Saturday, October 4, 2008

Banned Books Week - Wrap-Up

Okay, well I've talked about Banned Books Week, listed banned books, reviewed banned books, and seen what other folks on the web and in the world are doing for the cause of free speech and access to information. As the week wraps up, the question arises- what next? What can we do for the other 51 weeks of the year to protect our freedom to read? For today I've compiled a list of organizations that we can turn to and to whom we can offer our support.

First off, ALA. The American Library Association is one of the most important voices when it comes to advocacy. Join ALA, support ALA, and get involved with ALA.

The American Civil Liberties Union is another important partner in the ongoing battle for free speech.

Electronic Frontier Foundation. They're big on digital freedom and issues pertaining to the online world.

ChillingEffects.org, an organization dedicated to helping people understand their rights in the online environment.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
exists to "defend the First Amendment rights of comic book professionals throughout the United States."

The Media Law Resource Center, for law nerds, provides bibliographies and case information about First Amendment and intellectual property cases nationwide.

All of these resources themselves contain extensive links and information about other resources. So look them up and support the ones that do the things that matter to you.

2 comments:

Michele said...

What an excellent way to wrap up the week -- thanks so much for posting these links!

Candy Schultz said...

Marie, I looked at the links for A Handmaid's Tale and I just have to shake my head. What is wrong with people who want to ban books? I assume they are ignorant. That is the only possible explanation. There also seems to be a terrible fear of sexuality, at least in this country. Good grief.