What are your top concerns in Technical Services? In an open and informal conversation discussing top concerns for Technical Services personnel, participants are especially encouraged to share their experiences with and solutions for the most current issues they face in the profession.
Librarians have varying professional and personally held values relating to the topic of intellectual freedom (IF). This session frames a conversation about participants’ values on IF through American Library Association (ALA) policy documents on the topic and asks participants to consider their own values and where religious values may support or oppose IF.
Conversation questions: 1. What does “intellectual freedom” mean to you? 2. Where does religion support intellectual freedom? Where does religion oppose it? 3. What role should personal religious beliefs play in the professional practice of librarianship (if any)? 4. What role do personal ethics and/or personally held religious beliefs have in your professional practice of librarianship?
Though not a prerequisite, conversation may be enhanced by these suggested readings.
Suggested readings: Smith, G. A. (2002). Christian librarianship: Essays on the integration of faith and profession. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co.
“Christian librarians and the ethics of the Library Bill of Rights” by S. Kaihoi: https://theolib.atla.com/theolib/article/view/353
“Expressing Intellectual Freedom: A Content Analysis of Catholic Library World from 1980 to 2015” by M. E. Welsh: https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/27980/21034
When you spend 25 years in theological librarianship and then unexpectedly find yourself unemployed how do you react? How do you cope? And what happens when you find yourself in a different library field? This paper will offer some reflections on that question with a little of a personal journey with and some advice for those who may find themselves in the same position someday.
