Program recordings from the 2024 AALL Annual Meeting & Conference were sponsored by Bloomberg Law. 

Recent years have seen a growing wave of book bans, primarily targeting books with LGBTQI, anti-racist, and other social justice themes. This program puts the current wave of U.S. book bans in broader context by describing the law and history of book banning globally. Participants will learn how countries around the world have banned books for reasons ranging from obscenity to sedition and blasphemy, as well as how librarians, activists, and other defenders of freedom of information have pushed back.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Librarians at public and academic law libraries facing requests to ban or censor books. Law firm librarians at firms representing libraries or authors that have been targets of book banning. Librarians at law schools whose faculty have been targeted for writing about LGBTQI, anti-racist, or other social justice issues. Any librarian interested in promoting freedom of information in the U.S. and globally.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. Participants will be able to compare the legal frameworks and motivations for censorship across different countries and times. 
2. Participants will be able to understand and enumerate commonly given reasons for censoring books; identify the entities that have instigated, implemented, and enforced book censorship throughout history and today; and use that information and insight to better support and educate their own communities. 
3. Participants will be able to describe strategies for combatting book banning and censorship.

SPEAKERS:

• Emily Knox, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Information Sciences
• Louis Myers, Law Library of Congress
• Andrew Zalot, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Information Sciences

COORDINATOR/MODERATOR:

• Sarah Martin, Los Angeles County Law Library

AALL BODY OF KNOWLEDGE DOMAINS: Professionalism + Leadership At Every Level, Research + Analysis

CANCELLATION AND OTHER POLICIES:

No refunds will be given for any purchased AALL conference recording. This applies to non-AALL members only as the recordings are free for AALL members.

The opinions shared during this program represent the views of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). Recording, capturing, or using AI tools to duplicate, transcribe, or otherwise reproduce an AALL program in any form is strictly prohibited without prior written consent from AALL. This includes, but is not limited to audio, video, or any other content shared. By accessing an AALL recording, you agree to adhere to this policy.