Free Webinars & Videos
Here is where you will find recorded presentations to help you explore the whos, whys and hows of intellectual freedom, and the societal issues that are behind many of the challenges we are seeing today. Use the webinars and video presentations on this page as tools to kick off conversations with your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. If you are looking for group trainings or short courses, visit our Training Resources page.
Crisis Communications: Librarianship in Action Webinar Series
Led by Hennes Communications, a team of award winning journalists highly experienced in public relations and reputation enhancement, the Crisis Communication Training Series will help you and your team develop strategies for responding to any crisis, big or small, making sure you arrive on "the other side" with your reputation preserved - and even enhanced!
UPDATE: The First Amendment audit is a new (ish) and challenging trend faced by public employees. Please visit the resources recommended by Hennes Communications for dealing with this issue:
Basic Background: What is a First Amendment audit?
Recent Experience: A large public library in northeast Ohio describes its experience. Skip to the 10-minute mark for tactics used.
How to Prepare: A brief write-up by Hennes Communications on preparing and dealing with this approach.
Webinar 2: "Social Media Best Practices for Public Employees"
Webinar 3: "Telling Your Library's Story Amid a Crisis to Whom It Matters Most"
Crisis Communications Webinar Series Additional Resources
Thanks to Hennes Communications for developing the materials below!
"Embracing Social Media: Rewards, Risks, and Recognizing Fake News"
The video is available if you click the link to watch it directly on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFBCgQ_jz-0
A 90-minute presentation with Thom Fladung of Hennes Communications about practical and pragmatic social media policies, determining needed action based on problematic posts, and the importance of public libraries in discussing media literacy.
"Why Your Voice Matters, Even - and Especially - As Censorship Increases"
Kelly Jensen's keynote to teens from area high schools delivered on April 15, 2023, at Joliet Central High School (IL).
To access a text version of the keynote, please visit This Page on Kelly Jensen's professional website.
"What's So Critical About Intellectual Freedom?" with Dr. Emily Knox & Dr. Shannon Oltmann
Why does intellectual freedom matter in times of conflict? In this webinar, part of the 2022 Augusta Baker Critical Conversations in Library and Information Science series, Dr. Oltmann and Dr. Knox discuss the principles of intellectual freedom and information access and why they matter in our turbulent times.
Recommended Resources:
Libraries Build Autonomy: A Philosophical Perspective on the Social Role of Libraries and Librarians by Audrey Barbakoff
Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences By Geoffrey C. Bowker and Susan Leigh Star
The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
Let's Get Organized: Fighting Book Bans Together
"National Book Award–honored author Kyle Lukoff (Too Bright to See, 2021 Young People’s Literature Finalist), DC Public Library Teen Services Coordinator Joanna Harris, and Managing Director of PEN America Washington and Free Expression Programs Nadine Farid Johnson sit down to discuss the value of writing, publishing, and access to diverse books, and how we can come together and unite against book banning." Kyle actively contributed to education on the impact of book challenges and book bans:
Checkouts & Challenges: A Brief But Important Conversation
Brea McQueen, Student Success Librarian, Miami University - Hamilton
Alexandria Brown, Research Librarian, The Thacher School
Lucy Santos Green, Professor of Information Science, University of South Carolina
Content Development Support by Faith D. Huff, ARMS Library, North Carolina
Access the webinar's resources in a shareable Google Doc.
How the New Florida Education Laws Are Impacting School Libraries
Produced by the Florida Freedom to Read Project, to "quickly inform parents and concerned community members about how the new education laws and special interest groups are behind the rise in censorship.
Authors of Banned Books Speak Out
Authors of targeted books speak out about what their experience has been like over the past few years as book bans proliferate throughout the United States.
Published by VICE News.
Reading is a Right: What Parents Need to Know about Book Bans and Pushing Back
Panelists: Stacy Collins, Meenal McNary, Keiawanna Pitts, Tiernee Pitts, Elizabeth Hahn, Kyle Lukoff. Moderated by Dr. Lucy Santos Green
Round Rock Black Parents Association Leader, Keiawanna Pitts, describes a successful push back on an attempted book bank.
Featured: Velshi on MSNBC
Meet the #FReadom Fighters: The Texas Librarians Spearheading a New National Anti-Censorship Movement
Panelists: Carolyn Foote and Becky Calzada, presented by Children's Book Insider
Serving Multicultural Communities in Public Libraries
Presented by Dr. Thomas Crisp, Associate Professor of Early Childhood & Elementary Education, Georgia State University
An Evening with Tressie McMillan Cottom
Presented by Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and 2020 MacArthur Foundation Fellow.
When Books Are Threatened, Where Do We Turn?
Presented by Dr. Emily Knox, Associate Professor of Information Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Ibram Kendi, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Nic Stone
Censored Authors Speak: A Round Table Discussion about Book Banning in America
Panelists: Alex Gino, Ashley Hope Pérez, I. W. Gregorio, Andrew Kame, Mark Oshiro, and Robin Stevenson, Moderated by Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson
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