We do not people that do not appreciate the value of books and the ideas believe everything we hear, we live in a world where ex- that fill them. I do not think I would like that society. pressing your opinion with evidence and reasoning is honor- (Grace Callaghan) able. Let us put these skills to good use and flourish. (Kylie Beausoleil) Freedom is a precious commodity that is cherished by this nation, so why do we take it for granted? Books are among I believe books are a form of art that and the writer is the our greatest teachers, and it is no coincidence that the na- artist. The writer expresses his or her emotions with words tion’s most cherished literary masterpieces have earned their and through the book. Many artists for instance, Salvador spots on the list of banned novels. Protecting children from Dali, Georgia O’Keefe or just nudes in general are vulgar the difficult realities of the world is an exercise in futility. In and inappropriate to the viewer; But yet are viewed by thou- a media-flooded world, information travels faster than any sands of people daily in museums and other public venues. petition or town hall assembly. We are going to be exposed Saying what a writer can and can’t put in the book is de- to controversy at one point or another, so we might as well stroying the creative genius. Sometimes the writer may have learn something while we’re at it. (Jackson Coyle) to use writing in the context of what happened during that time, and just because it is frowned upon today it doesn’t It would be unfortunate if we, as a society, continue to re- mean that it didn’t happen. (Thomas Buonanno) strict these ideas that provide us with valuable information about the world around us. The perspectives and opinions There are many parallels between our society and Fahrenheit of everyone should be respected, especially if they are tak- 451 that could be drawn if groups of people and individuals ing time to perfect and share their research, knowledge, and continue to try to ban books and have authors censor their ideas about a subject. Even if people disagree with the ideas

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presented, it is important to allow these contradictory works a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it or offer to be accessible to all. As Faber’s third rule states, we must your own version in return.’ The censorship of books should have “the right to carry out actions based on what we learn be left up to individuals themselves, primarily students from the interaction of the first two.” We must not hinder themselves. They should be able to choose whether they this process of learning. We must encourage and facilitate wish to enrich themselves and form their own opinions and the spreading of various ideas and standpoints on a subject, as ideals based upon these literary works. Books should not be this is the only way of learning and expanding our mindset. censored because of their content. A book is a lens into real- It is our duty as individuals, as a society, to pass the torch of ity that every person should have the right to look through unrestricted ideas and viewpoints to others, and to allow ev- or ignore. This decision is not something anyone but you ery work, disagreeable or not, to circulate, unrestricted, for yourself, as the reader should be authorized to make. all to learn. (Wesley Kane) (Samantha Molleur)

By banning books, our society is following in these foot- steps of becoming mindless Mildreds. By banning books, those who ban books are closing people off from topics and BANNING BOOKS IS A WAY OF situations that while uncomfortable, are real events that take place every day in the world. It is important for people to be SUPPRESSING WHAT WOULD OCCUR aware of these events and take action instead of turning blind eyes because they are uncomfortable. By continuing to ban IF EVERYONE WAS FORCED TO books, we are leading our society towards a numb, mindless THINK FOR THEMSELVES ABOUT world like the one in Fahrenheit 451. (Pauleena Kapoukranidis) THE ISSUES THAT REALLY MATTER.

While reading some of the resolutions about Banned Books Week it stood out that one of the main reasons against banning book is because it goes against a person’s person- We must not allow others to dictate how we express our- al freedom. People who want to ban books are often people selves. If people do not like what you have to say, or do not who stick to the Constitution as their main defense of their want to hear it, they can simply not listen. But it is no one’s beliefs. By doing this, but then turning around and banning decision to tell another person what they can or cannot read books, they are being hypocrites because—as also pointed and give attention to. Most people move to ban books be- out by the resolutions—“The freedom to read is protected cause of their harsh language, or vulgar themes. But these by our Constitution.” People should be uncomfortable. Life things are truthful, they are real parts of life. If you don’t like hasn’t, isn’t, and will never be perfect, That’s just a fact. By that then change it, work to do better, but don’t ignore it. only believing what we want to believe we will also only be Don’t shut it down. Books such as To Kill a Mockingbird that living in denial. In the gray boring world. cover the heavy themes of racism and prejudice that shadow In conclusion I commend you for sticking up for books our country’s past are pushed out because people are offend- because we should not be celebrating banned book week. ed by the language and hard to handle topics. But what they Every week should just be book week. (Abigail McNally) should really be offended by is that that was how people really acted in that time, and even now. This should drive I sincerely believe the act of banning books is a tragedy, them to want to make society better, not hide the truth of because our society is so diverse. With the act of censoring our unfortunate actions. You can’t change things if you don’t these texts, we are also in a sense discriminating against di- acknowledge the real problem, and that problem is certainly verse thinking and helping encourage students to have the not the books. We have so much to learn from these stories, same thought processes as well as the same way of compre- especially from Fahrenheit 451. It shows a grave image of hending different events, situations, and many other situa- where our society is going if we continue on the path we are tions they may encounter in their lives. Everyone should be on. It is for these reasons and for many more that we must given the freedom to decide what they read and to com- not ban books. We must cherish them and welcome their prehend the text themselves. That is why I believe there ideas and what they have to offer our society in terms of should be an end to the banning and censorship of books. helping it grow. These are all things that we should remem- Salman Rushdie, a British Indian novelist wrote; ‘A book is ber when we celebrate Banned Books Week. Banning books

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will not solve our problems, but reading them just might. brilliance. Without opinions and dreams, brilliance wouldn’t (Elise Plonski) exist. And a world where brilliance doesn’t exist is a world in which I don’t want to live. (Mackenzie Stanton) Banning books is a way of suppressing the greatness that could occur if everyone was forced to think for themselves The idea that in the future our society could not only ban about the issues that really matter. This is why Banned books, but burn them and the houses that contain them, is an Books Week is so important. We have to bring attention to incredibly terrifying thought. I believe that books shouldn’t the books that succeed in challenging our idea of “normal.” be banned for any reason. It’s important to write and read We have to force people to read and to understand things books about controversial topics. The books will live on and for themselves in their own special way, whether that un- people in the future will be able to learn about the issues of derstanding be the same, or different than others. We have today and how the world used to be. They can compare their to force people to become comfortable with being uncom- society with our own and reflect on our actions and on how fortable. A world without variety is a boring one. Without their actions may mirror ours. Books document the prog- different opinions and beliefs, without people thinking for ress of society, whether it be incremental or exponential, and themselves, the world would not progress. Being able to for- help people to learn from their mistakes. (Baylee Wagner) mulate your own opinions is a form of education that creates

School ended for the summer, and I took up residence are able to use their eyes and minds however they choose. in Oxford as part of my graduate studies with The Bread It is only this way, as my students say, that society will Loaf School of English. Right outside my door was the flourish and progress, that art will continue, that stories Martyrs’ Memorial, where Latimer and Ridley met their and words and emotions will continue. So let me push this ends. I walked by it every day, and every day I whispered candle lighting metaphor one step further, and grateful- to myself “We shall this day light such a candle.” I had ly take it up from all the teachers and librarians that have helped my kids light their own candles in the darkness of come before me, for the ones that actually had to fight to censorship and ignorance. I had helped them understand get a book on the syllabus or in a school, for the ones that that the right to read and think unfortunately still can- because they fought made my life easier. And let me keep not be taken for granted, and that they themselves must that candle burning for all those that will come after me. engage in the daily battle to preserve it and keep it alive. It is my fervent wish, yet it is also my fervent belief, that if I hope that we as a society do not fulfill the prophecy laid each and every one of us does this, if each and every one down by Bradbury. I hope that we continue to challenge of us champions the freedom to read and think, then, as book banning and confront those who seek to do it. I Latimer said with his dying breath, “it shall never be put hope that the generations of readers and thinkers to come out.”

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People Behaving Badly, or Can We Get an Adult in the Room?

James LaRue ([email protected]), Director, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom and Executive Director of the Freedom to Read Foundation.

hut Up! (self-published 2016; ISBN 978-1-5333-8233-7) is a self-published book about a war between authors Megan Fox and Kevin DuJan and the Orland Park SPublic Library (OPPL)—except mostly, it isn’t. That modest story really doesn’t require 651 pages. On this topic, in the words attributed to Ambrose Bierce, “The covers of this book are too far apart.” What does fill the pages, then? There are many words of praise for people hailed as “great conservatives, writers, and pundits” such as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Andrew Breitbart (to whom the book is dedicated). On the other hand, the authors believe that even the people they describe as good, honest, unfailingly truth-seeking conservative talk radio hosts are just too timid to withstand the oppressive, unscrupulous importunities of the liberal left. Welcome, again, to the culture wars.

There’s quite a bit about the tactics of Saul Alinsky, a has a third child, and there’s a lot of writing about Fox 60s-era community organizer who wrote Rules for Radicals and her kids roaming around Chicagoland, playing games, in 1971. DuJan both excoriates and emulates Alinsky, who watching movies, and so on. attempted to effect change by sowing mischief, ridicule DuJan goes on at length in many places about anoth- and mockery. In Alinsky’s case the intent was to advocate er topic: the only good library is literally a poor one. By for the poor in Chicago, and he was by many accounts completely over-the-top contrast, OPPL is a “Taj Mahal.” very successful, and influential culturally. DuJan uses the For instance, he describes the same tactics—but mostly because he enjoys it so much. Fox, meanwhile, has ambitions as a conservative com- sheer, unadulterated opulence of the soaring glass, sandstone, mentator and writer—for Glenn Beck’s The Blaze and and sparkling steel structure that looked for all the world WLS talk radio (p. 232). She talks about her visits to the like the sort of modern mausoleum befitting the entomb- Chicago Field Museum, and her utter disdain for the “sil- ment of a sainted pope, a beloved American president, or a ly” idea of evolution. During the course of the book, Fox pop star of Michael Jackson’s magnitude. The Orland Park

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Public Library is actually so ostentatious and monumen- on an outing to the Orland Park Public Library. OPPL tal in exterior scale and scope that it looks like the sort of is an independent library district in the village of Orland Frank-Lloyd-Wright-just-married-Liberace-in-Vegas love Park, an Illinois suburb about twenty-six miles southwest letter to extravagance in which the self-styled ‘King of Pop’ of Chicago. The library serves a community of around should have probably been interred (if only he had never 56,000 people. Although Fox and DuJan are a little cagey went [sic] umbrella-toting, baby-dangling, face-disfiguring, about where they do live, it appears that neither one of career-ruining INSANE in his final decades). (p. 21–22) them is in fact a resident of Orland Park. But most Chicago area libraries extend borrowing privileges to each other’s In fact, OPPL is a nice library. But it’s not that nice. residents as a matter of courtesy. There are also many pages of railing against the Once at the library, Fox attempted to use a children’s American Library Association (ALA) and the employees computer to gain access to the internet, and, she and Du- of the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). Full dis- Jan allege, a “shrieking” children’s librarian warned her closure: I am an employee of the ALA and the current off. Local rules forbade adults unattended by children director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, although from using children’s computers. a relatively new one (I assumed my position in Janu- So Fox went upstairs to the OPPL computer area, ary of 2016). Before then, for almost twenty-four years which she and DuJan call the “Masturbation Lounge.” She I was the director of a public library in Colorado, where doesn’t mean that she saw anyone engaged in physical acts we created one of the first websites in the state, installed of masturbation there. She just means that she saw people internet computers for the public, ran completely open viewing “pornography.” In fact, she writes (p. 36), on her access to them until forced by state law to adopt soft- very first walk-through just a few steps from the comput- ware filters, and managed the library for many years after er area, that. I have also been, between my director days and my work at ALA, an avid library user, and library consultant. I found exactly what I knew I would. All the authors that So, although I have my own biases which I will strive are the worst of the worst as far as porn, drug use, deviant to make clear, I do know something about the topics of behavior and sex were all displayed colorfully and innocent- public administration, public policy, and the manage- ly as if they contained stories about girls doing upstanding ment of public internet access. activities like becoming prima ballerinas or Chief Execu- But let’s get back to Fox and DuJan. They alternate tive Officers or other contributing members of society and chapters, and both of them have chatty, lively, and snarky not detailed accounts of how to insert spermicidal foam into prose styles. In fact, the use of language is the real focus southern orifices and masturbate in a bathtub. of the book: an appallingly frank exposé of the rhetoric of the alt-right. Fox and DuJan put a staggering amount That’s quite an accusation. But it’s also a lot to have of time and energy into their battle. What they don’t do gathered from a glance and a walk-through. is offer anything like a coherent or consistent philosophy, What did she see? Apparently, she saw exactly what she and the results of their work are anything but clear. knew she would, a report comprising more ginned-up out- What I’ll try to do in this extended book review and rage than credibility. essay is: But let’s be fair: later there were indeed police reports of one person who was alleged to have masturbated in ●● provide the essential facts of the case front of a patron, and another (or the same person) who ●● call out what I believe to be the underlying issues exposed himself. I don’t doubt that this happened, by the ●● deliver a response to Fox and DuJan’s fundamental alle- way; libraries are public places. What I do doubt is that gations, and this criminal behavior is, as they allege, the fault of the ●● suggest what it all means for libraries. library director, the Office for Intellectual Freedom, and the American Library Association. Surely the criminal How It All Began bears some responsibility. The story is relatively simple. One day in 2013 or 2014, On the basis of this encounter, she and DuJan filed suburban homeschooling mom Megan Fox, claims that against OPPL not just a complaint of bad customer ser- she, her two kids (then aged four and seven), and her friend vice, but Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for Kevin DuJan (whom she describes as “A conundrum. Gay. everything to do with library computers. Conservative. Catholic. Republican” [p. 15–16]) went

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So that’s the core concern: patrons (not in the children’s Board Meetings room, where internet access was limited to children, and At various board meetings, moreover, Fox and DuJan was, moreover, filtered) were being “permitted” to view came to accuse and protest, filmed proceedings and en- sexual images on the internet. Moreover, they were able counters, and had various encounters during and after to do so without using their library cards to login; rather, board meetings that can only be described as childishly they had a pass that preserved their anonymity. confrontational, often on both sides. Judge John J. Tharp, Jr., in dismissing another lawsuit, described one post- Library Response Board meeting scene as follows: “The entire incident last- The rest of the story then focuses on the responses of the ed less than 90 seconds and could have been avoided en- library director and board to the FOIA requests and the tirely if either side had behaved maturely and gone about original complaint. Generally, these fall into three areas. their business rather than provoking the opposing group. Instead, several of the antagonists . . . engaged in almost FOIA Responses three years of litigation before settling their dispute.”2 Fox and DuJan make allegations that the library director stalled, colluded with others in the village and generally Changes in Policy and Practice acted in bad faith: not providing things in a timely fash- One of the goals of Fox and DuJan was to get the OPPL ion, over-redacting records, and not providing them in to stop “permitting” patrons to view pornography. Al- the preferred electronic format. DuJan and Fox responded though the book never detailed any kind of comprehen- with even more FOIA requests, touching on communica- sive strategy or recommendations to achieve that, the tions between library staff and others, expenses on board following actions were at least suggested: getting staff to lunches, conference travel, and even, eventually, personnel call the police whenever anybody looked at “porn,” the records. By and by, DuJan and Fox sued OPPL for failure installation of software filters on all public terminals, and to comply adequately to the sheer number of requests. The a much tighter scrutiny of public behavior. However, the result of that challenge was reported under the signifi- OPPL board did not, in fact, adopt filtering or change cantly misleading Chicago Tribune headline “Orland Park their policies. Some internet workstations in the adult area Library to Pay $55k to Settle Lawsuits Related to Internet were moved to be more visible to the staff. Porn.”1 In fact, pornography was never addressed in the That’s a lot of bother for, in the end, not much change. lawsuit or the settlement. How many FOIA requests were there? “In September, Pornography library officials said they had received 133 open records One of the persistent and frustrating omissions in the book submissions containing 742 distinct requests for docu- is the repeated use of a term the authors never define. That ments since the dispute began, mostly from Fox, DuJan or term is “porn.” Let’s take a moment to review the law. others submitting requests with the same email address.” The authors repeat several times that the Supreme Court What did Fox and DuJan want to know? “Many re- has stated that there is no right to access pornography, par- quests sought information on library policies, personnel ticularly in the library. But the truth is much simpler: there and spending, but one asked why a trustee wears a similar is no legal definition of pornography at all. Pornography red outfit at each meeting, whether it was a form of ‘haz- just means “appealing to an interest in sex.” If judged only ing’ or the library has ‘anything in writing that explains by American advertising, pornography is ubiquitous. why she dresses up as Mrs. Claus every month,’ according The law, set out by the Children’s Internet Protection to library documents.” Act (CIPA) and interpreted by the US Supreme Court, The settlement didn’t involve a finding of guilt, nor is pretty specific about what kind of sexual imagery (and did OPPL admit fault for violating transparency laws. But regarding library computers, it only addresses images) is the settlement did call out how such requests were to be illegal. In order of clarity, illegal imagery falls into three handled in the future. Eventually, the library and village categories: got familiar with the laws and processes of FOIA, and responded more fully and consistently. But the requests con- ●● child pornography, tinued and continue still. By the end, DuJan filed FOIA ●● obscenity, and requests with every public library in the state, and even ●● harmful to minors. tracked employees from OPPL to other libraries.

