This study documents secondary pre-service teachers (PSTs) who examined Black Lives Matter (BLM)-themed young adult literature (YAL) embedded in contemporary realistic fiction and graphic novels, as part of coursework for an online YAL course required for secondary teacher certification. An analysis of instructor mentoring, online discussions,…

This essay challenges traditional assumptions about the small-town American public library and the roles it has played in its community. Conventional thinking and professional rhetoric grounded on a "user in the life of the library" perspective identifies the public library as a neutral agency "essential to democracy" that…

Thirty-six ethical codes from national professional associations were studied, the aim to test whether librarians have global shared values or if political and cultural contexts have significantly influenced the codes' content. Gorman's eight core values of stewardship, service, intellectual freedom, rationalism, literacy and learning, equity of…

A critical review of the American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Manual, with particular attention to the "impracticality, oversimplification, legal difficulties, anti-intellectualism, and want of professionalism" in the manual's introduction. (LS)

An attempt is made to document some of the developments which affected the political role of German librarianship as seen through the involvements, activities, and correspondence of one of its leaders, George Leyh, during and after the Hitler era. The interconnections of Leyh's behavior, inner conflicts, and actions and the political and…

This study attempts to measure the attitudes toward intellectual freedom held by a group of future librarians and to correlate these findings with certain syndromes of authoritarianism as reported in "The Authoritarian Personality," by T. W. Adorno, and others (New York, Harper, 1950). The hypothesis is that graduate library students who…

Presents an argument for viewing library work in terms of "whereness" (location) and "whatness" (identity), highlighting issues of hate literature, censorship, power, and filtering software. Applies Lewis and Wigen's ten principles of critical metageography to library professionals and paraprofessionals in order to extrapolate…

Questions whether a focus on ethics and rights leads to a narrow idea of the library profession and its clients, using issues of censorship as examples. Highlights include a proposed definition of information; information flow; privacy; ethical debates and consequences for libraries; and the American Library Association Code of Ethics. (Author/LRW)

Winter 2007 marked an episode of high anxiety in the library science profession, when the latest Newbery winner, "The Higher Power of Lucky," triggered discussion about words and their suitability for young readers. It seems that the entire world now knows that the word "scrotum" appears on the first page of the book. School…

This book presents eight essays based on a demographic survey of librarianship that explores the question of gender and ambition, as well as personal observations after 30 years in the library profession. The survey results show what kinds of librarians are eager to climb the managerial ladder and why. Facts are revealed about the barriers that…

Summarizes results of project identifying research priorities in field of library and information science sponsored by Department of Education, Office of Libraries and Learning Technologies. Background material, one-page summaries of projects comprising the Research Agenda, and a classification and brief summary of other projects reviewed are…

Intended to act as a general introduction for high school and college students, this book presents an annotated bibliography of books, periodical articles, legal materials, and other documents dealing with the subject of intellectual freedom and censorship. The book is divided into five parts: (1) "The Theoretical Foundations of Censorship…

This paper focuses on ethics for librarians and library science in the age of electronic information. First outlined is the "public relations nightmare" that the Internet is creating for the administrators and the library staff. It is suggested that libraries pick a common sense approach that involves the library staff and community and…

Discusses changes taking place in the library systems of Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Topics reviewed include the influence of Soviet Russian library theory and practices; decentralization of library administration; library finances; library education; library employment; library technology; and censorship and collection policies.…

The authors of this second volume provide a composite contribution to a broader understanding of some of the major topics affecting libraries and their operation today. These contributions are in keeping with the aim of the series of providing scholarly reviews of specific topics related to the rapidly changing and advancing field of…