Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Creighton University Cancels Anne Lamott

I was excited to see Anne Lamott on the schedule with Creighton University for their Women & Health Lecture Series on September 19th, and then extremely disappointed to receive an e-mail notice yesterday that the public lecture had been cancelled. "After careful review of Ms. Lamott's most recent writings (which postdated her contract agreement), we have concluded that key points are in opposition to Catholic teaching which, in our judgment makes her an inappropriate choice for the Women and Health Series" - so, the invitation from Creighton to Lamott to speak was withdrawn. (An article by Veronica Stickney in yesterday's Omaha-World Herald provides additional details.)

An article by Kevin Cole in today's Omaha World-Herald however reports that another organization, Connections - a coalition of Omaha churches, has taken it upon themselves to sponsor a program with Lamott on September 19th at the Holland Center. It appears Lamott and IF fans owe their thanks to the quick action of Rev. Nancy Brink of North Side Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who contacted Lamott after hearing of the cancellation with a new invitation to speak. The event is titled: "Faith and Writing and Whatever: A Night With Anne Lamott." Lamott is the author of six novels and five works of nonfiction, the title that got me hooked in reading her work is: Traveling Mercies - Some Thoughts On Faith.

If you've got a favorite Lamott story or quote, additional information on her upcoming visit to Omaha, or items to add to the discussion share them by clicking on the comment link below.

And Tango Makes Three

And Tango Makes Three, an award-winning children's book based on a true story by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell was listed by ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom as #1 in their top 10 of annual challenged works for 2006. For those of you who have read the book, own the book, or want to get in on the discussion - what do you think? Have their been concerns expressed on this title or others in Nebraska libraries?

Monday, August 27, 2007

8" x 11" Posters for One State, One Banned Book

Happy Monday everyone! Trying to make life as simple as possible. Here's a link to the PDFs for 2 posters.

Poster 1: 3 books along left edge.

Poster 2: Rebel poster.

And just to spark hopefully some conversations-
who's your favorite "rebel"?

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

One State One Banned Book




Celebrate banned books week September 29th through October 6th and read one, two or all three of these award winning books! Of course these are great titles to read and discuss anytime.


There's also some great free events happening you can attend in Lincoln and Omaha including programs with the Angel's Theatre Company and also Nebraska Humanities speaker, Wally Seiler, as Mark Twain. See the flyer above for additional information, or feel free to post questions here, or by contacting any of the Nebraska Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee members listed on this page.
If you'd like us to e-mail you a copy of the flyer for posting or sharing - email: bsealey@alltel.net.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Banned Books Week September 29th - October 6, 2007




Banned Books week, Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year, www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm. We'd love to hear what Nebraska libraries, bookstores and others are doing to celebrate Banned Books Week. So, chime in with your ideas, activities, programs - as the best blogs, of course, are those with comments.
"Intellectual Freedom implies a circle, and that circle is broken if either freedom of expression or access to ideas is stifled."
(Intellectual Freedom Manual, ALA, 7th edition)