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Since CIPA, school and public libraries must adopt watching it at the library is it a sex crime? I think Fox and an internet use policy for adults and minors, and use a DuJan would say it was. But it isn’t. “technology protection measure” (software filters) in Or suppose someone views a manga animated short four broad cases, mainly when they accept certain kinds of that shows a naked family bathing together. It’s artwork, federal money. which means that no children were actually involved. There are many libraries in Illinois that don’t have to And in Japan, family bathing is a cultural norm. Is it child filter, and choose not to. Some do, or, as with OPPL, fil- pornography? Some have said so. The accusation itself is ter children’s computers only. OPPL is not unique. Nor is deeply offensive to people raised in that tradition. It, too, there any reason to believe, besides Fox and DuJan’s say- is false. so, that people behaved worse at OPPL than elsewhere As is so often the case, snap judgments can be wildly (the nearest shopping mall, for instance), or that local poli- wrong and irrelevant. cies were the cause. But note that in the same court case that the authors Obscenity repeatedly cite (United States v. American Library Association, Fox and DuJan believe that librarians willfully withhold Inc., 2003) the Supreme Court has also stated clearly that (for reasons I will get to below under “What’s wrong with if internet filters are in use, adults have the right to direct librarians?”) their judgment to declare something obscene. that they should be turned off for The authors are incensed by OIF’s things blocked by the filter, but not statement that “librarians are not falling into the above categories.3 judges.” To summarize: according to the THE ONLY PEOPLE In Miller v. California, the Supreme highest court in the land, pornog- Court declared three tests to find raphy by itself isn’t illegal, but some WHO WANT obscenity.4 (A good overview can be kinds are. If libraries do use a filter, found here.) Interestingly, not all Su- adults have the right to demand an CONFIDENTIAL preme Court justices agreed. In the immediate disabling of it, and expect highest court in the land, among the librarians to comply. INTERNET SERVICE finest legal minds, there were dis- That’s a messy situation. Fox and ARE CRIMINALS AND senting opinions. DuJan blame librarians for all of it. It seems that Megan Fox, in her Now let’s take a closer look at the THE ALA. mind an average person in firm specific categories of illegal sexual grasp of community standards (al- imagery. though not her community), could stroll through a computer center and Child Pornography reach this complex conclusion in seconds. But the Su- Child pornography involves the depiction of real minors preme Court couldn’t, or not unanimously. (under the age of 18) committing sexual acts. It is a crime, If they can’t, how can librarians? That’s what’s behind and a heinous act. Fox is indignant that some librarians the OIF’s historic statements. Obscenity is a finding of the don’t have the instant ability to judge child pornography. courts. And in a world after the success of Fifty Shades of What’s the problem? It’s “porn . . . involving children,” Grey, it’s not at all predictable. she writes. Is there something not totally clear here? To sumarize: the Miller test is almost impossible for Suppose librarians walk past a computer screen where the library to administer. On one extreme or the other someone is viewing the rape of a child obviously in, for things may seem clear, but life is lived in the very mud- instance, elementary school. Should they call the police? dled middle. Administration of public internet use has its Yes. They should. They have. challenges. But suppose librarians walk past a patron streaming the scene in the movie “Juno” where the title character gets Harmful to Minors pregnant. Ellen Page, to my eye, looks about twelve in “Harmful to minors” is even less coherent as a standard. that scene. In fact, she was twenty. “Juno” was rated PG- That is, things that might be OK for adults might not be ok 13. Is it pornography when a film shows (generally) two for minors. And how old is the minor, exactly? Up to four apparent teenagers (her costar, Michael Cera, was twen- years old? Then they’re not typing searches into the inter- ty-one at the time) having sex? If a fourteen-year-old is net. Are they five to twelve? Then we get to another class

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of minor, aged thirteen to seventeen years. At that age own filtering software—and software development isn’t a spread, “minors” are keenly interested in human behavior traditional library skill—filtering software will be suspect. of people older than they are. Is the “child” of seven truly Librarians’ suspicion of filters is a good thing, bespeaking the same as one of seventeen, when just one year later, he an unwillingness to give up the liberty of inquiry for the or she will be able to marry, to go to war, and to vote? Of illusion of safety. course not. All minors are not equal. On the other hand, as a library director I had no ob- And lest we forget, even minors, of all ages, do have jections at all to using even “whitelist” filtering in the First Amendment rights, as have been repeatedly upheld children’s room. (The continuum is “live filtering,” which by the courts. Among these is the right to receive informa- interrupts even supposedly secure connections to scan for tion, even when school officials, for instance, don’t like key words; then the less restrictive blacklist, or a frequent- the topic or approach.5 ly updated list of URLs that will not be displayed; then It is certainly the case that the internet exposed a lot of the most restrictive whitelist, which means one can only previously hidden sexual content in our culture, not just go to those sites.) I see nothing wrong with building a list in libraries, but also through now-common smartphones. of high quality, vetted sites, and only those sites, in an area That’s a technological and social shift. Libraries didn’t pre- designed for elementary school kids. It is certainly the case cipitate that. But they are one of the many places where that not all internet imagery is appropriate for kids. people go to access internet connections—often because In other areas of the library, however, people use the sometimes people have no other option. I get that society internet for many perfectly appropriate and Constitution- in general isn’t immediately comfortable with the changes. ally protected sources. Librarians need only step in when Neither are all librarians. But blaming librarians for a fail- there’s a problem. And of course, no matter where you ure to thoroughly manage the internet and human libido are, there will be problems. is like blaming firefighters for a volcano. Practice Filtering As I mentioned above, I have run public internet access So the internet offers access to illegal imagery. Fox and both before and after the imposition of filtering. The truth DuJan seem to think filtering—the technology protection is, it wasn’t much different. In both cases, most people measure called for by CIPA—just solves the problem. But behaved well, and some people behaved badly. Although ALA’s historic opposition to filtering is based on two key confronting misbehaving patrons can indeed be awkward, facts: few librarians simply throw up their hands and say, “anything goes!” ●● No filter completely blocks the three categories of child Instead, most libraries do at least three things whether pornography, obscenity and harmful to minors. Some- they filter or not: thing always gets through. ●● All filters on occasion over-block (identifying something ●● Supervise public space. We monitor the building, which as illegal that isn’t). At the OIF we hear many reports of is a combination of direct, line-of-sight review, and wan- school libraries, in particular, whose filtering is so aggres- dering around in the course of business. sive that it blocks electronic news sources the library pays ●● Investigate complaints. When a patron complains about to receive. To be fair, often this is the result not so much something, staff goes over to take a look. Incidentally, of the filter as the ham-handed implementation of it by not all complaints are accurate. I’ve investigated a “porn” people who aren’t librarians. IT staff flip every switch complaint about somebody viewing a medical site the software offers, blocking “hate speech,” alternative about vasectomies. People have called “obscenity” what life style choices, drug use, and so on. In the process, they turned out to be women’s Olympic volleyball games. An frequently violate the Constitutional rights of students. allegation of someone viewing “bestiality” was in fact a Youtube sheep-shearing demonstration. That said, some- There are other worries. Chief among them is a lack times people are indeed watching explicit sexual activity, of transparency. Filtering is provided by companies that and even very extreme examples. block content using proprietary algorithms. That is, a gov- ●● Take what seems to be appropriate action. There are ernment agency charged with providing information (the times when the viewing of adult sexual activity is dis- library) has no way to know just what is being blocked, or ruptive or rude. In such cases, it isn’t uncommon for how, or why. Unless and until libraries come up with their librarians to tell the patron to desist, or be thrown out

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of the library. I’m not sure if such a circumstance would Is the problem of people misbehaving by seeking sexy stand up to Supreme Court scrutiny or not. Neither is content at OPPL worse than other libraries in the coun- anybody else. try? Probably not greatly so. But if it were, would that be ALA’s fault? The Smoking Gun This is where it gets hard to take Fox and DuJan se- Now that we have some context of the law and practice riously. If someone exposes himself at the mall, do you of public internet access, let’s take another look at OPPL. blame the businesses? If someone robs a store, do you Did they have a problem? That is, had what Fox and Du- blame the store? Fox and DuJan don’t just allege that lax Jan called “creeps” taken over the library for the non-stop enforcement of public internet use allows people to get viewing of illegal content? away with more than they would otherwise. They claim Based just on the evidence Fox and DuJan present, I that libraries actively encourage and promote child por- think the answer is: Maybe. Sometimes. As I noted above, nography—an accusation without evidence anywhere in every library has people who test the limits. Some get policy or procedure. Fox and DuJan seem to believe that away with it. Some get caught. And sometimes a lax en- libraries could and in Oklahoma, they claim, do stamp vironment acts as a magnet for the ill-behaved. But a few out the viewing of pornography altogether. In Illinois, it random reports over the space of years are hardly proof seems, it’s only the ALA that stops them. That just doesn’t of a publicly funded peepshow. Fox and DuJan’s whole seem very likely. incendiary style is based on deliberate distortion. It’s an Alinsky tactic. The authors assert as fact things that are Calling the Police only speculation, and often wrong. But Fox and DuJan often contradict themselves. On the The “smoking gun” at the center of Fox and DuJan’s one hand, they have no patience for the failure of librar- diatribe against OPPL is a claim of the actual viewing of ians to call the police. In fact, Fox in particular believes child pornography at the library. The redacted police re- that no one in a public space, or anywhere online, should port is on page 164. A female patron reported to the ref- have any expectation of privacy (p. 34). The only peo- erence desk that another patron, male, was viewing child ple who want confidential internet service she says, are pornography. “criminals and the ALA” (never mind folks who are doing But the reporting patron refused to leave her name. electronic banking, international business, or are trying to The staff member reported the incident to IT staff, who steer clear of estranged ex-husbands). upon investigation, saw nothing but Medicare sites. When Yet DuJan doesn’t have much good to say about police, the patron returned a few days later, the director confront- whether in Orland Park or greater Chicago. Fox (p. 528) ed the patron with the reported behavior. The patron then found them completely unresponsive when she reported admitted that something “inappropriate” had shown up death threats against her and her children. I believe that on his screen, but it wasn’t his fault. That certainly sounds she got those threats, by the way. As we know from recent fishy. cases (Leslie Jones’s Twitter harassment, for instance), such According to Fox and DuJan, the staff should have frightening and uncivil displays are all too common, a part immediately summoned the police upon the first report. of the coarsening of our public lives. But there was no proof of child pornography. There was Trust the police? Don’t trust the police? Call them but only an allegation. If the police had indeed been sum- don’t expect results? moned and had indeed shown up, there was no identifiable witness (she explicitly asked not to be identified) and What’s Wrong with Librarians? despite their investigation (by both IT staff and director) Another internal contradiction is Fox and DuJan’s insis- staff had no direct knowledge of misbehavior (he was seen tence that they love libraries, but completely dismiss the by them to be looking at medical sites). If the patron had values of librarianship. Fox on page 208: “The Freedom to indeed been viewing child pornography, there wouldn’t Read Statement, and the Library Bill of Rights often con- be enough information to arrest anyone, although it might tradict local ordinances against lewd behavior and inde- scare the person away. If he were in fact guilty, that would cent exposure in public. All of it is a bunch of hooey. . . . A not be a bad thing. On the other hand, if the original bunch of tattooed social justice warrior librarians sitting complaint were in fact mistaken, staff would then have around making up policies while comparing eyebrow publicly embarrassed someone who was entirely innocent, piercings does not a Constitutional Convention make.” and now furious.

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68), Fox discussed her childhood use of the Palos Hill library where “the librarians were horrid, as librarians usu- THE LIBRARIANS [IN 1985] ally were back then (and should be) and would brook no disobedience of their rules.” WERE HORRID, AS LIBRARIANS But remember that when Fox encountered just such a librarian who tried to sweep an adult from internet ter- USUALLY WERE BACK THEN minals in the children’s area, Fox filed a complaint against (AND SHOULD BE). her. What they say they want was exactly the thing that got this whole ball rolling. Substantive and Respectful Public Discourse The problem, DuJan writes (p. 483) is that “people all I’m going to suggest that there’s another problem, larger the time are heard to say, I haven’t thought about the library and more serious than a concern about the use of pub- in years. I forget it was even still there. Who goes there anymore? lic computers to view sexual imagery. It’s not Fox and The library has become the place for creeps to hang out and watch DuJan. It’s not ALA. It’s the loss of civil and civic dis- porn. Why are tax dollars paying for that?” course, and the barely concealed attempt to unravel pub- Of course, the Library Bill of Rights does not contra- lic institutions. dict local ordinances—unless they contradict the First To quote again from Judge John J. Tharp, Jr., Amendment. And people are not “all the time” heard to say what DuJan imputes to them. This is just more alt- “From the information already at issue in this case. . . . the right rhetoric, invented from whole cloth. behavior of some of the partisans in both camps bears little DuJan concludes: “To stay relevant and ‘exciting,’ the resemblance to the sort of substantive and respectful public ALA seems to have arbitrarily decided that sex needs to discourse that should ideally characterize debates about im- be pushed hard nonstop in libraries whether communities portant public policy issues and instead exemplifies the sort like or want that or not.” of juvenile tactics one would expect to see the antagonists in Further, DuJan says (p. 485) “the idiots who work at a schoolyard playground argument employ.”6 the ALA . . . are the dumbest people on the face of the planet.” In fact, regarding ALA and the OIF, he won- So let’s scroll back to the beginning. Members of the ders if “perhaps these people are all evil, sick, serial child public come to the library and see something they think abusers who enjoy harming and sexualizing children and is out of line: in this case, the viewing of graphic sexual actively creating dangers for kids in public libraries with imagery. their warped policies.” Let’s lay out the ground rules: DuJan isn’t sure we need library buildings or librarians at all. He says (p. 482) that “while a fancy library is nice to ●● Everyone should try to follow the law, both people have in a town . . . a village would save a fortune by set- charged with running the library and the people using ting up downloadable eLibraries.” them. (Note that sometimes the laws are themselves a So we may conclude that Fox and DuJan don’t ap- little unclear or self-contradictory.) prove of today’s standards of librarianship as promulgat- ●● It’s reasonable for the public to make a complaint when ed by ALA. What should librarians be doing instead? Fox they think it’s justified. on page 603: a librarian should be “someone who pro- ●● Some complaints are justified, if not all of them. Com- tects kids, keeps order, is stern when she needs to be, and plaints should be promptly investigated. doesn’t let the strife intrude into the quiet of the library.” ●● Regarding the use of public internet terminals, all li- On the cover of Shut Up! is an unpleasant stereotype braries should have a clear statement of appropriate use. of a librarian with the bun, the glasses, the sweater, the They should also have a policy about appropriate patron pursed lips, the finger to mouth. (She’s holding a copy behavior. (OPPL had both.) of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals.) But the surprise is that ●● If they have to, or choose to, take federal erate money, this is how both authors think librarians should be, a re- libraries should filter, but only for graphic sexual imag- turn to the golden era. Fox reckons that would be 1985, ery, and only with software that can be turned off, as the pre-internet, when “it was all good”(p. 71). Earlier (p. Supreme Court has said.

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●● Whether they filter or not, librarians have the obligation level and frequency of patron misbehavior, but by digging to oversee public space. up and fanning nasty interpretations of older library issues, ●● Anonymous library use and the destruction of internet launching attacks against library staff members on social use records is a best-practice way to preserve individu- media, and ignoring the profoundly good work OPPL al privacy. Some criminals will benefit. But so will the does in the promotion of child literacy through programs majority of law-abiding library users. (And for those alt- and storytimes. That kind of collateral damage had noth- right readers: apply the same logic to gun registration.) ing to do with their original complaint. They end by ac- ●● Libraries should be open and transparent according to cusing librarians of being sex criminals. the law. That means open meetings, responsiveness to To what end? To establish a sharper definition of por- citizen comments and concerns, and timely response to nography? To force a library of a community in which FOIA requests. FOIA can be used to excess, and even they did not reside to adopt broad internet filtering? To abusively. At that point, we can’t expect public institu- change the policies of the library? They didn’t accomplish tions to be both transparent and efficient. any of those things. Their achievement, finally, seems en- ●● Library officials and staff should be courteous and wel- tirely corrosive. coming. Many librarians these days are working on civic en- ●● Decisions about policy and practice should be based on gagement, on the attempt to foster meaningful conversa- thoughtful and mature consideration of the law, the facts, tion among citizens about issues that matter. Attack and and both the library and community values. defend is one kind of dialog, and it’s very much the realm of today’s politics. But like Judge Tharp, I think that seri- Most of these things are a matter of law. But notice that ous matters might deserve a little dignity and mutual re- these are the responsibilities of gov- spect, a little more listening on both ernment. What are the obligations of sides. the citizen? Is it reasonable to want to have a Is it too much to ask that peo- public discussion about the appropri- ple should begin with courtesy and THE AUTHORS ate uses of public computers? It is. Is charity? Fox and DuJan would no ASSERT AS FACT it reasonable to wonder about the use doubt say that they don’t have to and of FOIA to move from a legitimate nobody can make them. That’s true, THINGS THAT ARE interest in government transparency too. But it’s the argument of a two- to the politics of personal destruc- year-old. “America is one of the only ONLY SPECULATION, tion? Yes. places on Earth where ridiculing and When discourse devolves to name publicly condemning public officials AND OFTEN WRONG. calling, willful distortion, and the is not ‘defamation,’” claims a jubilant assumption of evil, we have gone DuJan (p. 481). too far. We’re no longer listening I don’t want to excuse the times to each other, and we’re no longer when OPPL board and staff may also have been less than acting like responsible citizens. We are behaving badly. courteous or forthcoming. As I say, library officials and Sometimes we need an adult in the room. staff should be welcoming and polite. They need to follow the law. But it’s also clear that Fox and DuJan opened Should You Buy This Book? a dialog with the library that began with accusations and For several months, Shut Up! has been marketed via social demands. After that, well, DuJan’s avowed intent to say media to a variety of lists populated precisely by the peo- whatever gets a rise out of the government makes him an ple the book attacks. It’s a curious strategy: send spam (un- utterly unreliable reporter. wanted solicitations of commercial transactions) to people Moreover, I can’t help but think the sheer, litigious dra- your product calls idiots and criminals. But the marketing ma of the years-long battle was high in emotion and low does something clever: it alleges censorship of this book on results. Fox and DuJan did their all-out best to damage by ALA. Are you obliged to buy this book or face the the reputation of the library not just by exaggerating the charge?

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According to Fox and DuJan, the answer is no. “No Shut Up! falls well within the rhetorical genre of Lim- books are really ‘banned’ in America today!” (p. 427). baugh, Coulter, and other right-wing media darlings, meaning that it’s long on accusation, and even longer on The only time censorship exists is when a government body absurd conclusions. If your community has an appetite for silences the thoughts or opinions of certain people, doesn’t that, it will probably enjoy this, too, despite its meander- let them speak, doesn’t allow a book to be published, threat- ing and often tedious length. University libraries tracking ens people with arrest or other punishment because of their the rise and fall of that movement may find it a representa- unpopular opinions, removes content from the internet, files tive period piece. If you work for a library school studying a lawsuit to chill First Amendment protected speech, etc. the perceptions and challenges of the public library, and No library has the power to “censor” any book or prevent it the adoption of the internet in American society, it’s a rel- from existing. evant case study. If you’re in the vicinity of Chicago and Fox and DuJan’s friends (if they have any residing in your Ergo, if you don’t buy the book, you’re not censoring community) are clamoring for the book, it won’t kill you it. Take it from the experts. to buy a copy, if your distributor carries it. But whether But that isn’t the definition of censorship as used by you do or don’t, it’s of little consequence. Ultimately, Shut ALA. Rather, we talk about the deliberate suppression of Up! is a terrific example of people behaving badly. Not information. That’s something worth keeping our eye on. that we need more of them. Is the book a good buy for your library?

