Today's intellectual freedom challenges play out not in written form but in public comment sessions. They follow a pretty specific script: organized, coordinated, inflammatory, vindictive, and alarmingly persistent. Speaker Jamie LaRue, who has dealt with over 1,000 challenges in his 44-year career, will unpack the censorship script and provide clear rules and tools for conducting a thoughtful and balanced public comment period. This will be useful for anyone who attends or strategizes around public meetings: directors, staffers, board members, and library advocates.
By the end of the session, attendees will:
* Understand the strategy of those seeking to limit access to library resources
* Have a template for managing the registration for public comment
* Have an opening script for setting ground rules
* Have an opportunity to ask questions or describe other institutional challenges
Managing Public Comment Sessions
$25 per person for 4+registrations
Jamie LaRue is the director of the Garfield County Public Library District in Western Colorado. The author of two books: On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US and The New Inquisition: Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges, Jamie has been a Public Library Director for many years, as well as a weekly newspaper columnist and cable TV host. From January 2016 to November 2018, he was director of ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, and the Freedom to Read Foundation.
