Audio version

12 COGNOTES

2016 ANNUAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS • ORLANDO

Don’t Stop with Google – Go to the Library and Learn the Real Answer

By Deborah Hathaway, Texas Woman’s University, MLS

Is Google contributing to the marginalization and misrepresentation of minorities? Dr. Safiya Noble’s research clearly shows that it is. Noble, who spoke during the LITA President’s Program, “Toward an Ethic of Social Justice in Information,” asked the audience to question the logic behind search engine algorithms. She suggested that librarians have become more trusting of search engine results over their own inventions; trusting and treating information as more valuable than their own judgment.

“What makes us think that artificial intelligence is better than what humans have to offer?” Noble said. “When you search for the word ‘beauty’ what shows up? Not a lovely ocean view, but hegemonic images of white beauty. If you search for three black teenagers, you get mug shots, but if you change the terms to three white teenagers, it returns images of white girls with soccer balls. It is results like these that continue to perpetuate old narratives instead of allowing equal opportunities for cultural representation.”

Noble offered the example of Dylan Roof’s manifesto in which he stated that the Trayvon Martin case was the beginning of his awakening. He used two different websites to search for the meaning of black on white crime. His search results led him to a white supremacy website and then to more inflammatory and inaccurate sites. “Libraries and librarians are crucial in developing the skills to teach and understand the context of important concepts. Using the internet for understanding complicated concepts only leads to a dangerous ideal,” she said. “Not everything can be answered in a three-second search.”

Noble asked attendees to imagine what the outcome might have been if Dylan Roof had used the body of literature offered by libraries and librarians to gain an understanding of why the country was divided over the Trayvon Martin case. “It’s the context that leads to understanding.”

For further reading on the important issue of social justice in an online environment, Noble suggested The Intersectional Internet: Race, Sex, Class, and Culture Online, written with coauthor Brendesha M. Tynes.

COGNOTES

ISSN: 0738-4319 ◾ Volume 2016 ◾ Issue X

Reporters
Talea Anderson
Washington State
University
Pullman, WA

Michelle Kowalsky
Rowan University
Glassboro, NJ

Sara Zettervall
Hennepin County
Library
Minneapolis –
St. Paul, MN

Students
Caroline Gardner
Deborah Hathaway

Publisher/Managing Editor
Deb Nerud Vernon

ALA Liaison
Paul Graller

Photography
Curtis Compton
Armando Solares
Michael Buxbaum
Alexandra Buxbaum

Production
Tim Mercer
CustomNews, Inc.

Media Manager
Fiona Soltes

Video Editors
Andrew Franks
Guido Ronge

Author Avi Talks About Being a Reader First

By Caroline Gardner, Simmons College SLIS

There are three main obligations that librarians and writers share when thinking about children, said awardwinning author and playwright Avi as he addressed the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) President’s Program attendees. “To be honest, to write as well as we can, and to create a vision of life that is both a challenge and an achievement.”

Avi was impassioned as he spoke about his life growing up in the 1940s and ‘50s in New York, at a time when children’s books were not as common and writing was little more than penmanship exercises in school. Crediting much of his creative interest in his voracious appetite for reading and radio, he was told over and over that he was a terrible writer. Failing high school, his parents hired a tutor, Ella Ratner. She told Avi, “You are an interesting person – if you wrote better, people would know that.” Her statement was one of the top reasons he was inspired to keep trying and keep writing.

By sharing his life’s difficulties with writing and access to children’s books, he emphasized the importance of the school library and reading on children of all ages. Before becoming a successful children’s writer, Avi was a librarian and has remained a library advocate. “Making sure there is support and belief in child readers and writers is important, even if someone thinks there isn’t any potential in their work,” he said. “The word ‘read’ is enormously powerful – just look at a single dictionary definition of it!”

Avi reminded us that books are more influential than we may think, saying, “I’m not a reader because I am a writer, but rather I am a writer because I am a reader.”

Got a Book Challenge? Call ALA for Help!

By Michelle Kowalsky, Rowan University, NJ

You have a right to have questions, and retrieve information to help you formulate answers,” explained Jamie LaRue, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) of the American Library Association. On June 24, the “Intellectual Freedom 101” session taught librarians a variety of ways that they could help protect this core value of the profession and of society.

The office provides support for librarians who are experiencing book challenges, policy attacks, or public relations issues which threaten intellectual freedom in their communities. Librarians can call the office to explain their problems and concerns, and receive guidance from the OIF staff on their next steps.

LaRue encouraged librarians to report challenges so that ALA can track them over time, and partner with political and legal teams to prevent, minimize, or neutralize threats to these freedoms. The Freedom to Read Foundation collects donations toward this purpose, and several other activities support the needs of librarians who may have been negatively affected by these challenges.

Since intellectual freedom asserts everyone’s right to read, view, think, or express their views on any topic, librarians must be vigilant in helping to educate others of its importance at every opportunity. Some of these opportunities include continuing displays for Banned Books Week or Choose Privacy Week, which can begin important dialogues in your community.

For assistance with actual and possible challenges to library materials, services, and programs, contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom, (800) 545-2433, ext. 4223 or at oif@ala.org. Practical strategies, resources, checklists, and news about recent challenges are available at the OIF website, www.oif.ala.org/oif/.