Notes

1. Lauren Zumbach, “Orland Park Library to Pay $55K to Settle 3. United States v. American Library Association, Inc., 539 U.S. 194 Lawsuits Related to Internet Porn,” Chicago Tribune, March (2003). 19, 2015, www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-south 4. Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973). town/news/ct-sta-orland-library-settle-st-0320-20150319 5. See Counts v. Cedarville School District, 295 F. Supp. 2d 996 -story.html. (W.D. Ark. 2003). 2. Order, Bittman v. Fox, No. 14C 08191 (N.D. Ill. May 16, 6. Order, Bittman v. Fox. 2016), https://casetext.com/case/bittman-v-fox-2.

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Ethics and Values in Librarianship: A History Author _ Wallace Koehler Publisher _ Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. 292 p. Cloth. $80.00. ISBN: 978-1-4422-5426-8 Reviewer _ Martin Garnar, Dean, Kraemer Family Library, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs

“The thesis of this work is that the ethics of librarianship work in the first chapter by establishing the definitions for and its practice are not fixed and constant.” With this sen- “library” and “librarian” while also setting the scope for tence, Wallace Koehler opens his masterful book on the the range of professional ethics and values, compiling a list history of library ethics and values, and it marks the start of thirty items that captures the many concerns of con- of his argument that our profession’s core values are not temporary librarianship. Some later chapters, in addition as enduring as we would like to believe. Reaching back to the ones mentioned above, focus on specific aspects of well before the rise of librarians as a distinct profession, ethics and values, including “Stewardship and Service” Koehler aims to trace the development of core values by (chapter 2) and “Intellectual Property, Copyright, and looking at specific roles and responsibilities of librarians Fair Use” (chapter 7), while others look at broader topics throughout history. However, there are times when the in the field, such as “On Public Libraries” (chapter 4) and historical focus of the book obscures the main thrust of “Qualifications of the Librarian” (chapter 8). The chap- examining the professional ethics and values ter on public libraries spends most of its time of librarianship. examining the history of the institution, but The book is organized around themes includes a few paragraphs near the end to tie related to the ethics and values of librarian- it back to ethics. Likewise, while the qualifi- ship, and explores the history of each theme cations of librarians are of major importance individually in each chapter. Some of the to the role they play in the promotion and themes have a clear connection to ethics and defense of the professions ethics and values, values, such as “Libraries and Ethics” (chap- the related chapter is largely concerned with ter 1), “On the Freedom of Expression, historical opinions on the librarian’s role and Intellectual Freedom, and Their Control” does not always take the necessary step to (chapter 5), and “Libraries and Democracy” demonstrate how those opinions informed (chapter 6). Other chapters, such as “Classi- the current (or even historical) role of librari- fication” (chapter 3), are introduced with a an as related to ethical concerns. “New Con- few paragraphs on the connection to ethics ditions and New Principles” (chapter 10) is before diving into the subject matter, while intended to provide an overview of current the “Love of Libraries and Advice on Library trends and future issues, though the author’s Formation” (chapter 9) just launches into the topic with- approach of grounding each topic in its historical con- out making a case for why this subject is included in the text occasionally distracts from the future-looking theme book. Having said that, each chapter provides an excellent of the chapter. The aptly named “Concluding Chapter” history of its subject matter, even if there appears to be an (chapter 11) attempts to pull all of the possibly disparate occasional overdependence on the same sources (especially themes into a coherent argument and does an admirable Justus Lipsius, Edward Edwards, and James Kirkwood) for job, in some cases surpassing the previous efforts in indi- the historical information. vidual chapters of tying the content to professional ethics Koehler is at his most compelling when he outlines and values. how the current core principles of the library profession In addition to the thematic confusion noted above, have changed over time. He lays the foundation for this there are some structural flaws in the book. Early in the

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chapter on classification, a paragraph repeats two sentences their presence in the main body has a similar effect on the almost verbatim, as if competing drafts of a section were argument’s flow. Though Koehler makes a valiant effort both included in the final version. While not as obvious, to demonstrate why each topic is central to the ethics and there are other points in the text in which it seems that values of the library profession, it occasionally feels like a a less-than-final version of the text survived the editing well written article on an otherwise unrelated topic was process. As a result, there are digressions and repetitions crammed into the book for added heft. The chapter on the throughout the book that occasionally dull the edge of love of libraries is a particularly good example of this issue. Koehler’s arguments. As mentioned earlier, some of the Ultimately, this book fills a gap in the library litera- topics included in the book have at best a tenuous con- ture, as there is no comprehensive book on the history of nection to library ethics. Classification is a good exam- professional ethics and values. Despite the occasional foray ple. While the Code of Ethics of the American Library into topics that would make more sense in a general his- Association does refer to classification when it states in the tory of the profession, this book provides a much-need- preamble that librarians “significantly influence or control ed historical overview of the origins and development of the selection, organization, preservation, and dissemina- librarianship’s key values. Readers will learn that many of tion of information” (emphasis mine), the level of de- our core values and ethics are relatively recent discover- tail that Koehler devotes to the minutiae of classification ies, but will also be convinced that these values are rightly schema seems out of place in a book focused on ethics and prized for their centrality to contemporary librarianship. values. In the same vein, the inclusion of lengthy quotes Any institution supporting library and information science from standards, laws, and other documents, especially in programs should add this to their collections, along with the case of the untranslated (from Spanish) legal quali- libraries with professional collections focused on our ethi- fications of Argentinian librarians that exceeds a page, cal principles. Should a revised edition address the con- creates roadblocks for the reader that impede comprehen- cerns noted in this review, this book is clearly destined to sion of the main themes. Many chapters include long lists become the definitive work on the history of professional or bibliographies that would work better as footnotes, but ethics and values in librarianship.

Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World Author _ Timothy Garton Ash Publisher _ Yale University Press, 2016. 491 p. Cloth (also available as ebook). $30.00. ISBN: 978-1-78239-031-2 Reviewer _ Jennifer Ruth, Portland State University

Timothy Garton Ash is a diehard liberal cosmopolitan. He Free Speech hits bookstores as a wave of illiberal nation- recently called the Brexit vote “the biggest defeat of my alism sweeps Europe and the United States. Like most political life,” adding that the day of the referendum “was liberal cosmopolitans, Garton Ash did not see this com- almost as bad a day as the day of the fall of the Berlin Wall ing but that doesn’t make his prescription for today’s ills was good.” Garton Ash’s formative years as a journalist any less worthwhile or necessary. “I can discern no better and writer were spent covering Eastern Europe under So- way,” Garton Ash writes, “to proceed towards a more viet domination. The fall of the Berlin Wall looked like universal universalism—essential if we are to live togeth- the dawn of a world where people no longer needed fences er well in this twenty-first century world-as-city—than to make good neighbors. Reinforcing this impression was to spell out what we believe are the standards that, were the fact that the same years of the Soviet Union’s collapse they applied by all, would be best for all” (p. 4). Part 1 of were also witness to the rise of the global Internet. People Free Speech sketches the global context in which we must everywhere could connect regularly and often intimate- fight for free speech, the best ways to go about it (hint: ly without the hurdles and hassles of visa applications and the less one resorts to the state to police speech, the bet- airplane tickets. Why is it, then, that in 2016 Garton Ash ter), and the reasons why the battle matters in the first needs to publish a book entitled Free Speech: Ten Principles place. Part 2 is the “User Guide” in which Garton Ash for a Connected World and that this book would be consid- elaborates upon the ten principles devised by himself and ered both timely and urgent? a team of colleagues, principles like “We—all human

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beings—must be free and able to express ourselves, and to that on balance more speech and more accountability will seek, receive and impart information and ideas, regardless translate into a healthier “city-planet.” of frontiers” (number 1) and “We defend the internet and Most of the time I am happy to believe this, too, but other systems of communication against illegitimate en- there are moments when Garton Ash is unable to smooth croachments by both public and private powers” away a wrinkle he has conscientiously drawn to our atten- (number 9). tion. Take the way the internet facilitates subcultural silos Nick Cohen writes in the Guardian that Garton Ash as much as it facilitates connections among diverse groups. “has two virtues, which are rarely combined”—“the abili- Due to the search engine’s capacity to learn from our ty to theorise and the ability to work.” Public intellectuals viewing history, we are increasingly fed a diet specifical- draw us the big picture but few of them take the time to ly targeted to our demographic and are less and less likely do the yeoman’s work of filling in all the details. Not Gar- to be exposed to what other demographics encounter. To ton Ash in Free Speech, which has been called assuage the fears of balkanization that this encyclopedic and exhaustive. The breadth of provokes, Garton Ash cites a small study that coverage of incidents involving free speech found that we actually want to be exposed to over the last few decades can be overwhelm- new viewpoints. That a group of people sur- ing but I enjoyed reviewing noteworthy ep- veyed said what we all think we should say— isodes (the “Innocence of Muslims” video yes, I want to learn something new!—does not posted on youtube and triggering violent pro- instill great faith that we will reverse a trend tests, for example) and learning about others that is baked ever more thoroughly into the for the first time (the defamation suit brought system every time we browse the web. and lost by Holocaust-denier David Irving I also found myself wondering if Garton against Deborah Lipstadt, for example). To Ash’s long history covering totalitarian re- further ensure that he is doing everything he pression during the Cold War has rendered can to advocate for free speech, Garton Ash him more vigilant at ferreting out political has also worked with countless others in an and ideological attempts to control speech impressive number of countries to launch the than attempts stemming from powerful eco- website freespeechdebate.com. Indeed, the book is perhaps nomic interests. I hasten to say that he is keenly aware best viewed as a companion piece to this global and inter- that the categories of state and market are both different active digital project. and much more intertwined than they were in the days of As signaled by the phrase “connected world” in the yore and he stresses that the biggest threats to individual subtitle, Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World free speech arise when government and corporate inter- spends much of its time exploring the possibilities and ests work in tandem. Nonetheless, Garton Ash seems more challenges created by the Internet. It is indisputable that comfortable when calling out the authoritarian’s bullying the Internet has exponentially enhanced the ability of in- than when he has to consider the less familiar paradoxes of dividuals to express themselves, the ability to spread and a global economy so interdependent that liberal states can receive information widely, and the ability to demand be found to cater to illiberal ones of their own accord. transparency and accountability from various societal ac- During the Cold War, the liberal side was also the more tors, public and private. Each of these has a flip side, of prosperous one. That is no longer a foregone conclusion, course, that Garton Ash considers carefully: “free ex- making for a geopolitical situation in which actors that pression” on the Internet extends to trolls and bigots as once reliably followed the liberal bible can no longer be much as to everyone else; the ability to spread and recounted on to do so. In 2016, for example, a South Kore- ceive information widely is also the ability to spread and an media company cancelled performances of Shen Yun, a receive disinformation wildly; and greater transparency dance and acrobatic organization whose founder is active and accountability can generate mistaken assumptions and in Falun Gong which is, in turn, highly critical of the Chi- recklessly destroy lives. (Garton Ash’s experience with the nese Communist Party. When Shen Yun sued in Kore- Stasi and the vast records it kept on the German Demo- an court, the judge ruled against the media company, as cratic Republic’s citizens, recounted in his 1997 book The would be expected with any blatant breach of contract. Yet File, gave him unique insight into the way “surveillance” when the media company later disclosed documents from rarely delivers an accurate, contextualized picture of a per- the Chinese Embassy threatening economic retaliation if son or situation.) Garton Ash is a strong believer, however, Shen Yun were allowed to perform, the court reversed its

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decision. Because the Chinese market for Korean enter- for free speech when the authoritarian country is also the tainment is so huge and any losses in this market so finan- one holding the purse strings in short order, I’m sure. In cially damaging for the industry, China’s ideological in- fact such work is already being done on his website, free- terests were allowed to derail the normal course of rule of speechdebate.com. If you look at the site’s China pages, law. We are on new terrain here—this is not a Chinese dis- you will find “Hong Kong: two systems, one country?,” sident being thrown into a Chinese jail. This is the Korean an article identifying the multifaceted approach Beijing is court effectively authorizing censorship in Korea on behalf using to bring Hong Kong to heel. “The crux of the mat- of China in order to protect its own national economy. ter, therefore,” Samson Yuen and Kitty Ho write, “is not Still, China is very much on Garton Ash’s radar and simply an authoritarian grip on press freedom, but very he will develop a nuanced articulation of the implications likely a total paradigm shift.”

Data and Goliath Author _ Bruce Schneier Publisher _ Norton, 2015. 448 p. Paper. $17.95. ISBN 978-0-393352-17-7 Reviewer _ John Mack Freeman, Marketing and Programming Director, West Georgia Regional Library

It seems like barely a week can go by without some bad at Harvard University and a board member of the Elec- news related to data and information security making the tronic Frontier Foundation. He is widely well-regard- news. Whether it is Home Depot, Target, or LinkedIn ed and even at one time briefed members of Congress on having their user data hacked and stolen or new revelations the unpublished leaked Snowden documents. The book about the NSA’s mass surveillance programs or changes to is deathly opposed to all NSA mass surveillance for any Facebook or Instagram’s user policies that throw individ- reason and under any circumstances. Its author holds the ual privacy into turmoil, people are becoming gradually NSA document leaks of Edward Snowden in incredi- more aware that their information is at risk and that their bly high regard, referencing the fugitive whistleblow- data is a commodity being used on the worldwide stage. er numerous times throughout the book. And the text is In the 2015 book Data and Goliath, Bruch only slightly more receptive towards private Schneier presents a dark view of where this businesses working in the big data space. information usage is taking American society Throughout the book, government and cor- while presenting a list of policy proposals and porations are always portrayed as the bad guys recommendations to protect the privacy and out to spy, surveil, steal, and hoodwink data security concerns that are at stake. out of private citizens whenever possible for The book is divided into three sections. the nefarious purposes of security that won’t The first describes the basic state of the world make society safer and to attempt to make of information as it existed at the time of money. writing. Schneier points out that everyone At times, the tone of Data and Goliath is producing more data than ever before and comes off as strident and preachy, and it too that companies and governments are mining often assumes that the reader fully agrees this data in ever-expanding ways. The second with the author about the underlying issues. section details “What’s at Stake,” noting that Indeed, by the third section of the book, any political liberty, commercial fairness, com- attempts at even-handedness have completely petitiveness, privacy, and security are all areas that are dissolved into a completely unrealistic list of policy po- touched on in this growing world of big data. The third sitions that would radically reshape the national security section details the author’s specific proposals for govern- and technology business environments in large and large- ments, corporations, and individuals to undertake to fight ly unforeseen ways. Even people who believe in privacy the pernicious rising tide of data collection and usage. as a fundamental right may have a hard time swallow- As would be expected from a source like Bruce Schnei- ing all of the items proposed, particularly for the United er, this book has a heavily one-sided appeal. Schneier is an States government and corporations. A small sampling of expert cryptographer and security technologist, a Fellow these proposals include practically disbanding the National

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Security Administration, creating government sponsored removed from Google with the implication that the in- social media commons to wrest control away from private formation was immediately removed. Except, the right to companies, making it more expensive to collect and use be forgotten does not typically work that way; anybody data (effectively shuttering the major profit avenues for can request their information be removed, and then it is most search engines and social media companies), making up to the search engine and the courts to decide whether all companies that collect data fiduciaries, and protecting they will or not. Of the three mentioned, I can only really whistleblowers by allowing a “conscience” defense. While imagine the doctor having any large chance of success. In these and the other recommendations Schneier makes other sections of the book, Schneier makes assumptions would probably assist in making data more secure and based on limited information, particularly regarding gov- privacy more fundamental, the effects they would have ernment surveillance, and these assumptions always tend would have enormous ripples that are not examined nor toward the negative and Machiavellian. considered in the course of this book. Additionally, it is difficult to ascertain who the audi- The book’s argument is particularly weak when dealing ence for Data and Goliath is. On the one hand, those who with the corporate side of big data as it tends to undersell are interested in privacy, big data, and other information the benefits of data aggregation to the average consum- technology concerns will already be intimately familiar er. While advocates may wish that the average consumer with most of the examples and issues that Schneier raises. were more concerned with their own privacy, the grow- On the other, those new to these issues will likely find ing ubiquitousness and ease of signing up for new services themselves overwhelmed with a flood of references and by “Sign[ing] in with Facebook” and other efforts that examples that are minimally dealt with. While the book reduce friction in the online space in exchange for some feels like it was written for a popular audience, it fails to personal information shows strong evidence that conve- allow the reader to come to their own conclusions about nience is still more paramount to the average contempo- the issues on the table. rary technology user. The text never seeks to grapple with The worst part is, Schneier is not wrong. He does point the idea that people may still choose convenience over out dozens of examples where consumer data has been sto- privacy even when fully informed, and it never seeks to len and the businesses who let it leak were never punished. explore what to do then. He points out that society does not have any good evi- Through no fault of the author, this book also has is- dence that the NSA’s mass surveillance policies have made sues with timeliness that have already made it feel dated. the country any safer. He provides numerous examples of For instance, although published in 2015, the author refers when information is kept too long, handled carelessly, not to Democratic Senate committee chairpeople (the Dem- adequately protected, sold to the highest bidder, and when ocratic Party lost control of the US Senate in the 2014 it does not adequately protect the interests of the average midterm elections). At another point, Schneier muses that person. Just this week, a predictive policing program in many technology companies were worried about “sig- Chicago like the ones Scheneier writes about was shown nificant loss of foreign sales” (p. 122) in 2013 after in- to have had zero effectiveness over the last three years. But formation regarding the NSA’s hacking of US computer the unrelentingly negative take on the modern data envi- equipment became well known, specifically citing Cisco ronment can make even those who are strong privacy ad- Systems. However, it does not seem to have injured Cisco vocates (like this reviewer) feel like Schneier’s take is too too badly, as their stock price is 60 percent higher today bleak and his recommendations go too far. than it was in the fourth quarter of 2013. While this is Overall, Data and Goliath is a one-sided take on the way the nature of the publishing industry when commenting that data trends are evolving in the technology landscape. on current events, it does serve to weaken the claims put While it does a good job of portraying numerous ways forth in several places throughout the text. that technology companies and governments have failed In other moments, though, the author seems to be mis- in this new world, it lacks nuance and a willingness to un- leading the reader. In chapter 14, he writes about how derstand that there is an opposing side to this argument. the right to be forgotten has come up before the Euro- While there may be great value in a popular nonfiction pean Court of Justice as it relates to removing informa- portrayal of these issues to increase the knowledge sur- tion about certain individuals from search results. Schnei- rounding these concerns in the general public or to serve eer specifically referenced that “politicians, doctors, [and] as a primer for those who want to get more involved, this pedophiles” (p. 202) demanded that their information be book simply is not it.

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Surveillance in America: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and the Law Editor _ Pam Dixon Publisher _ ABC-CLIO, 2016. 2 vols. Hardcover. $189.00. ISBN 978-1-4408-4054-8. E-book available (978-1-4408-4055-5). Reviewer _ Rosanne M. Cordell, Northern Illinois University.

