Five Librarians on Defending Democracy, Book Bans, and the Freedom to Read

Five librarians discuss questions of democracy, censorship, libraries, and books. The panelists—Antioch’s Jen Sturge and Miranda Doyle, incoming AASL President Becky Calzada, 2023 Maryland School Librarian of the Year Sheri Anita Massey, and U of Baltimore librarian Allison Jennings-Roche—discuss how librarians can best serve students in the current political reality, the duty to present a wide variety a viewpoints, and best practices in resisting attempts to destroy public libraries entirely. “This is actually the first time that it's been criminalized for librarians and library workers to do their jobs,” says Jennings-Roche. “This is the first time we have ever been under threat of going to jail for providing access to materials.”


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To learn more about this event and the larger Antioch Works for Democracy initiative, visit the Antioch Works for Democracy libguide (https://libguides.antioch.edu/c.php?g...) . You can also watch a full-length video recording of the event (   • Freedom To Read: Book Banning, Censor...  ) on our YouTube channel.


If you enjoyed this conversation, you may want to listen to our interview with Jen Sturge and Christie Kaaland, “S6 E10: Facing Book Bans and Budget Pressure, School Librarians Show Their Importance” (https://commonthread.antioch.edu/podc...)


This panel discussion was recorded as part of the Antioch Works for Democracy speaker series on September 24, 2024 via Zoom. It was released on December 4, 2024. 


The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University.


Guest Host: Nastasia Green


Host: Jasper Nighthawk


Editor: Nastasia Green


Web Content Coordinator: Jen Mont


Work-Study Interns: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Grace Kurfman, Dani LaPointe, Liza Wisner, Natalie Obando, and Diana Dinerman.  


Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton,  Amelia Bryan, Adrienne Applegate, Jamila Gaskin, Harold Hale, Margaret Morgan, Laurien Alexandre, and Melinda Garland.






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To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org (http://theseedfield.org) . To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook (  / antiochuniversity  ) .