S4 Bonus | The Free Public Library in a New McCarthy Era

The Dissidents

In this bonus episode, we share the recording of our Liberal Values in Practice livestream about the current state of libraries and librarianship, including comparisons to McCarthy era fears. Library professionals Pamela Hayes-Bohanan, Sara Hartman-Caverly and Caroline Nappo define McCarthyism in both its historic and contemporary contexts and its relationship to library work. The panelists answered a series of questions about the exponential rise of book challenges from both the left and the right, funding pressures, author de-platforming, as well as biases in publishing and collection practices.

Podcast Notes

This bonus episode is one of a series of panel discussions ILV hosts monthly. Learn how you can participate in live discussions by visiting ILValues.org, signing up for our newsletter, or visiting us on Circle for access to past events and notice about upcoming events.

American Library Association reports record number of unique book titles challenged in 2023: https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data

‘My Heart Sank’: In Maine, a Challenge to a Book, and to a Town’s Self-Image Wealthy, liberal-leaning Blue Hill prided itself on staying above the fray — until the library stocked a book that drew anger from the left: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/03/us/libraries-book-bans.html