Dixon (Online Privacy: A Reference Handbook) has compiled approachable by undergraduate students who are not com- 115 entries by over forty authors with almost 70 primary puter science majors. documents related to government surveillance and pri- The editor claims that government surveillance as an is- vacy. The resulting encyclopedia is an excellent starting sue “exploded into modern consciousness with the reve- point for high school and undergraduate students research- lations that Edward Snowden made about the activities of ing topics in this area. The preface is unabashedly for the National Security Agency in 2013.” While Snowden’s complete transparency in government surveillance, but the leaks may have precipitated the most recent “explosion” entries attempt a more balanced approach to their topics, of this topic in the public eye, the historical information providing the historical, constitutional, legal, political, and and cases included show that the balance between securi- social contexts for the actions and issues covered. Volume ty and privacy has long been a precarious one and a matter 1 includes all entries, a chronology, and a listing of entries of contention in the United States. Indeed, the chronology by broad topic with their relevant primary documents. and the list of primary documents indicate that much was These include “Agencies and Organizations”; “Antisur- occurring in this field long before Snowden’s revelations. veillance Programs and Activities”; “Court Rulings”; The chronology begins with the 1761 James Otis’ writing “Government Oversight”; “Laws and Reg- of “Against the Writs of Assistance” and has ulations”; “Privacy Rights”; “September 11 four pages of entries before 2000, with almost Terrorist Attacks and USA PATRIOT Act”; half of all the primary documents covering “Snowden’s Release of NSA Surveillance In- this same time period. Privacy has consistently formation”; “Surveillance, Criticism of Prac- been an issue in the United States, and con- tices and Programs”; “Surveillance, Defense cerns that rose to legal challenges long predat- of Practices and Programs”; “Surveillance— ed current technologies. The vast amount of Industrial Complex (Government-Corporate data that now can be collected and distributed Partnerships)”; “Surveillance Programs and (or leaked) is unprecedented, but it is import- Initiatives”; “Surveillance Types and Practic- ant for students to understand that the princi- es”; and “U.S. Constitution.” This reader’s ples involved are not new and actually predate guide would allow students to read beyond a the formation of this nation. Keeping the ap- single article in a targeted manner to gain the plication of the principles involved in ensuring insight needed to do a creditable job of re- privacy relevant to current threats and weigh- search. Volume 2 includes all the primary documents and ing privacy against security also have long histories. Each excerpts in chronological order, a bibliography, and the new generation believes it has invented a new world; it is general index. the job of historians to remind them that much has preced- Most entries are one to four pages in length and are fol- ed current events that is relevant to their understanding. lowed by a list of “Further Reading.” Having the prima- The reader’s guide listing of related entries, chronology, and ry documents appear in a separate volume allows one to volume of primary documents invite the student to delve go between the entries and their documents easily. Some much deeper into the topic of surveillance than the simple entries might have required a bit more length than was alphabetical arrangement of volume one would suggest. I allowed (why does “Alien Registration Act” end with a hope many readers accept the invitation. mention of its having been amended several times with- Although this encyclopedia is intended for high school out briefly describing the amendments?), but, generally, and undergraduate students, the general public and profes- the entries are sufficiently detailed to educate their pri- sionals in various fields may find it useful to have so much mary audience without overwhelming them with tech- information on government surveillance gathered into one nical information. Even technology-related entries are work. Highly recommended.

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LIBRARIES planned to take their complaints to the issue of whether one school’s mate- Nassau County, Florida the district. “I would like them to do rials review panel may make decisions Two Nassau County parents are out- away with this. I would like them to with district-wide implications, Cobbe raged about two books their mid- somehow monitor what goes into the said. dle schoolers brought home from the library,” Todd said. “We are going to make it more clear school library. The covers look harm- The parents also said after posting and more tight, so there’s no question less enough, they said, but when the their concerns on Facebook, teachers if it’s a school-level challenge it applies parents saw the profanity and sexual- from the school reached out to them only to that school,” she said. They ly explicit language inside, they called saying they were concerned, too. Re- also plan to require that any books that a local TV station. From paragraphs ported in: actionnewsjax.com, don’t appear on the district’s list of ap- about sex, to drinking alcohol and August 16. proved titles go through a review pro- stripping, the Yulee Middle School cess before it can be bought. Reported parents said they are furious that these Pasco County, Florida in: Tampa Bay Times, May 23, 25. books are on the shelves of the school A review committee’s proposal to re- library. move Stephen Chbosky’s novel The Ada Township, Michigan “I have in no way shape or form Perks of Being a Wallflower from Pas- Morris Micklewhite and the Tanger- authorized my children to read such co Middle School will stand, but only ine Dress is a children’s book about a material, I can tell you that,” said par- for that school, district spokeswoman young boy who likes to wear a dress to ent Brook Todd. Todd has five kids in Linda Cobbe said. A committee of par- school. He also wears high heels and the Nassau County school district and ents, teachers and administrators had fingernail polish. Morris finds himself one at the middle school. She said the recommended that all Pasco County isolated and ridiculed but eventually books made her uncomfortable. schools stop using a novel that some convinces his classmates that he is just “I was reading a lot of sexual con- deemed “disgusting” for its explicit a boy who happens to like to wear a tent and some things that I wouldn’t sexual references. A substitute teacher dress the color of a tiger and his moth- think high schoolers should have access at Pasco Middle School had assigned er’s hair and they eventually accept to,” Todd said. the novel to seventh-graders in an ad- him. The story aims to encourage ac- The two books are titled TTFN, vanced language arts class. ceptance and discourage bullying. meaning ta ta for now, and TTYL, “The material is disgusting,” said But one parent sees something far short for talk to you later. Shauna Hutsell, who filed a formal more sinister. “What the heck is go- “It’s telling kids to rebel against complaint against the book after her ing on?” Lee Markham asked. “This parents. It’s telling them it’s OK to son brought it home. “It needs to be book is not just talking about accept- party, drink, cuss and do other ob- pulled. No other kids should be getting ing another viewpoint, it’s promoting scene things in the book,” parent Billie this book.” another life.” Thrift said. Thrift said her twelve- A school-based committee agreed Markham is a thirty-five-year-old year-old daughter brought the books with that point. Members suggested Army veteran who says he was dis- home from school. that the novel’s message, while good charged in 2010 after an IED blew up “She immediately didn’t want to for students with troubles like the pro- in his face in Afghanistan forcing him read it, but she was scared she was tagonist’s, exposed many children to to get dental reconstruction. Markham going to get a bad grade because she disturbing images and information is also the father of a nine-year-old didn’t finish reading the book she for the first time. The novel includes third-grader at a Forest Hills Public checked out,” Thrift said. Thrift said detailed descriptions of rape, sex and Schools elementary where the book the books are part of the accelerated masturbation. was read to class. reading program where students log “You can’t get any argument from “We’re talking about one way to the amount spent reading and have to me,” principal Jeff Wolff, who has two live life, but what about the other way, take tests on the books. middle school aged children, told the y’know, sorry to say it, the normal way “Personally, I think this is what’s group. what’s the benefit of actually adhering wrong with children today. It’s books Four high schools that have the to societal norms,” Markham said. like this and stuff being exposed to our 1999 title took it out of circulation “For one thing, if any of those kids children and it being allowed to being pending the outcome of a challenge at weren’t thinking about wearing dress- exposed,” said Thrift. Both parents Pasco Middle. Administrators discussed es, now they are,” Markham said.

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But far from pushing any kind Henning, Minnesota It includes illustrations about those of agenda, Superintendent Daniel The Henning School Board on June things, including pages of naked teens Behm said the topic was broached by 1 reversed a staff decision to remove and adults, some depicting sex acts and students. from the district’s one library the even masturbation. “This book is not part of our typical award-winning graphic novel This One Officials with the Rainier School curriculum but it was chosen with the Summer, by Marko and Jillian Tama- District noted the title is on the state teacher and the counselor after some ki. The board voted four to two to approved list of books allowed at the students kept raising questions about allow the book back in the library but school, but in a letter sent home to some people dressed differently,” Behm under the condition that it be housed parents the school’s principal said they said. in a separate section and be available had been inappropriately passed out to Behm said the issue is not just about only to tenth- to twelfth-graders. They fourth graders in the library. LGBT issues, but about understand- would also need signed parental per- The district said a sixth grade class ing of all cultures in a district of ten mission to check it out. accidentally left the books out, where a thousand students. He said ignoring Superintendent Jeremy Olson, along fourth grade class found and read them. topics like this one will only keep the with the school principal and the li- School officials added that it was an school from concentrating on its core brarian, had decided last month to honest mistake. curriculum. remove the book after an elementary However, some parents of those “When students ask a question, are school parent raised concerns with the fourth graders said the school’s librar- teachers sort of saying ‘well, let me get school about it. ian showed their children the book back with you after I write a letter to The book, which among other priz- directly, and even encouraged them to all the parents to see if I can answer es won a 2015 Caldecott Honor award, bring it home. that letter for you’ I think that’s where features two tween girls on summer “Inappropriate human development it becomes, on a day-to-day practical vacation who lurch between childhood and sexuality books were disseminated level, a challenge,” Behm said. and early adolescence. The girls be- to students who had library. Proce- The book has won numerous come aware of serious problems among dures have been put into place to make awards and has been recommended the adults and older teenagers they ensure this doesn’t happen again. All by library associations as a way to ex- counter. Among the topics: unplanned questionable books have been pulled plore the topic with children. Its au- pregnancy, drugs, alcohol, suicide and from library shelves,” the principal thor, Christine Baldacchino, said the oral sex. wrote in a letter to parents. book is about more than just practicing Olson had previously said that with The note went on to say that cur- acceptance. one library for 390 students in pre-K rent policies about what books are “I wanted to give a voice to kids through 12th grade, the book wasn’t allowed in the library were being ad- who are judged by people like Lee appropriate. “We didn’t ban it,” Ol- dressed, and Hudson Park will provide Markham every day just for being who son said. “We took it off the library parental notification when sex ed is they are. I want these children to know shelves.” Reported in: Minneapolis being covered in classroom, so kids can that their focus should be on being Star-Tribune, May 27, June 2. opt out if they aren’t comfortable. Re- happy in their own skin (whether it be ported in: kptv.com, April 14. wrapped up in a tangerine dress or a Rainier, Oregon pair of denim overalls),” she wrote in a A sex education book full of illus- SCHOOLS statement. trations depicting sexual acts created Northville, Michigan Markham said he wants an apology quite the controversy at a Hudson Park Tami Carlone was dismayed when and to have the book pulled from the Elementary School in Rainier. Par- learning her daughter had been as- shelves. The superintendent said that ents said the book was shown to their signed to read acclaimed writer Toni while he is glad to be aware that there kids without their permission, and the Morrison’s book, The Bluest Eye as part is a person who might have a problem school consequently pulled the book of Northville High School’s Advanced with this particular book, there is no from library shelves. Placement English course. She ob- reason it should be banned from the The book in question, It’s Perfect- jects to the novel’s content, including schools. Reported in: woodtv.com, ly Normal, is a children’s book for ages depiction of a sexual assault. So Car- May 11. ten and up, that talks all about chang- lone filed a request with the district, ing bodies, sex and sexual health. aiming to have officials reconsider

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having the work included as part of the presented to a district committee April board Trustee Sarah Prescott said. Re- curriculum. 5. Members asked that administrators ported in: Detroit News, April 13. “I feel it’s developmentally inap- consider adjusting the committee re- propriate,” Carlone said. “I don’t feel view and sought a revised proposal. Chatham Township, New any child should be required to read Throughout the sometimes conten- Jersey it.” That idea inspired her and oth- tious board meeting many parents and Libby Hilsenrath came before the er parents to pack a Northville Public others spoke out about the tough topics Chatham Board of Education July 18 Schools Board of Education meeting in covered in Morrison’s book. Several to express concerns over the inclu- April. racy excerpts were read aloud. Some, sion of A People’s History of the United Board members unanimously ap- like Carlone, felt the material “glam- States, by Howard Zinn, in Chatham proved a committee recommendation orized” pedophilia and could affect High School curricula. that allows parents to choose between students. The book presents an alternative the Morrison novel or two other works “We’re citizens concerned about view of American history character- this spring. “Because of your feedback, the moral compass of our society and ized by the influence of an elite mi- we’re giving you a choice,” board Pres- the direction it’s headed,” said Karen nority over the rest of the population. ident Adam Phelps told the audience. Braun, who lives outside the district. Superintendent Michael LaSusa said Officials said the book has been part But others advocated the artistic excerpts from the book, not the book of the AP English and Composition merit of the work. in its entirety, have been assigned read- course since the early 1990s and was “Now they have a forum where ing in US History II classes at the high slated to be covered later that month at they can discuss these things hap- school for at least fifteen years. The Northville High. pening in our culture,” parent Misty book is used in high school and college Published in 1970, The Bluest Eye Woods said. “You don’t ban books. classrooms across the country. revolves around the struggles Pecola You don’t do it.” Hilsenrath read a passage from A Breedlove, a young African-American Erica Meister, an AP literature stu- People’s History in which Zinn writes girl, faces living in Ohio during the dent, pointed out that other required the US Constitution was not written early 20th century—including grap- reading—including The Great Gatsby by “We, the people,” but a group of pling with racial identity and sexual and even Shakespeare’s Hamlet—cov- “fifty privileged, white males whose assault. ered questionable behavior but has not class interests required strong cen- The request to reconsider using the always stoked such ire. “Why are these tral government.” Hilsenrath said the book in the curriculum, which went topics no longer acceptable when they book flies in the face of the school dis- to a committee that included a high are written about by an African-Amer- trict’s commitment to imparting criti- school administrator, English teachers ican female?” she said. cal thinking skills. and other educators, cited the contro- The board’s vote means that AP “Given the fact that the author versial content. However, “following students and parents can choose be- himself, Howard Zinn, says his book a thoughtful and deliberative process, tween three works that cover themes is a ‘biased account,’ I would ask the the committee reached a unanimous such as oppression and poverty: the board to consider removing the book decision to recommend continued use” Morrison book, an essay anthology or from the US History curriculum in of the book, believing that removing it William Faulkner’s The Sound and the the high school,” she said. “Or, al- “would eliminate the opportunity for Fury, Barash said. In the future, they’ll ternatively, add another perspective deep study by our students on critical also have a chance to review which or viewpoint of American history themes in our society,” Deanna Barash, writings identified for students, she in addition to pure, unadulterated assistant superintendent of instructional said. facts in a textbook. If we truly claim services, wrote in a recent letter to the Board members said they welcomed to teach critical thinking, not one- complainant. the comments from the public. But way thinking, I think it’s imperative “The rich text, dialogue and de- they also recognized that The Bluest the board review whether or not this piction of life for African Ameri- Eye had not been challenged before, book should be included as part of the cans . . . allows our students to explore and considering a ban opens others curriculum.” and synthesize the impact poverty, questions about objectionable material. Board Vice President Matthew Gil- classism and oppression have on indi- “If people ask where we draw the fillan said he would not be comfortable viduals.” The recommendation was line—that’s a very long list of lines,” with his children reading the book in

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school were it not balanced with an- our society and are relevant right more relevant to learn this than when other text with opposing views. now,” student Renae Roscart, fifteen, they’re going through it? By cutting LaSusa said the book is counterbal- said of the parents who had sought the these particular things out, you’re pre- anced by another perspective, that of removal of some books. tending that these statistics don’t exist. US History textbooks. “The goal is Renae, of North Fayette, spoke at You are pretending that sexual assault primarily to teach about perspective, a school board meeting as she present- and alcoholism isn’t something that and that textbooks themselves are not ed the petition, which was circulat- youths encounter. And that is a prob- necessarily objective works,” he said. ed among high school students on lem,” Renae said. “At least that’s the position of a number the last two days of the school year. Renae’s flier said that “lack of com- of historians—that just the mere histo- Signed by 208 students, the petition munication” could be contributing to a riography of a given period has value asks that The Glass Castle, by Jeanette culture in which rape is prevalent and judgements that authors apply when Walls, be returned to the reading list suicide rates are increasing. In March, they are working with the sources that in its entirety and that other titles that the parents who objected to some of they’re working (with). might be considered controversial re- the books argued that the content of “So the goal with this book and main on the list. the books could be the cause of depres- others in all of the social studies cours- The Glass Castle is about a woman sion and anxiety in teens. es at the high school is to teach kids persevering after a dysfunctional child- Board president Debbie Mirich in- how to decipher how authors are put- hood and includes graphic descriptions dicated the district would look into the ting together sources and how narra- of abuse, including sexual abuse. This matter. tive is being created. That’s done with year was the first time the book had “We always appreciate hearing stu- all the works.” been on the district’s high school read- dent voices. It’s always important to LaSusa said after the meeting that ing list. Concerned about its content, us,” superintendent Jerri Lynn Lippert he would use Lies My Teacher Told a group of parents requested in March said after the meeting. Me, by James Loewen, and a book by that it and other titles be removed from West Allegheny serves about 3,300 Booker T. Washington when he was the list. students from Findlay, North Fayette a social studies teacher at Chatham District officials responded, saying and Oakdale. The high school has an High School to present alternative the reading assignment was altered to enrollment of about 1,000. Reported viewpoints. require students to read only excerpts in: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 24. “I think it’s important to expose from the memoir instead of the whole kids to multiple perspectives and have text. Round Rock, Texas; South them understand that primary sourc- The change “stole our students’ Burlington, Vermont es are the critical ingredient for any chance to learn and empathize with The day before Kate Messner was historian or any critical consumer of the society they live in,” Renae told scheduled to speak to students about information.” Reported in: Chatham the school board June 15. her latest novel, The Seventh Wish, the Courier, July 18. “Reading the full content of The author received a troubling message Glass Castle could allow a sexually as- from the school’s administrators: Don’t North Fayette, saulted child or a child with an alco- come. Pennsylvania holic parent to feel less alone and less Though the librarian at the Ver- In response to parents’ demands that isolated,” she told the school directors. mont elementary school had specifical- some books be removed from the In addition to the petition, Renae ly requested Messner’s appearance, the West Allegheny High School reading presented the board with a flier she invitation was rescinded when some- list, about two hundred students have helped create titled “The Ugly Truth,” one at the school grew concerned that signed a petition asking the district which cites national statistics on the students were not prepared to handle not to use censorship in an attempt to number of children directly affected by one of the novel’s threads, a subplot shield teens from problems they may alcoholism, sexual assault and mental about heroin addiction. be encountering in their lives. health conditions. It also includes local Messner was dismayed, to say the “You’re trying to protect the chil- poverty rates. least. “When we decide a book is in- dren and I see that, but you’re real- “How is this inappropriate for our appropriate for a school library because ly sheltering them and making them children when they’re going through it deals with a tough subject, we’re ignorant to issues that actually plague this right now? What time could be telling kids in that situation that their

