Banned books, libraries and intellectual freedom lecture series to be held Nov. 21

Monday, November 21, 2022, a presentation will be held on “Banned Books, Libraries & Intellectual Freedom”. The speaker is Emily Wros, who is the head librarian of the North Dakota Library Freedom Committee. The free event will be held at the Barnes County Museum starting at 7 pm. It is sponsored by “What in the World Is Going On?”

Wros lives in Grand Forks, where she is a librarian at the University of North Dakota. She received her Master of Library Science degree from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, where she specialized in information history.

"Material challenges, or book bans, have been in the news from Florida to Idaho to right here in Valley City. School and public library workers are being overwhelmed by the crossfire of the culture wars,” states Wros. She will include in her talk reasons why so many people have suddenly become so angry about books, and why it matters.

Jennifer Jennes, Director for Library Services at Valley City State University will be the moderator for the evening. Local librarians have all been invited to attend.

An authority on books is the American Library Association which promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular, and stresses the important of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them. Wros’ talk will discuss what is the difference between a challenge or banning, why books are challenged, who challenges books.

The American Library Association is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world.

They have written a book titled “Beyond Banned Books” available from the ND State Library through our local Barnes County Library.

“What in the World Is Going On?” is a campuscommunity group jointly sponsored by VCSU’s Departments of Science and Social Science and members of the Valley City community. “What in the World” was begun shortly after 1/1/01 for the purpose of address- ing issues of local, national and international importance. For more information call 701845-7321.

The presentation is free and everyone is invited to attend.