Authoritarian oppression is not “politics,” and we should not refer to it as such. Politics can describe an allocation of values, negotiations and methods of resolving differences, and a general sense of cooperation in a society that contains a range of ideas and expectations that need to be expressed and managed within multi-narrative communities to achieve functional governance.
The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) has been honored with the prestigious 2023 AASLH Award of Excellence for its groundbreaking podcast, Material Memory Season 3: HBCU Library Alliance Tour. Presented by the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), this accolade recognizes outstanding contributions in preserving state and local history.
In the aftermath of a well-coordinated attack on the College Board’s newly proposed Advanced Placement courses in African American studies, academics, librarians, policymakers, artists and concerned persons from various walks of life are objecting loudly to the banning of books and the removal of critical race theory, Black feminist studies, and Black queer studies — including the work of Kimberlé Crenshaw, bell hooks, Alice Walker, Angela Davis, Cathy J. Cohen — from the AP course and from college curricula more broadly, especially in Florida and other Southern states.
In the heart of Missouri, Otter Bowman, President of the Missouri Library Association, is leading a valiant effort to defend libraries from the threat of defunding. As a library associate at the Daniel Boone Regional Library, Bowman knows firsthand the significance of libraries, particularly in rural communities. She is resolute in her mission to protect these vital resources from potential closures and service cuts due to reduced state funding.
In the continuing battle between publishers and libraries over access to information, the latest confrontation involves a digital stack of 127 books. The lawsuit over their fate presents a threat not only to controlled digital lending, but also to libraries themselves. In early May, the impact of the decision in Hachette v. Internet Archive was explored in a virtual session hosted by the Open Copyright Education Advisory Network (OCEAN).
Since its inception in 2004, the CLIR postdoctoral fellowship program has been an exceptional opportunity for recent Ph.D. graduates to gain invaluable experience in academic libraries, archives, and museums. Renowned for its competitiveness, this esteemed fellowship program has provided support to over 200 postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have made remarkable contributions to the field of library and information science.
Check out news and updates about the important work our affiliates are doing.
The 2023-2024 sponsorship and membership started on July 1 and we are grateful to the organizations that have renewed and those who will renew farther into the fiscal year. Every year, we encourage our sponsors and members to take advantage of free job listings on the CLIR and DLF Job Board, but did you know that the board is not just for librarian positions? From administrative staff to software developers, all sponsors and members are invited to post all relevant positions at your library, archive, museum, or cultural institution. Your organization will reach a diverse audience of job seekers and new openings are shared in a weekly digest email and on CLIR’s social media accounts, if desired. If you do not deal directly with hiring, share the job board with your human resources office so they can take advantage of the free postings. This is a $200 per-job-post benefit that should make any HR office happy to use. If you have any questions, please contact Erin O’Donnell, Outreach and Engagement Associate at eodonnell@clir.org.
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