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problems can’t even be talked about,” Since the initial cancellation, the prin- Rowell’s Eleanor and Park, a love sto- she said. cipal assured Messner that the school ry between two misfit teenagers in The cancellation of Messner’s ap- library will shelve The Seventh Wish, Nebraska. pearance happened on the heels of and e-mailed parents to let them know The book has received multiple ac- the Round Rock Independent School that the South Burlington Commu- colades as the young adult or teen book District’s decision to cancel author Phil nity Library and Phoenix Books, an of the year for 2014 and was one of the Bildner’s appearances this coming fall independent bookstore in Burlington, American Library Association’s Mi- at eight of its elementary schools. A would host an event with Messner on chael L. Printz Award honor books. district spokesman said Bildner, who June 28. Reported in: Publishers Week- One of the books taken off of the has visited the Texas school district for ly, June 22. revised middle school list is Tyrell, by the past seven years, made inappropri- Coe Booth, about an African-Ameri- ate remarks to students about challeng- Chesterfield, Virginia can teen living in a homeless shelter. ing adult authority during his presenta- Titles like Eleanor and Park and Out of Easter also took issue with the tions last year. But Bildner believes the the Easy might have made their way original middle school list’s inclusion real reason is an objection to some of onto lists of best books for teenagers, of Dope Sick, by Walter Dean Myers. the books he recommended to students but they also raised the ire of a group The book is about a young man who last fall, including Alex Gino’s novel, of Chesterfield parents. Calling the has been shot during a drug deal and George, which describes a fourth-grade books “pornographic” and filled with is on the run from the police. Myers student’s gender transition. “vile, vile, nasty language,” Midlo- has won the Coretta Scott King Book After Messner blogged about the thian’s Shannon Easter was one of the Award for African-American authors withdrawal of her invitation to speak parents raising objections to books five times. in South Burlington, an elementary that were placed on Chesterfield “It’s a very disparaging book that school librarian from a different state County Public Schools’ summer read- does not help eliminate racism,” Eas- e-mailed her to say she had The Seventh ing lists for middle and high school ter says. “It separates and divides. It’s Wish on her order list, but removed it students. trash.” after learning it addressed opioid ad- Easter—who has one child enrolled Easter also finds fault with the orig- diction. “Maybe there are some liber- in the county school system and two inal list’s Kimani Tru series, saying al communities out there that totally others who are home-schooled—ini- the books’ inclusion of issues like teen embrace telling children every possible tially began her campaign last summer pregnancy and abortion aren’t appro- bad thing that could happen to them by researching the books on Midlo- priate for middle school consumption. in their life,” the librarian wrote in thian High’s summer reading list. Us- These books are not found on the re- an e-mail to Messner, “but once that ing websites like nonprofit Common vised lists. innocence bubble is popped they can Sense Media and Plugged In, the en- After contacting the school system never unlearn those things or remove tertainment arm of conservative Chris- this year, Easter said the middle and those images. I want some more hours tian organization Focus on the Fam- high school summer reading lists were of sprinklers, mud pies, and running ily, Easter deemed some of the books pulled from the Internet and revised, around with light sabers.” on the reading list to be inappropriate. no longer containing the words “sug- When the school librarian request- She said that four titles on last year’s gested” and “recommended.” The up- ed Messner’s visit in January, she was list for Midlothian High were re- dated lists for middle and high schools sent an advance copy of the book and moved after she contacted the school’s were revised to state that the school a letter written by Messner explaining administration. system “does not endorse any specif- that the novel contained an “honest but This May, when Easter and other ic titles on these lists. Not all parents age-appropriate look at the effect hero- parents requested Midlothian High’s will consider all of the books on these in addiction has on families.” Messner 2016 summer reading, they were in- sites to be appropriate, so parents are is not sure the letter—or her book— formed that the high school would encouraged to visit these sites for re- were read until just before her sched- not be issuing one and that the school views to determine which books are uled visit. would instead use a countywide sum- appropriate.” “I don’t think this was censorship, mer reading list. The parents found The lists include books that Easter but I do think there was a breakdown several titles on the 2016 reading lists doesn’t find objectionable; however, in communication,” Messner said. objectionable, including Rainbow she continued to take issue with the

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links to other organizations’ book lists “Most parents, if they actually read Neshaminy senior, on why he believes now included on the CCPS lists. The excerpts [of these books], would have school administrators have taken such links connect to pages from Scholastic, grave concerns,” said Chase. “When- bold actions against The Playwickian James Patterson’s Read Kiddo Read ever we start introducing kids to what staff. and others, which contain books that I would say is explicitly pornographic Student editors were directed by Easter considers pornographic. material, I question the appropriate- Neshaminy High School Principal “You can get right back to all this ness of that material, especially when Robert McGee to publish an article trash in two links,” Easter said. it conflicts with the core values that with the term Redskin, after the stu- Speaking at a School Board meet- CCPS puts forward. As a parent, that’s dent author and then-co-managing ing, the county’s chief academic offi- not something that I want my kids editor, Jessica McClelland, filed and cer, Donna Dalton, said that the school reading.” won an appeal of the editors’ decision system had revised the book lists to Chase, a Republican, said she sup- to redact the word. address concerns of parents. Previously, ported a General Assembly bill that Cho said the editorial board’s deci- the list had included recommendations would have required public schools to sion not to publish the word Redskin, from CCPS librarians. notify parents before using sexually ex- which is also the school’s mascot, in “Instead, we are pointing our mid- plicit books in school. The bill passed the article was based on an 8-1 major- dle and high school students and their both houses of the legislature before it ity vote and in accordance with a 2013 parents toward lists to national web- was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Terry policy established by the newspaper. sites that review books,” Dalton said. McAuliffe. The Playwickian received national “These include Scholastic, Read Kid- “At the very least, there should be attention when its editorial board de- do Read and Young Adult Library parental notification,” Chase says. “It’s cided not to publish the word Redskin Services.” embarrassing, honestly. If parents want in 2013, after deciding it was a racial “We hope that we are proactively to talk about it at home with their slur against Native Americans. Other addressing concerns raised by our par- kids, that’s one thing, but why would newspapers have also stopped using the ents over sensitive reading materials,” you have that at school?” Reported in: word. Dalton said. Chesterfield Observer, June 22, 29, July Most Neshaminy students, however, The summary of the updated read- 20. are either not opposed or don’t have an ing lists reads, “Summer reading is opinion on the school’s mascot name, more about practicing the enjoyable STUDENT PRESS said Cho, citing the school’s large stu- habit of reading than it is about chal- Langhorne, Pennsylvania dent population and football culture as lenging students academically.” Access to post and edit content to the reasons why. To this, Easter objects. “I’m not online version of The Playwickian, the “People talk about tradition, but paying them tax dollars to entertain student newspaper at Neshaminy High they don’t talk about [the] history” be- my children, and if I were paying them School in Langhorne, was revoked for hind the tradition, he said. to entertain my children, I certain- more than a month after student ed- The article at the center of The Play- ly wouldn’t want them doing it with itors decided not to publish the word wickian’s latest controversy was about pornography,” Easter says. “We are fo- Redskin in a news article, despite be- Neshaminy’s annual Mr. Redskin cused on getting the pornography off ing directed to do so by the school’s competition, considered for publication of the reading list and out of the hands principal. in the newspaper’s May online-only of our kids.” The Playwickian’s editor in chief, edition, a month after the event. Some In response to the controversy, state Tim Cho, has teamed up with the of the newspaper’s editors did not want Senator Amanda Chase said the books Philadelphia-based law firm Levine, it published for that reason. on the original lists were “pornograph- Sullivan, Koch & Schulz to protest the Eishna Ranganathan, former Play- ic” and “trash.” She said that librarians actions taken by the Neshaminy High wickian co-managing and co-news edi- who continued to recommend books School administration. A letter they tor, said the newspaper’s May edition is that were inconsistent with CCPS’ sent, dated June 6th, states that the online only because the staff takes that “core values” should be “dismissed” school’s administration violated Cho’s month to prepare for its June gradua- after a warning and that the offending federal and state constitutional rights. tion print issue. books should be removed from school “I suppose the administration In mid-April, the majority of libraries. has underestimated us,” said Cho, a The Playwickian’s editors did decide

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to publish the article with the word Cho expects funds to be cut in half profound grief with which our com- Redskin redacted, printing it as again soon. munity still lives.” “R------,” in accordance with its edi- Administration told the newspaper’s Matie Manning Scully, chair of torial policy—and the Associated Press staff that they cut its budget in an effort performing arts at the college, said she stylebook’s guidelines for redacting ob- to digitize the publication, Rangana- did not believe the play’s cancellation scenities and profanities. than said. Then they cut web access, raised concerns about academic free- That same day the article was re- she added. “I would say the ball is in dom, although it was to have been part moved from the website and editors’ the administrator’s court now,” Ran- of the instructor’s fall play production administrator privileges were revoked ganathan said. Reported in: splc.org, class. by school administrators, Cho said. June 13. “It’s my understanding that [she] Administration later uploaded the arti- decided this on her own,” Scully said. cle to the newspaper’s website with the COLLEGES AND “She’s a very tenderhearted woman word Redskin intact, Cho said. UNIVERSITIES to get this sort of negative response, I This move is in violation with San Bernardino, California think she came to this decision on her the district’s own publications poli- San Bernardino Valley College has own.” cy, known as Policy 600, which gives halted production on a play based on A local newspaper ran a story about student editors the right to redact the December’s terrorist attack in that city. the plan to produce a “devised” play word Redskin or not publish sto- The announcement came after some of about the San Bernardino shootings, ries that use it. Their decisions can be the victims’ family members objected in which an ensemble cast would re- appealed, as was the case for the Mr. to the concept. search and conduct interviews with Redskin article, and the principal has “Please accept our deepest apolo- local residents about their respons- to review all of the newspaper’s con- gies for any pain or hurt we may have es to the attack to create an original tent before it is published in print or caused during the planning stages of play. Later in the week, some people online. launching a fall production called SB in the area, including family members Policy 600 was revised in 2014 after Strong,” Diana Z. Rodriguez, college of victims, voiced their concerns about The Playwickian editorial board voted president, wrote in a letter to San Ber- the idea to college officials. Some said fourteen to seven the previous year to nardino County residents. “Our facul- they wanted to see a script before the ban the word Redskin from its pages. ty are very sympathetic to the sensitive project moved ahead, others said it was The policy now dictates that “no stu- nature of their work and are consider- simply too soon, and others still said it dent shall be disciplined for editing or ing a new theme for our fall produc- was poor judgment to dramatize the editorial decisions, including the de- tion. We will not be doing SB Strong.” event at all. letion of the word ‘Redskin’ from any Rodriguez said that “wider com- “As the father of one of the 14 peo- article or editorial or for objecting to munity input” will be sought if such a ple killed, I am aghast at the suggestion its use in any advertisement.” project is considered in the future, to that you’d want to profit from Daniel’s Cho and his legal team are request- ensure that the victims of the attack death,” Mark Sandefur wrote in a let- ing that school administrators publish at the Inland Regional Center aren’t ter to the college, referring to his late the article with the word Redskin re- dishonored or misrepresented. At the son, Daniel Kaufman. “What incredi- dacted and restore Cho’s administrator same time, she said that academic free- bly bad taste you show. I can’t imagine privileges on the website. dom was not abridged in the decision who thought this was a good idea.” The paper’s staff has been feeling to pull the play. Because there was no script, no one the blowback of their decision to ban “Although we encourage originality was citing anything specific about the the word Redskin since the beginning, on the part of our faculty and cannot play except its concept. said Ranganathan, who was a fresh- censor their academic work, we also Pavel Bratulin, spokesperson for man at Neshaminy in 2013. For the highly value the community’s input the college, said via email that faculty past two years, The Playwickian’s bud- into the work we do,” she wrote. “We members had received concerns “sent get has been cut, she said. Last academ- strive to be an institution that excels directly to them that the production ic year the newspaper operated on a in bridging cultural gaps and provid- would lack support from many family slim $2,000, an amount the editors un- ing improved access to rewarding ca- members and friends of victims.” successfully sought to double through reers and professional opportunities. Since this was “one of the key voic- the crowdfunding site Indiegogo. And We could never seek to exacerbate the es the faculty wanted to hear from and

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involve in the production, they decided Baker-Berry Library after unidentified religion,” Joe Buchoff, a Rutgers stu- not to move forward with it this se- individuals removed parts of their own dent, wrote on Facebook. mester,” Bratulin said. “The decision display, which commemorated Afri- Campus officials removed the art was made by faculty out of consider- can-Americans slain by police. piece from a prominent spot hanging ation for the families of victims who Unsubstantiated reports of violence on a wall near the circulation desk, shared their concerns. Our academic at the protest, as well as first-hand ac- library officials said. Instead, the piece freedom policy encourages indepen- counts of abusive and racially charged was moved to the other side of the dence of thought and originality, so the epithets, led to a backlash against the room and placed on its side on the decision could have only been made at activist movement, and Hanlon at the lower shelf of a glass exhibit case with the faculty level.” Reported in: inside time released a statement that ap- other art pieces. By that afternoon, a highered.com, August 1. peared to criticize the demonstrators. library spokeswoman said the piece The college president also promised was taken out of the exhibit entirely. Hanover, New Hampshire punishment for any students found to “The artwork in question was re- Dartmouth College President Phil have misbehaved during the protest, a moved from the exhibit because it did Hanlon on May 15 denounced the re- promise that he renewed for this latest not meet Rutgers University Librar- moval of a bulletin-board display in incident. Reported in: Valley News, ies policy, which requires art exhibi- honor of slain police officers, calling May 17. tions and their pieces to be based on the action “an unacceptable viola- university events, curricular offerings tion of freedom of expression on our New Brunswick, New and topics of interest to the university campus.” Jersey community,” said Jessica Pellien, di- In memory of police officers killed Rutgers University officials removed rector of communications at Rutgers in the line of duty, the Dartmouth a controversial art piece depicting a University Libraries. College Republicans arranged the ex- Jesus on a dartboard from a campus “The process that the libraries use hibit, titled “Blue Lives Matter,” in library in April after receiving com- to determine how artwork is select- the Collis Center. The next morning plaints that the exhibit was offensive, ed for inclusion in an exhibit takes the posters, which gave statistics on school officials said. The piece, which into consideration freedom of expres- law enforcement deaths and hailed the shows a figure of a crucified Jesus sion as well as the criteria listed above. country’s “everyday heroes,” were re- stabbed with four darts, was part of an We have concluded that the policy placed by fliers that read “You cannot exhibit in the Art Library on Voor- and process the libraries use to select co-opt the movement against state vi- hees Mall in the heart of the New artwork for exhibitions was not fol- olence to memorialize its perpetrators Brunswick campus. lowed,” Pellien said. #blacklivesmatter.” Some Rutgers students and alumni Pellien did not elaborate on how or Participants in the protest group turned to Facebook to post photos of why the artwork was put on display Black Lives Matter claimed responsibil- the art piece, called “Vitruvian Man,” without the proper approvals. ity on social media, saying the play on and demand it be taken down. The dartboard Jesus art piece was their name undermined efforts to curb “It is surprising that a state univer- one of dozens of unusual art pieces dis- police violence. sity would allow this. I asked them to played around the three-story library. “The unauthorized removal on Fri- take it down because I found it dis- The other pieces included a stack of day of a student display for National respectful and they refused,” Rutgers coins covered with a condom (titled Police Week in the Collis Center was alumna Natalie Caruso, of Elmwood “Tower of Babel”), a milk carton with an unacceptable violation of freedom Park, said Wedensday in a Facebook a photo of Holocaust victim Anne of expression on our campus,” Hanlon post on the Rutgers University Class Frank on the back (titled “Cute Kids said in the statement, which also ap- of 2016 page that drew hundreds of Make Good Advertising”) and a Rut- peared on the college website. “Van- comments and shares. gers diploma hanging from a real estate dalism represents a silencing of free ex- Other commenters defended the sign (titled “The Bullfighter Extends change, rather than open engagement.” piece and the university’s right to dis- His Cape”). The bulletin-board incident was the play it. “It’s art, it’s an important state- The names of the artists were not latest in a string of race-related dis- ment. Also it’s hilarious. We don’t have included with the artwork. Rutgers putes on campus. In November, Black to cater to the wills of the Church or officials did not identify the artist who Lives Matter activists staged a protest in any denomination of Christianity or created the dartboard Jesus piece or

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whether he or she is a student or fac- The earliest news reports on the doors this fall. The owner of “Shake- ulty member. Reported in: nj.com, issue said UW-Stout planned to speare Books and Antiques,” Judi April 21. place the paintings into storage. That Honore, said a dispute with the Ore- news prompted a series of complaints gon Shakespeare Festival has not only Stout, Wisconsin from conservative commentators and hurt her bottom line, it’s also affected Anti-censorship groups have appealed right-wing politicians about “political her personal life. to the University of Wisconsin-Stout correctness.” “I’ve been told I’m racist,” Honore not to remove or relocate two eighty- But the decision to relocate the said. year-old paintings that depict First paintings also brought reaction from Eddie Wallace Associate Direc- Nations people and French fur traders. more serious sources, like the NCAC. tor of Communications for OSF sees UW-Stout Chancellor Bob Meyer It said historical work like Peters’ it differently and says they’re not the said the paintings were being relo- paintings provides an opportunity to reason she’s shutting her doors. “All cated for display under “controlled engage with and reflect on the last- I can say is it’s an interesting piece of circumstances” because of student ing and important questions raised by fiction that she is writing,” Wallace complaints. these traces of historical memory. “At responded. Meyer said Native American stu- a time when the lingering effects of The dispute between Honore and dents feel the paintings symbolize a systemic prejudice and racism contin- OSF began this summer when a con- time when their land and possessions ue to be felt this is of particular im- troversial book cover in the store’s were taken from them. The school portance,” NCAC said. window display was called into ques- is moving the paintings because of Later, after the university an- tion. According to Wallace, four ac- their potential for harmful effect and nounced plans not to remove but to tors with OSF asked Honore to move because they could reinforce racial relocate the paintings, NCAC director Little Black Sambo, about a young Indi- stereotypes. of programs Svetlana Mintcheva said, an boy, from the front window. Anti-censorship groups responded “Encounters with an often brutal his- “I said ok, great, come in, and we’ll to the decision, including the Na- tory are part of the educational pro- move it together,” agreed Honore. tional Coalition Against Censorship, cess, censoring stories that don’t feel But OSF executives soon wrote which was contacted by a UW-Stout good is not. What’s worse is the dis- her, saying they had instructed their professor. respectful and patronizing assumption staff not to patronize the bookstore “Shrouding or moving the painting that future students need to be shield- for any festival related goods or ser- does not educate anyone or stimulate ed from these historical realities.” vices. According to Honore, the move any learning or dialogue. American Meyer told Wisconsin Public Ra- hurt her business driving down sales history and representations of that his- dio the decision was not based on po- significantly in August. tory can be ugly and offensive,” said litical correctness or censorship. He “The festival withholding business Stout English and philosophy profes- said, “So, we want to make sure that, from the store is not the reason for sor Timothy Shiell. “But hiding them really, what we decorate our hallways Judi encountering economic difficul- doesn’t change the past or the future.” with and what we put in our hallways ties,” said Wallace. Still Honore said NCAC contacted Meyer on Au- is consistent with our values to try to she stands by her decision to display gust 5 and urged his administration to attract more Native Americans to the the book and others like it. reconsider. university.” Reported in: Wisconsin “My position is that I stood up for Cal Peters created the paintings in Gazette, August 25. my rights, I stood up for what I feel is 1936. The six foot by eighteen foot right.” Even though she says she prob- murals were commissioned under the BOOKSTORE ably could wait to see if the store will Works Progress Administration and Ashland, Oregon bounce back, she’s now canceled her depict a French fort and fur traders After fourteen years of business in lease saying the stress and emotional with Native Americans canoeing the Ashland a bookstore that sells banned toll on her personal life isn’t worth it. Red Cedar River. and censored books will be closing its Reported in: kobi.com, September 1.

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NET NEUTRALITY protections—both on fixed and mo- able to access the Internet and cre- Washington, DC bile networks—that will ensure the ate and distribute their own digital A federal appeals court on June 14 internet remains open, now and in the content and applications. Keeping an upheld a White House-supported ef- future.” open Internet—often referred to as fort to make internet service providers Big internet service providers, such ‘network neutrality’— is essential to treat all web traffic equally, delivering as Verizon and Comcast, argued the meeting our mission in serving our a major defeat to cable and telephone rules will chill investment in network communities. companies. infrastructure. AT&T and Centu- “More than a year ago the FCC The US Court of Appeals for the ryLink, along with cable, wireless and rightfully claimed its authority to District of Columbia Circuit, in a telecom trade groups, filed the lawsuit protect against blocking or throttling two-to-one vote, affirmed the FCC’s to overturn the order. of legal content, as well as to prevent latest net neutrality rules, which con- During oral arguments in Decem- paid prioritization of some Inter- sumer groups and President Barack ber, appeals court judges David Tatel, net traffic over other traffic. We are Obama have backed as essential to Sri Srinivasan and Stephen Williams pleased the Court has affirmed the prevent broadband providers from had seemed receptive to the FCC’s FCC Order and sustained the stron- blocking or degrading internet traf- decision to ground its net neutrality gest possible protections for equitable fic. The telecom industry and Re- rules in telephone-style regulation. In access to online information, applica- publicans have heavily criticized the the majority opinion, written by Ta- tions and services for all.” rules as burdensome and unnecessary tel and Srinivasan, the judges said the Congressional Democrats cheered regulation, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz FCC’s approach was bolstered by how the court decision as a win for con- once labeling it “Obamacare for the people view the internet today. sumers and free speech, with Bernie Internet.” “These conclusions about consum- Sanders tweeting that it “will help en- AT&T immediately announced it er perception find extensive support sure we don’t turn over our democra- would appeal the ruling, saying it’s al- in the record and together justify the cy to the highest bidder.” ways expected the issue to be decided Commission’s decision,” they wrote. Republicans criticized the opinion, by the Supreme Court. Several indus- The majority also let stand the and some GOP lawmakers reiterated try trade groups are expected to join FCC’s decision to apply net neutrali- calls for legislation to undo the FCC’s the effort. ty rules to the wireless internet, citing order and create rules that are less The court decision marked a vic- the “rapidly growing and virtual- burdensome to industry. tory for FCC Chairman Tom Wheel- ly universal use of mobile broadband “This is why we need to rewrite er, who led the agency’s Democrat- service.” That’s a critical feature of the the Communications Act,” Rep. John ic majority in approving the rules in rules, since many people today access Shimkus (R-IL) said. “There’s a better February 2015 over the objections of the web through smartphones. way to protect consumers from block- the agency’s two GOP commissioners. Williams, the lone dissenter, said ing and throttling without stifling in- The rules apply utility-style regula- he agreed the FCC has the authority novation or delaying build-out. That tion originally written for telephone to change how it regulates broadband way requires action by Congress.” companies to both land-based and providers, but said the agency didn’t But public interest groups involved wireless internet services. provide enough reasons for doing so. in the net neutrality battle urged in- Wheeler celebrated the ruling, Sari Feldman, president of the dustry and Republicans to give up the calling it a “victory for consumers and American Library Association (ALA), fight. innovators who deserve unfettered ac- released the following statement re- “The people have spoken, the cess to the entire web.” garding the decision: courts have spoken and this should be “It ensures the Internet remains “The American Library Associa- the last word on net neutrality,” Free a platform for unparalleled innova- tion hails the U.S. Court of Appeals Press President and CEO Craig Aaron tion, free expression and econom- decision today upholding the Federal said in a statement. ic growth,” the FCC chair said in a Communications Commission’s Open Republican FCC Commission- statement. “After a decade of debate Internet Order. America’s libraries er Ajit Pai—who voted against the and legal battles, today’s ruling af- collect, create and disseminate essen- net neutrality order—said big cable firms the Commission’s ability to en- tial information to the public over the and telecom firms should keep pur- force the strongest possible internet Internet. We also ensure our users are suing the case in court. “I continue

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND PRIVACY _ SUMMER/FALL 2016 45 FROM THE BENCH _ NEWS

to believe that these regulations are the November 6, 2015, opinion made “The Court was extremely con- unlawful, and I hope that the parties public in April. cerned about these additional inci- challenging them will continue the In a statement, the Office of Di- dents of non-compliance,” wrote legal fight,” Pai said. rector of National Intelligence said Hogan, who also serves as a federal The telecom sector has a successful officials did not mean to be mislead- district court judge in Washington. track record in thwarting the FCC’s ing. “The Government has informed He was appointed by President Ron- net neutrality efforts. A lawsuit by the Court that there was no intent ald Reagan. Verizon scuttled the agency’s previous to leave the FISC with a misimpres- At a closed hearing last October, the 2010 Open Internet order. Reported sion or misunderstanding, and it has FBI detailed some procedures set up to in: politico.com, June 14. acknowledged that its prior represen- remedy the problem, including addi- tations could have been clearer,” the tional training and a system to remind PRIVACY statement posted on ODNI’s Tumblr agents when such reviews are needed. Washington, DC site said. Hogan said he was “satisfied” that the In an April court opinion, a federal The NSA said in some cases it FBI was “taking appropriate measures” court judge overseeing government needed the data to prevent future in- to address the issue. However, he said surveillance programs said he was cidents where data was accidentally he “strongly encourages” the govern- “extremely concerned” about a se- collected without legal authority, like ment to find any other such mistakes ries of incidents in which the Federal when a surveillance target enters the and he said he wanted a briefing on Bureau of Investigation and Nation- United States. (At that point, officials those efforts earlier this year. Reported al Security Agency deviated from are supposed to seek a more specif- in: politico.com, April 19. court-approved limits on their snoop- ic court order to continue the sur- ing activities. veillance.) However, that wasn’t the SCHOOLS Foreign Intelligence Surveillance case with all of the old data NSA was Chicago, Illinois Court Judge Thomas Hogan sharp- hanging onto. A federal appeals court has upheld the ly criticized the two agencies over the The FBI’s troubles involved fail- Chicago school system’s suspension episodes, referred to by intelligence ing to use the required procedures of a sixth grade teacher for using for gatherers as “compliance incidents.” when conducting surveillance of sus- using a racial epithet in his classroom, He also raised concerns that the gov- pects overseas who are facing crimi- ruling that even using the word in ernment had taken years to bring the nal charges in US courts. In order to a lesson violated the school district’s NSA-related issues to the court’s at- preserve attorney-client privilege, the policy against the use of racial epithets tention and he said that delay might FBI is supposed to have such surveil- in front of students. have run afoul of the government’s lance reviewed by a “taint team” that Lincoln Brown, a teacher at Mur- duty of candor to the court. can excise any legal communications, ray Language Academy in the Chica- “The court was extremely con- but that was not happening in all cas- go district, caught his students passing cerned about NSA’s failure to comes, the FBI reported. a note in class that included music ply with its minimization proce- Hogan said the FBI revealed some lyrics featuring the word “nigger,” dures—and potentially” a provision such incidents in 2014, but the num- court papers say. He then attempted “a in federal law, Hogan wrote. The ber was redacted from the opin- well-intentioned but poorly execut- NSA violations appeared to involve ion made public. “The government ed discussion of why such words are preserving surveillance data in its generally attributed those instances hurtful and must not be used,” said systems beyond the two or five years to individual failures or confusion, the US Court of Appeals for the Sev- after which it was supposed to be rather than a ‘systematic issue,’ “ Ho- enth Circuit, in Chicago. deleted. gan wrote. However, more incidents Brown’s principal happened to be “Perhaps more disappointing than occurred from mid-2014 and through observing his class, and the principal the NSA’s failure to purge this infor- 2015, although again the precise num- suspended Brown, whose race isn’t mation for more than four years, was ber was not released. In some instanc- noted in the opinion, for five days the Government’s failure to convey to es, FBI agents believed, incorrectly, for violating the school board’s poli- the Court explicitly during that time that they didn’t need to set up a re- cy against the use of verbally abusive that the NSA was continuing to retain view team if the indictment was un- language. The Chicago school board this information,” the judge wrote in der seal or outside the United States. upheld the suspension.

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Brown sued, arguing that his First added. “His frustration is understand- members: “The allegedly illicit mo- Amendment free speech rights and able, but it is not legally actionable.” tivation of some members of [the Fourteenth Amendment due process Reported in: Education Week, June 3. board] is not relevant to the First of law rights were infringed by the Amendment analysis in the circum- discipline. STUDENT PRESS stances here.” He lost in both a federal district Phoenix, Arizona Had that ruling held up, student court and in the Seventh Circuit Student media outlets stripped of fi- media organizations facing the re- court. The three-judge appeals court nancial support because of unflatter- moval of university financial support panel ruled unanimously that his free ing content have some additional legal would have had an essentially impos- speech rights were not violated be- ammunition, thanks to a federal ap- sible burden to challenge even the cause he used the word in the course peals court decision. most blatant cause-and-effect cases of of his employment. The US Court of Appeals for the retaliation. The court noted that under US Su- Ninth Circuit has overturned a dis- But it didn’t. In an opinion by preme Court precedents such as the trict court’s ruling dismissing the Judge Richard A. Paez, the court 2006 case of Garcetti v. Ceballos, speech claims of an Arizona student organi- overruled Sedwick and sent the case by public employees pursuant to their zation that was penalized with the loss back with instructions to allow the official duties is not protected by the of an automatic $1-per-student fee student association to re-plead its First First Amendment. subsidy after opposing the governor’s Amendment claims: “Here, Brown gave his impromp- position on a statewide referendum. “A state, division of the state, or tu lesson on racial epithets in the The court’s ruling reinstates the state official may not retaliate against course of his regular grammar lesson First Amendment claims brought on a person by depriving him of a valu- to a sixth grade class,” said the June behalf of Arizona Students Associa- able government benefit that that per- 2 opinion by Chief Judge Diane P. tion, which advocates for the interests son previously enjoyed, conditioning Wood in Brown v. Chicago Board of of students at the state’s three public receipt of a government benefit on a Education. “His speech was therefore universities. promise to limit speech, or refusing to pursuant to his official duties. That he In a 3-0 ruling issued June 1 the grant a benefit on the basis of speech. deviated from the official curriculum California-based court held that the Those limitations apply even if the ag- does not change this fact.” ASA’s complaint adequately set forth grieved party has no independent or The court also rejected Brown’s ar- the essential ingredients of a First affirmative right to that government guments that the school district’s rule Amendment claim by alleging that benefit,” the court ruled. against using racial epithets in front of the state Board of Regents adverse- That’s an enormously important students was unconstitutionally vague. ly altered the association’s funding point that, while logical, hasn’t always Brown argued that the school sys- formula as punishment for political been obvious to college lawyers or tem permitted the teaching of Mark speech—specifically, campaigning for judges. There’s a tendency to argue Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry an education-funding ballot initiative that, when something is a “privilege” Finn, which uses the word through- that the governor opposed. rather than an “entitlement,” taking it out, and had permitted the showing A US district court dismissed ASA’s away cannot be actionable under the of movies such as 42, about Jack- claims in 2013, finding that the loss of First Amendment, because there’s “no ie Robinson’s experiences as the first student activity fees wasn’t actionable right to receive student activity fees.” black player in Major League Baseball, under the First Amendment. Essen- But, as Judge Paez understood and which also uses the word. tially, Judge John D. Sedwick accept- explained, that’s the wrong way to “A handful of instances of past ed the state’s argument that allocating think about a First Amendment retal- non-enforcement . . . is insufficient to student fees is a purely discretionary, iation claim. The ASA wasn’t claim- render the policy so vague that an or- year-to-year decision and that the re- ing a “right to receive money”—they dinary person would not know what ceipt of fees in a prior year in no way were claiming a right to be free from it prohibits,” Wood said. creates an entitlement or expectation punishment for speech. “Brown is indignant that he was of continued funding. This principle would be well-un- suspended for using a racial slur while Even worse, the district judge de- derstood outside of the campus set- attempting to teach his students why clined even to consider evidence of ting. Everyone knows that the gov- such language is inappropriate,” Wood retaliatory bias expressed by Regents ernor cannot send the highway patrol

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door-to-door to confiscate the driver a welcome addition to the growing creating a risk that those requirements licenses of people who give speech- heap of speech codes struck down by will be harder to meet if the adminis- es opposing the governor just because courts on First Amendment grounds. trator dislikes the speaker or her mes- “driving is a privilege, not a right.” The policy at issue is NC State’s sage. And if there are no requirements Government can’t take rights or priv- “Non-Commercial Solicitation” pol- other than asking for permission, why ileges away as a means of punishing or icy, which prohibited “any distribu- require a permit at all? deterring constitutionally protected tion of leaflets, brochures or other A federal judge agreed, and NC speech—and advocating for the pas- written material, or oral speech to a State has been ordered not to enforce sage of a referendum is at the pinnacle passersby [sic]” without written per- the policy—for now, at least. Report- of protected political speech. mission in advance from NC State ed in: thefire.org, June 8. The Ninth Circuit stated it un- administrators. equivocally: “the collection and re- NC State chose to enforce its poli- CHURCH AND STATE mittance of funds is a valuable gov- cy against Grace Christian Life, with Lincoln, Nebraska ernment benefit, and a change in administrators’ emails showing that A Nebraska inmate who has professed policy undertaken for retaliatory merely handing someone a card was his allegiance to the divine Flying purposes that results in the depriva- construed as improper “solicitation.” Spaghetti Monster lost his bid de- tion of those funds implicates the First When repeatedly challenged on the manding that prison officials accom- Amendment.” policy by Grace Christian Life’s at- modate his Pastafarianism faith. The court’s ruling resonates at least torneys from the Alliance Defending A federal judge dismissed the suit as far away as Kansas, where right Freedom (ADF), NC State chose to brought by Stephen Cavanaugh, who now the University Daily Kansan news- repeatedly defend the policy. When is serving a 4- to 8-year term on as- paper is (just as the ASA was) defend- Grace Christian Life sued, NC State sault and weapons charges at the Ne- ing against a motion to dismiss its chose to defend the policy before a braska State Penitentiary. US Dis- First Amendment lawsuit challenging federal judge. trict Judge John Gerrard ruled that the retaliatory withdrawal of student NC State’s argument consisted “FSMism” isn’t a religion like the ones activity fees. And just as in the Arizo- largely of repeating the refrain that protected under the Constitution. na Students Assocation case, the uni- the restriction was a reasonable “time, “The Court finds that FSMism is versity is defending itself by insisting place, and manner” restriction hav- not a ‘religion’ within the meaning of that a vote to allocate or not allocate ing nothing to do with content or the relevant federal statutes and con- fees is a matter of legislative discre- viewpoint of the would-be speaker. stitutional jurisprudence. It is, rath- tion, its motivation beyond the au- The government can, of course, im- er, a parody, intended to advance an thority of courts to review. Reported pose reasonable restrictions on speech argument about science, the evolution in: splc.org, June 6. which regulate the time, place, or of life, and the place of religion in manner of the speech, without regard public education. Those are important UNIVERSITY to its content or views, but continu- issues, and FSMism contains a serious Raleigh, North Carolina ally reciting “time, place, or manner” argument—but that does not mean On June 4, a federal district court as a mantra does not make a policy so. that the trappings of the satire used ruled that a student organization, More to the point, a university cannot to make that argument are entitled to Grace Christian Life, was likely to say “you can’t speak ever without per- protection as a ‘religion,’” the judge be successful in its First Amendment mission.” Even if such a policy were ruled. lawsuit against North Carolina State reasonable in scope, it cannot then fail For the uninitiated, Judge Gerrard University, ordering the university to to say what the criteria are to be eligi- gives some explanatory background immediately cease enforcing a poli- ble for such a permit. on Pastafarianism: cy requiring permission to distribute The First Amendment does not “FSMism is a riposte to intelligent literature on campus. While the court grant government officials “unfettered design that began with a letter to the could later vacate the preliminary in- discretion” to use their own judgment Kansas State Board of Education when junction following trial, it’s likely that about when to issue a permit. That it was considering intelligent design. the case will either settle before trial would allow an administrator to come The primary criticism of intelligent or a trial will vindicate the student or- up with their own varying reasons for design—and the basis for excluding ganization’s claims, making this order granting or denying a permit, thus it from school science classes—is that

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although it purports to be “scientific,” demanded that prison officials afford demand accommodation of Bokon- it is actually “an interesting theologi- his “faith” the “ability to order and onism or the Church of All Worlds. cal argument” but “not science.” The wear religious clothing and pendants, Of course, there are those who con- conceit of FSMism is that, because the right to meet for weekly worship tend—and Cavanaugh is probably intelligent design does not identify the services and classes and the right to among them—that the Bible or the designer, its “master intellect” could receive communion.” Corrections of- Koran are just as fictional as those just as easily be a “Flying Spaghetti ficials determined FSMism was a par- books. It is not always an easy line to Monster” as any Judeo-Christian dei- ody religion and rejected his requests. draw. But there must be a line beyond ty—and, in fact, that there is as much (The religious clothing at issue is “a which a practice is not ‘religious’ sim- scientific evidence for a Flying Spa- pirate costume,” the judge notes.) ply because a plaintiff labels it as such. ghetti Monster as any other creator. According to the ruling, “This is The Court concludes that FSMism is As the FSM Gospel explains, “we are not a question of theology: it is a mat- on the far side of that line.” entering into an exciting time, when ter of basic reading comprehension. Nebraska, in seeking to have the no longer will science be limited to The FSM Gospel is plainly a work of case dismissed, told the judge that natural explanations. . . . Propelled satire, meant to entertain while mak- there was no constitutional violation. by popular opinion and local governing a pointed political statement. To “The essence of this action,” the state ment, science is quickly becoming re- read it as religious doctrine would be wrote, “is that prison officials believe ceptive to all logical theories, natural little different from grounding a ‘re- the Plaintiff is not sincere in his re- and supernatural alike.” ligious exercise’ on any other work of ligious beliefs about a flying lump of In his lawsuit, the inmate sought fiction. A prisoner could just as easily spaghetti that first created ‘a moun- $5 million and claimed he has “sever- read the works of Vonnegut or Hein- tain, trees, and a midget.’” Reported al tattoos proclaiming his faith” and lein and claim it as his holy book, and in: arstechnica.com, April 14.

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LIBRARIES the privacy of students’ and research- librarians, Kochan took the publishing Long Beach, California ers’ records. industry to task for not working with Gabriel J. Gardner is a librarian at Allen went on to say that he found academic librarians to create more af- California State University at Long it “surprising” that a Cal State librar- fordable models for the dissemination Beach. He studies, among other ian would “promote the activities of of scholarship. things, the reasons that some schol- an adjudicated thief who has compro- “The larger issue here is that the ars—even those with access to scien- mised university computer systems academic publishing model has be- tific journals for which their colleges and databases worldwide.” While come unsustainable,” Kochan wrote. and universities have paid for sub- some supporters of Sci-Hub “invoke “Like many university libraries, the scriptions—prefer shared papers, even academic freedom,” Allen said, such library budgets at California State when those papers have been pirated arguments are nothing more than “ra- University at Long Beach and the in violation of copyright laws. tionalizations” to “justify the theft of California State University generally Gardner has published papers on intellectual property.” cannot sustain annual price increases the topic and given presentations at Via email, Gardner said that he of 3 percent to 10 percent by many of meetings of academic librarians. never endorsed Sci-Hub or its meth- your organization’s members. Jour- Thomas H. Allen, president of the ods, but that in discussing the site, nal subscription prices are a key part Association of American Publish- he said it was easy to use. He said it’s of the reason that extralegal services, ers, last month sent a letter to Gard- important for librarians to be aware of such as Sci-Hub, flourish.” Reported ner’s boss at Cal State to complain that fact. in: insidehighered.com, August 8. about a presentation Gardner made “I believe the letter was an attempt on the research—and that letter is at intimidation; my deans certainly Grand Forks, North Dakota now being shared online and being interpreted it as such,” Gardner said. Can a public library kick out people criticized by many librarians. Gard- “The pretext that the purpose of the who are asking other library goers to ner and Cal State say that the letter letter was to educate us about the se- sign a petition? That question is being distorts his research and implies that verity of intellectual property viola- asked after a group of people in Grand talking about such repositories of pi- tions is laughable. Every librarian in Forks, led by C. T. Marhula, said they rated papers as Sci-Hub is the same the country knows that they shouldn’t were kicked out of the Grand Forks thing as endorsing them. And they advocate piracy, to do so is a clear vi- Public Library in August. say Allen is trying to intimidate li- olation of the American Library Asso- Since it was announced that two brarians who are pushing for change ciation’s Code of Ethics.” locations (Midtown and Down- in scholarly publishing. Roman Kochan, dean of library town) were selected for a new library In his letter, Allen said that Gard- services at Cal State Long Beach, has in Grand Forks, many people have ner, in a recent session at the Ameri- issued his own letter, strongly de- expressed their disapproval. “Many, can Library Association, “essentially” fending Gardner and asking why the many people want to keep the new said of Sci-Hub, “Try it, you’ll like publishers’ group is not doing more library at its current location,” Mar- it.” Sci-Hub, Gardner noted, is un- to help university libraries deal with hula said. “We’ve collected a lot of der court orders not to continue its journal costs. signatures.” operations. Kochan—citing a recording of the Marhula said he went through the “Sci-Hub’s methods are not be- session—noted that Gardner said Sci- proper channels to get his group into nign,” Allen wrote. “They include Hub was engaged in “massive pira- the library to circulate the petition. illegally accessing the secure computer cy” with “illegal” actions, and in no “This is not North Dakota nice. This networks of a large number of major way endorsed Sci-Hub. He said that is not constitutational,” Marhula said. universities by, among other methods, Allen’s criticisms were “fundamental “The constitution guarantees the right hijacking ‘proxy’ credentials used to factual inaccuracies.” Further, he said to petition.” facilitate off-campus remote access to that Gardner’s work was very much However, David Thompson, an at- university computer systems and data- covered by academic freedom, and as torney in Grand Forks, said it’s not as bases. The techniques employed by it such had the strong endorsement of simple as that. “The First Amendment to defeat security standards are similar Cal State Long Beach. of The Constitution protects free to those employed by other cyberin- More broadly, in comments re- speech, but it’s not an absolute right,” trusions,” including those that protect ceiving praise on social media from Thompson said. “In other words,

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people have no right to yell fire in a people connected to them. One im- student privacy because much of the crowded theater.” portant consequence, the report says, data being collected is not directly Thompson said several court cas- is that children who are subjected identified with a particular student. es allow the government to regulate to “constant digital surveillance and But, it says, “even if companies an- speech in a reasonable time, place or marketing at school” come to accept onymize student data for security or manner. “If they were approaching as normal that corporations play a big marketing purposes, however, stu- people as they were reading at ta- role not only in their education but in dents’ personally identifiable informa- bles, going to card catalogs or using their lives. tion (PII) may not be fully or perma- computers . . . for people to do that The report says: “Schools have nently protected.” in a library, which is a quiet place, proven to be a soft target for data Aside from privacy issues, the re- probably one of the most quiet public gathering and marketing. Not only port says, marketers can influence places that there are, would be basis are they eager to adopt technology the way young people think, feel and for a government or representative of that promises better learning, but their behave with data they collect online. a government to ask people to leave,” lack of resources makes them suscep- It says: “Although companies that col- Thompson said. tible to offers of free technology, free lect, sell, analyze, and buy data may Library Director Wendy Wendt programs and activities, free educa- not know children’s names (though said it’s their longstanding policy to tional materials, and help with fund- they probably do), that hardly mat- prohibit soliciting in any way at the raising. Schools are under relentless ters if they have the information and library. The library board said they pressure to make ever greater use of tools necessary to model everything are going to take a look at the poli- technology. Our techno-friendly zeit- about those children—including their cy, “clear up some of the language” geist embraces and celebrates the rapid interests, social networks, person- and ensure “it’s being enforced fair- proliferation of education technology alities, vulnerabilities, desires, and ly.” Reported in: valleynewslive.com, in every corner of our lives. In school, aspirations—and if they have per- August 17. teachers are encouraged to integrate sonalized access to children, via their technology into their lessons and electronic devices, to shape them. By SCHOOLS homework, and to rely on comput- feeding children ads and other con- Washington, DC erized student performance data as a tent personalized to appeal specifical- Schools have become “soft targets” diagnostic tool. State and federal laws ly to them, and also by choosing what for companies trying to gather data now require that schools do extensive not to show them, marketers influ- and market to children because of the data reporting; in addition, the Com- ence children’s thoughts, feelings and push in education to adopt new tech- mon Core testing regime requires stu- behaviors. As they do, they also test, nology and in part because of the rise dents to take computerized tests—and adjust, and perfect their models of of computer-administered Common therefore to be computer-competent influence—and then track and target Core tests, according to a new annual before they approach the tests.” some more.” report. Although some parents try to resist The report says Google and Face- The report, titled “Learning to the collection and use of data about book are probably the largest com- be Watched: Surveillance Culture at their children, the ubiquity of companies that data mine in schools, and School” and published by the Nation- puters makes it easy for children and they also spend a lot of money to lob- al Center for Education Policy at the their parents to accept “constant data by lawmakers “to keep regulation at University of Colorado at Boulder, gathering and attendance surveillance bay.” is the eighteenth annual report about of children”—and few look through In 2013, Advertising Age noted that schoolhouse commercialism trends. the companies’ “long paragraphs of Google and Facebook, “two of the It says student privacy is increas- legalese” to understand what is really most pervasive digital-data collec- ingly being compromised by commer- going on. Americans are, the report tors,” significantly increased their cial entities that establish relationships says, “to some extent being socialized lobbying expenditures between 2011 with schools—often providing free to ignore and tacitly accept the collec- and 2012—to $19.6 million for Goo- technology—and then track students tion, organization, and sale of infor- gle and $4.6 million for Facebook in online and collect massive amounts mation about us.” 2012. . . . According to one Goo- of data about them. Then they tailor The report notes that industry of- gle blog post, it reaches “more than their advertising to keep the young ficials say that there is no danger to 30 million students, teachers and

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administrators globally” via its Goo- on behalf of a school; records are also especially at risk because they are on- gle Apps for Education (GAFE). available to authorized representatives line more than young children both There are several federal laws that of the U.S. Comptroller General, U.S. in and out of school, and also because are meant to address student privacy: Education Secretary, or state educa- developmentally they are particular- the Family Educational Rights and tional authorities. ly susceptible to targeted marketing.” Privacy Act, known as FERPA; the “Changes to FERPA in 2008 and Reported in: Washington Post, May 17. Children’s Online Privacy Protection 2011 expanded the definitions of both Act, known as COPPA, and the Pro- school officials and authorized repre- Orlando, Florida tection of Pupil Rights Act. Each has sentatives. In one of the most import- Schools in Florida are renewing a significant weaknesses, the report says, ant changes, the U.S. Department program that monitors their students’ which leave younger children and of Education now considers ‘school social media activity for criminal or teenagers open to having their student officials’ to include ‘contractors, con- threatening behavior, although it has records disclosed to commercial enti- sultants, volunteers, and other parties caused some controversy since its ties without parental consent. to whom an educational agency or adoption last year. Most of the laws dealing with study institution has outsourced institutional The school system in Orange data apply to the disclosure to third services or functions it would other- County, where Orlando is locat- parties of personally identifiable infor- wise use employees to perform.’ ed, recently told the Orlando Senti- mation. There is a voluntary Student “This change has far-reaching nel that the program, which partners Privacy Pledge that businesses can implications for student privacy. For the school system with local police take, but there is no assurance that example, when school leaders sign a departments, has been successful in digital data will not be sold to adver- contract to use Google Apps for Ed- protecting students’ safety, saying that tisers or that companies won’t track ucation (GAFE), they assign Google it led to twelve police investigations in students’ online behavior. the authority of “school official.” The the past year. The school district says It is important to understand why Department also considers “autho- it will pay about $18,000 annually for the federal laws don’t do a complete rized representatives” to be any indi- SnapTrends, the monitoring software job of protecting student privacy. The viduals or entities that local or state used to check students’ activity. report notes: “FERPA, which ap- educational authorities, U.S. Secretary SnapTrends collects data from pub- plies to almost all public and private of Education, or U.S. Comptroller lic posts on students’ social media ac- schools, provides the primary set of General select as an authorized repre- counts by scanning for keywords that regulations governing student privacy sentative. As a result of these chang- signify cases of cyberbullying, suicide in the US. Any agency or institution es, schools may now provide data to threats, or criminal activity. School that violates FERPA regulations loses private companies without parental security staff then comb through eligibility for federal funds. However, consent. Significantly, these private flagged posts and alert police when FERPA’s scope is limited to ‘educa- companies are not named ‘partners,’ they see fit. Research suggests that tional records’; the legislation does but rather ‘school officials’ or ‘autho- 23 percent of children and teens have not protect such items as data collect- rized representatives.’ been cyberbullied. Studies connected by education websites or digital “The Children’s Online Priva- ing social media and suicide have not “pupil-generated content” (such as cy Protection Act (COPPA), which shown definitive results, but there has essays), unless PII is included in that applies to children under the age of been research that suggests that cyber- information. 13, requires companies to obtain pa- bullying leads to suicide ideation more “Moreover, several FERPA ex- rental consent before they can collect than traditional bullying. ceptions allow student records to be personal information from children Orange County Public Schools disclosed to certain parties or under for commercial purposes. In Decem- adopted the SnapTrends program as certain conditions without parental ber 2012, the Federal Trade Commis- part of a “prevention and early inter- consent. The most significant excep- sion (FTC) expanded several defi- vention” program. After the New- tion is that without consent, school nitions under COPPA, increasing town, Connecticut, school shootings officials may release student records protection of children by accounting in 2012, the school participated in a for any educational purpose they for new tracking technology. While sweeping technical review with law deem legitimate, as when an organi- these changes are significant, the law enforcement and state emergency zations is conducting studies for or does not apply to teens. Teens are experts with a focus on safety. They

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recommended some sort of social me- have proper policies in place that de- commissioner that social media mon- dia monitoring program, saying that lete this data after a certain period of itoring unfairly targeted black stu- threats can sometimes be spotted on time? These are some questions that dents. The case raises questions about social media postings. “We felt we need to be asked,” he said. which students are most vulnerable needed to deal with these vulnerabil- An example of an appropriate pe- when digitally tracked by the school ities,” Shari Bobinski, who manages riod of time for data to be stored, he and police working in concert. media relations in the school system, suggested, would be until a year after But Bobinski emphasized that said. the student graduates or until they the Orange County system respects Orange County schools said that turn eighteen—a guideline set by a student privacy and inspects student since implementing the software California state law that aims to pro- social media activity, which is pub- last year, it has run 2,504 automat- tect social media privacy for students lic, only if software-flagged content ed searches, leading to 215 manual monitored by schools. causes concern. Online activity would searches by school staff. Details of the Kids are very tech savvy, he em- only appear on a school record if it led police investigations that stemmed phasized, and are likely to find cre- to disciplinary action. “We’ve been from searches in the past year have not ative ways to evade monitoring. That very transparent about what we’re been divulged by the school system. would put their social media lives looking for,” she said. “And that is The school system said that it doesn’t even further away from the watchful to keep our students, our staff and want public details of the program to eyes of parents or other adults. our facilities a safe learning environ- interfere with its effectiveness. Shear also expressed fears of the in- ment.” She was not able to confirm Bobinski, however, shared one an- evitability of highly intrusive mon- how long social media data is stored ecdote from last year. The software itoring, such as collecting data on by SnapTrends. flagged a female student for using the students during after-school hours or For Shear, the allocation of $18,000 keyword “cutting” and the phrase off school property. A software flag in school funds to implement Snap- “nobody will miss me.” Since the would require school staff and possibly Trends that could be used for digital- software gets a huge number of flags police to track a student more closely minded education is particularly for words and phrases like these, the ly. In Bobinski’s story of the suicidal vexing. “[Schools] are not providing security staff delved deeper, inves- student in Orange County, the origi- children the tools needed to protect tigating more posts by the student. nal flag was set off on school property their reputation, their privacy and to They discovered that she had two (SnapTrend’s “geofencing” technology understand the law. Everything that conflicting social media accounts: one limits monitoring within a location- these kids are doing online might have that told the story of a happy, normal al boundary), but investigators delved repercussions down the road,” he said. girl, and the other of someone suf- into her public posts from after-school “I think that’s something that’s fering from suicidal thoughts and de- hours as the checked into her mental missing in the conversation,” Shear pression. The school staff alerted po- health status. continued. “I think that these compa- lice, who conducted a welfare check Orange County isn’t alone in nies are preying on the fears of these at the student’s home and informed choosing to monitor students. Schools parents.” Reported in: Washington her father. She eventually went into in Alabama and California have ad- Post, April 22. treatment. opted similar social-media-mining The story exemplifies the kind of software. In Huntsville, Alabama, PRIVACY safety checks that social media moni- fourteen kids were expelled because of Washington, DC toring offers. But Bradley S. Shear, a social media posts in 2014. The con- The Obama administration is seeking privacy and social media lawyer based tent of the posts was not made public, to amend surveillance law to give the in Bethesda, Maryland, expressed but a school board member said that FBI explicit authority to access a per- concerns about the unintended conse- expulsions result only from serious son’s internet browser history and oth- quences of using software like Snap- offenses involving drugs, weapons or er electronic data without a warrant in Trends. He’s uncomfortable with the sex. Twelve out of the fourteen were terrorism and spy cases. The adminis- collection and storing of information black, despite the schools’ population tration made a similar effort six years on students. “Is this data then gon- of about 40 percent black students ago but dropped it after concerns were na be tied to a student’s permanent and 60 percent white. The expul- raised by privacy advocates and the school record? Does the company sions raised concerns from a county tech industry.

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FBI Director James B. Comey has Cornyn said that what he charac- update ECPA to require law enforce- characterized the legislation as a fix to terized as a “scrivener’s error” in the ment to get a warrant for all email “a typo” in the Electronic Commu- law is “needlessly hamstringing our content, regardless of whether it is one nications Privacy Act, which he says counterintelligence and counterter- day or one year old. has led some tech firms to refuse to rorism efforts.” Privacy groups and tech companies provide data that Congress intended But privacy groups and tech firms support the broader ECPA update, them to provide. are again warning that the expansion versions of which some lawmakers But tech firms and privacy advo- of power would erode civil-liberties have sought for years. But the groups cates say the bureau is seeking an ex- protections. The fix the FBI seeks and tech organizations in their letter pansion of surveillance powers that would “dramatically expand the abil- said that if the ECPA bill includes the infringes on Americans’ privacy. ity of the FBI to get sensitive infor- NSL provision, they will pull their Now, at the FBI’s request, some mation about users’ online activities support. lawmakers are advancing legisla- without oversight,” said a coalition of A November 2008 opinion from tion that would allow the bureau privacy and civil society groups and the Justice Department’s Office of to obtain “electronic communica- industry organizations in a letter. Legal Counsel made clear that ECPA tion transactional records” using an The new categories of information allows the FBI to obtain with an NSL administrative subpoena known as that could be collected using an NSL only four types of basic subscriber in- a national security letter. An NSL “would paint an incredibly intimate formation from internet companies: can be issued by the special agent in picture” of a person’s life, said the let- name, address, length of service and charge of a bureau field office with- ter, signed by the American Civil Lib- telephone bill records. There is no ref- out a judge’s approval. erties Union, Amnesty International erence in the law to browser history, Such records may include a person’s USA, the Computer & Communica- for instance. The opinion said the four internet protocol address and how tions Industry Association, Google, existing categories were “exhaustive.” much time a person spends on a given Facebook and Yahoo, among others. The FBI’s Office of General Coun- site. But they don’t include content, For example, a person’s browsing his- sel, however, has argued that elec- such as the text of an e-mail or Goo- tory, location information and certain tronic communication transactional gle search queries. There’s also a limit email data could reveal details about records are the functional equivalent to how much visibility the bureau a person’s political affiliation, medical of telephone billing records. To elim- would have into which part of a web- conditions, religion and movements inate any uncertainty, the FBI wants site a person had visited. For instance, throughout the day, they said. the law to explicitly cover such data. according to the bureau, if the person In addition, the NSL would come Senators Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), went to any part of the Washington with a gag order preventing the com- the ranking minority-party mem- Post’s website, law enforcement would pany from disclosing it had a received ber on the Judiciary Committee, see only washingtonpost.com—noth- a government request, said Nee- and Mike Lee (R-UT), a committee ing more specific. ma Singh Guliani, ACLU legislative member, oppose the Cornyn amend- Comey said that making this counsel. The letter noted that over the ment. They say they will push for change to the law is the bureau’s top past ten years, the FBI has issued more a clean version of the ECPA update legislative priority this year. The in- than 300,000 NSLs, most of which similar to a bill passed by the House ability to obtain the data with an NSL had gag orders. “That’s the perfect earlier this year. Reported in: Wash- “affects our work in a very, very big storm of more information gathered, ington Post, June 6. and practical way,” he told the Senate less transparency and no accountabili- Intelligence Committee in February. ty,” Gulani said. Washington, DC The Senate panel recently vot- But a law passed last year, the USA Federal Communications Commis- ed out an authorization bill with the Freedom Act, requires the Justice De- sion chair Tom Wheeler made his case NSL amendment. The Senate Judicia- partment to review gag orders period- for an ambitious plan to better defend ry Committee is considering a similar ically to assess whether they are still consumer data privacy on March 10. provision introduced by Sen. John justified. His proposal would effectively govern Cornyn (R-Texas) as an amendment The amendment being considered how Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to ECPA, a law governing domestic by the Judiciary Committee is part can leverage user data for market- surveillance. of a broader effort by lawmakers to ing and advertising purposes in the

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same way that that the FCC already of data to suggest the customer may “They objected very clearly that regulates data collected by phone want to upgrade to another speed tier having the Christian Bible on that ta- companies. of service,” Wheeler wrote. However, ble provided supremacy to one faith “Think about it. Your ISP handles any data used for affiliate marketing over all the other faiths, and since all of your network traffic,” Wheel- or otherwise shared would require an these are government facilities, that’s er wrote in a Huffington Post op-ed. active opt-out from the user and all a direct violation of the no establish- “That means it has a broad view of all other forms of marketing would need ment clause of the First Amendment of your unencrypted online activity— the user to explicitly opt in. of the Bill of Rights of the US Con- when you are online, the websites you As for ensuring data security, stitution,” Weinstein said. visit, and the apps you use.” Wheeler’s proposal would only require “In this instance, allowing that Basically, since an ISP has access ISPs to take “reasonable steps” to de- Christian Bible to be there is a very to every piece of unencrypted data its fend user data from snooping. There’s odious example of fundamentalist customers send along its network, it actually a lot less wiggle room for ISPs Christian triumphalism, supremacy, can build an incredibly detailed dos- in that directive than you’d expect. and exceptionalism and primacy,” he sier of their online lives. And, up until “At a minimum,” Wheeler wrote, “it said. “Our veterans saw it, our mem- now, the ISP could use that informa- would require broadband providers bers saw it. They’re not going to sit tion anyway it saw fit. Wheeler wants to adopt risk management practices; back and take this anymore.” that to change. institute personnel training practic- Weinstein said his group, which is “The information collected by the es; adopt strong customer authentica- based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, phone company about your telephone tion requirements; to identify a senior and represents more than 45,000 ser- usage has long been protected in- manager responsible for data security; vice members and veterans, has re- formation,” he continued. “Regula- and take responsibility for use and pro- ceived complaints from throughout tions of the Federal Communications tection of customer information when the country over religious displays. Commission (FCC) limit your phone shared with third parties.” The group’s efforts have angered company’s ability to repurpose and This proposal only applies Inter- some, and Weinstein said an MRFF resell what it learns about your phone net Service Providers. Websites like staffer resigned last week citing online activity. The same should be true for Facebook or Twitter would be exempt threats to him and his family over the information collected by your ISP.” from these rule changes—namely be- removal of Bibles at federal facilities. To that end, Wheeler has put forth cause their operations are regulated by The installation commander at a plan that would “empower consum- the Federal Trade Commission. The Wright-Patterson, Colonel John M. ers to ensure they have control over FCC will vote on Wheeler’s propo- Devillier, made the decision to re- how their information is used by their sition on March 31, after a period of move the Bible from the display at Internet Service Provider.” In broad public comment from the American the medical center last week “after strokes, it would demand more trans- people. Reported in: engadget.com, thoroughly assessing the situation,” parency from ISPs on what informa- March 10. Wright-Patt spokeswoman Marie Va- tion is being collected, give con- nover said. sumers the right to have meaningful CHURCH AND STATE “Mutual respect is an essential part control over that information, make it Dayton, Ohio of the Air Force culture and we must the ISP’s “duty” to secure and protect Wright-Patterson Air Force Base ensure we create an environment in your data for the duration that it is on Medical Center has removed a Bible which people can realize their highest the ISP’s network. from a POW/MIA display after the potential regardless of one’s person- In terms of user control, Wheeler Military Religious Freedom Founda- al religious or other beliefs,” Vanover proposes a three-tiered approach. The tion lodged a complaint, according to said in an email. basic marketing of services would re- a base spokesperson. Richard Thompson, president main unchanged. “For example, your Mikey Weinstein, MRFF found- and chief counsel of the Ann Arbor, data can be used to bill you for tele- er and president, said the organization Michigan-headquartered Thom- communications services and ensure was contacted by thirty-one people as More Law Center, objected to the your email arrives at its destination, who objected to the Bible as part of removal. and a broadband provider may use the the table display, including 10 who “The courts have said ceremoni- fact that a consumer is streaming a lot identified themselves as Christians. al displays not meant to proselytize

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anyone is not considered an establish- and rights guaranteed for each of us,” state in the nation to make the Holy ment of religion,” said Thompson. she said in an email. “Because the VA Bible its official state book. The veto “It is there for someone to acknowl- cannot endorse, promote or inhibit was just Haslam’s fourth in his five edge or that person does not have to one religion over another, we couldn’t years as governor. None of his other acknowledge it. . . . They can either influence the final decision on wheth- three vetoes were overturned. Ten- accept the Bible being there or, if they er or not the Bibles remained or were nessee’s governor has relatively weak are really offended by the Bible, they removed from the displays as the veto power: It takes only a simple ma- could turn away.” displays were donated and are main- jority in both chambers to overrule Thompson said the base command- tained by volunteer organizations.” the governor’s decision. er “capitulated” to the demand to The Cleveland VA brought the The House passed the measure fif- remove the book. “We cannot sep- concerns of both sides to the groups, ty-five to thirty-eight during the 2015 arate God and the Judeo-Christian she added. legislative session, but it failed to pass principles upon which our country is The Bible was removed in the Ak- through the state Senate during that founded from the military who dedi- ron display, and volunteers replaced legislative session. But senators pushed cate their lives, who put themselves in the religious book in Youngstown forward with the legislation again this harm’s way, when they are performing with a “prop book” to allow a veteran year, despite opposition from Ram- their duties,” Thompson said. “And “to individualize the meaning behind sey and Senate Majority Leader Mark certainly had the commanding officer the book when they pay their respects Norris. wanted to fight this attempt to intim- to the POW/MIA table,” Parker said. Supporters tried to argue the move idate them from removing the Bible, Reported in: Dayton Daily News, would highlight the economic and we would have been happy to repre- April 11. historical impact the Bible has had on sent the organization without charge Tennessee, saying printing the Bible and I think would have won the case.” Nashville, Tennessee is a “multimillion-dollar industry” for The center is a member of the Re- Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has the state. Opponents argued the bill store Military Religious Freedom vetoed a controversial bill that would formalized a governmental endorse- Coalition. have made the Holy Bible the official ment of Christianity, while others, Weinstein’s group also objected to state book of Tennessee. Haslam cit- like Haslam, argued the move would the inclusion of Bibles in “POW/MIA ed an opinion issued in 2015 by state trivialize the Bible by placing it next Missing Man” displays at VA facilities Attorney General Herbert Slatery that to the tomato—the state fruit—and in Akron and Youngstown following said the bill could violate the state and raccoon—the state animal. complaints, he said. Those too were federal constitutions. “I strongly disagree with those removed. “In addition to the constitutional who are trying to drive religion out of “This is not Christian victim- issues with the bill, my personal feel- the public square. All of us should and ization,” he said. “This is Christian ing is that this bill trivializes the Bi- must bring our deepest beliefs to the equalization. Why does the Christian ble, which I believe is a sacred text,” places we are called, including gov- book of faith get put into a solemn Haslam wrote in a letter to House ernmental service,” Haslam wrote in and critical memorial to that sacrifice Speaker Beth Harwell. the letter to Harwell. of our wonderful members of the mil- “If we believe that the Bible is “Men and women motivated by itary, POWs and MIAs, over every- the inspired word of God, then we faith have every right and obligation body else’s faith book?” shouldn’t be recognizing it only as a to bring their belief and commitment Volunteers and veterans organiza- book of historical and economic sig- to the public debate. However, that tions donated the Bibles for the two nificance,” the Republican governor is very different from the govern- displays at the clinics and made the said. “If we are recognizing the Bible mental establishment of religion that decision to remove them, according to as a sacred text, then we are violating our founders warned against and our Kristen Parker, a spokeswoman at the the Constitution of the United States Constitution prohibits.” Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical and the Constitution of the State of The potential for a veto over- Center. Tennessee by designating it as the of- ride worried Annie Laurie Gaylor, “The Cleveland VA Medical Cen- ficial state book.” founder and president of the Wis- ter honors and respects the human- Had Haslam signed the bill, Ten- consin-based Freedom from Reli- ity of all, and protects the freedoms nessee would have become the first gion Foundation. Still, her first word

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when told Haslam had vetoed the bill Tennesseans,” Weinberg said in an “The government’s adoption of the was “hallelujah.” emailed statement. Bible as the state book would not be “Government shouldn’t take sides “Religion thrives when it is left in an endorsement of Christianity or Ju- on religion,” Gaylor said. “I think the hands of families and faith com- daism or the contents of the book as we’re turning a corner in our country munities. Publicly elected government religion,” Gannam said. “But certain- that we are seeing a Republican gover- officials cannot use their official posi- ly could have adopted the Bible as a nor in the South write a very firm de- tions to favor one religious belief over proper recognition of the influence it fense of separation of church and state another. The governor’s veto of this had on the foundations of Tennessee and understanding of the establishment unconstitutional legislation ensures law and political thought.” clause and not apologizing about it.” that religious freedom can flourish in David Fowler is a former state sena- Hedy Weinberg, executive direc- Tennessee.” tor and president of the Family Action tor of the American Civil Liberties Roger Gannam, senior litigation Council of Tennessee, which support- Union of Tennessee, thanked the gov- counsel for Liberty Counsel, called ed making the Bible the official state ernor for his decision. The ACLU had the governor’s veto disappointing and book. opposed the legislation as it made its said Haslam’s reasoning is based on “The legislature has spoken and so way through the Tennessee General an “erroneous interpretation of the has the governor,” he said. “Now the Assembly. Constitution.” ball is back in the legislature’s court, “We applaud Governor Haslam After lawsuit concerns were raised and, as before, we defer to their judg- for his leadership in sending a clear about the measure, Gannam’s orga- ment in this matter.” Reported in: message that Tennessee values and nization offered its legal services free The Tennessean, April 14. respects the religious freedom of all of charge if the state opted out of defending the bill.

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LIBRARIES elements of sexual practices involving The city council’s request came Billings, Montana bondage/discipline, dominance/sub- during its January 25 meeting after Billings Library patrons can continue mission and sadism/masochism.” Councilman Chris Friedel, according to check out Fifty Shades of Grey after In a related development, a Billings to the meeting minutes, “referenced a a review May 12 by the library’s board library policy that provides patrons recent news story describing an inci- of trustees. The trustees voted unan- with four computers with unfiltered dent at the library” in which a library imously during their monthly board access to the internet will remain in patron walked by a computer and saw meeting to follow a staff recommen- place. obscene material being viewed by an- dation not to remove an audio version In January, the Billings City Coun- other user. of the book as requested by Ronald L. cil asked the library board to create a Library Board Member Rog- Penn of Billings. policy for blocking access to obscene er Young said he wondered why the In a statement of concern dated material on the library’s public com- age is set at thirteen for access to the March 16, Penn noted that he computers. Eighty-five of the computers unfiltered computers—and then he pleted the audio book through to the have filtered internet access. The four answered his own question. “Some end. He called it “poor literature; computers that are unfiltered have young people are now reading books very, very erotic” with “all kinds of recessed monitors, making it diffi- I wasn’t ready to read at that age,” he sex, sex sadism and masochism.” cult for passersby to see what’s on the said. “Even though this was a best-sell- screen. Most of the people he sees at the er,” he wrote, “I have concerns about The Billings Public Library Board four unfiltered computers “are look- it being in a public library.” voted unanimously June 9 to leave its ing at financial reports or tax state- Sales of the E. L. James book— current internet usage policy in place. ments,” he said, not pornographic numbering more than 100 million In a memo to the library board, Li- images. “They are people who want worldwide—is a significant reason the brary Director Bill Cochran and As- their private stuff to remain private,” book is available at the Billings Public sistant Director Michael Carlson said he said. Library, Assistant Director Michael that during the 2014–15 fiscal year, “I don’t think we should be filter- Carlson told the board. more than 85,000 people used library ing anything,” said Board Member “It didn’t receive very good (pro- computers to access the internet or the Bernard Rose. “It becomes a slippery fessional) reviews, but it’s basical- library’s Wi-Fi service. By board di- slope.” ly there due to consumer demand,” rective, all computers in areas used by The library board is made up of Carlson said. “Our selection policy minors are filtered, and all users under six appointees from the city and three includes patron request, which figures the age of thirteen have the filter ap- from the county. According to the heavily into what we buy. This fits plied to their sessions, even if they are meeting minutes, Cochran told the our criteria.” using a computer in another area— city council that the city council The library also has Fifty Shades unless a parent or guardian has autho- “does not have the authority to adopt of Grey available in book and e-book rized unfiltered use. a policy for the library; that duty lies form. Since the library acquired the “The Billings Public Library is the with the Library Board.” audio version in 2012, it has been only large public library in Montana “I think Bill and Michael have put checked out thirty-nine times. A staff that filters internet work stations at together a very good package,” said memo prepared by Carlson and Library all,” the librarians wrote to the board. Board Chair Stella Fong. “They can Director Bill Cochran stated that six “We are already the most restrictive now go before the city council in Montana libraries and 371 around the large library in the state.” July.” Reported in: Billings Gazette, nation offer the audio book. Filtering internet access at public May 12, June 10. Fifty Shades of Grey, which was made libraries can raise First Amendment into a 2015 movie, is most common- challenges, the two librarians noted, SCHOOL ly classified as erotic fiction. It trac- unless the library can unblock filters Lebanon, Kentucky es the relationship between a college on request. The Billings Public Li- After an overwhelming show of sup- graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young brary cannot do that without spend- port from educators, parents, and the business magnate, Christian Grey. Am- ing up to $8,000 for new software and local and larger community, an open azon.com describes the story as being equipment, in addition to ongoing school district review committee in “notable for its erotic scenes featuring costs. Marion County voted to keep John

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Green’s Looking for Alaska in the high a banned books display with all of regulations governing prisoner mail. school curriculum. Green’s titles. “We couldn’t believe The changes were effective immedi- The committee meeting includ- what was happening,” she said. “I ran ately and were the direct result of an ing a presentation by Emily Veatch, with [the display], and kind of went ACLU investigation into mail reg- defending the value of the book for crazy, over the top.” ulations at Kentucky’s prisons. The high school seniors. Planning to use Green’s title stood at the top of the ACLU previously sent a letter de- the novel in her senior English class at American Library Association’s (ALA) manding that EKCC end its poli- Marion County High School in Leba- list of the ten most frequently chal- cy of censoring mail that “promotes non, the teacher sent home permission lenged books of 2015, with reasons homosexuality” because it violated slips so parents would have the option, noted as “Offensive language, sexually the free speech rights of prisoners and if they wanted, to keep their child explicit, and unsuited for age group.” publishers. from reading the book. One par- Reported in: School Library Journal, ACLU of Kentucky Legal Direc- ent took Veatch up on that offer for May 16. tor William Sharp said, “The outdat- her child, who would leave the room ed mail policies that prompted our during those lessons. PRISON investigation barred prisoners from “But the parent didn’t want oth- West Liberty, Kentucky receiving mail that ‘promotes homo- er children discussing it either,” says The Kentucky Commissioner of sexuality,’ but such policies single out Amy Morgeson, director of the Mar- Corrections has said that a minimum pro-LGBT messages for unfavorable ion County Public Library. That par- and medium security prison in West treatment. And that type of viewpoint ent filed a challenge against Green’s Liberty can no longer enforce a mail discrimination by the government is novel, igniting a reaction from stu- policy that prohibited prisoners from precisely what the First Amendment is dents, alumni, community mem- receiving books and magazines that designed to prevent.” bers—and even John Green him- “promote homosexuality.” In just a ACLU LGBT Project Staff Attor- self. The author took to Facebook, four-month period in 2015, the East- ney Ria Tabacco Mar, who collabo- encouraging others to express their ern Kentucky Correctional Complex rated on the investigation, said, “Gay thoughts in support of the book, and (EKCC) used the policy thirteen dif- people are entitled to equal dignity, Veatch, by email—and taking to task ferent times to confiscate mail in- inside and outside of our nation’s pris- those who had chosen to judge the ti- cluding magazines like Out and The ons. This policy change is a positive tle “on individual scenes ripped from Advocate. step forward for prisoners in Ken- their context,” he wrote on his Face- On June 2, the Kentucky Depart- tucky, and we appreciate the com- book page. ment of Corrections issued a state- missioner’s decision to timely address Marion County Public Library’s wide memo implementing substan- this problem.” Reported in: aclu.org, genealogy librarian Jama Watts built tial changes to the department’s June 6.

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