The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) are pleased to announce a partnership to offer an online graduate-level course on intellectual freedom for library and information science (LIS) students around the country. The course, in its third year, will be taught by GSLIS professor Emily Knox, who was awarded a 2015 Instructor of the Year award by the WISE (Web-based Information Science Education) consortium for the course. It is a project of the Judith F. Krug Memorial Fund.
“Intellectual Freedom and Censorship” is a 2-credit course and will meet online Tuesdays August 23–October 11, 2016. It is open to any student enrolled in an LIS degree program. As part of the collaboration, Freedom to Read Foundation staff and volunteers will lend their expertise as guest speakers, and FTRF and ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom archival materials will be made available to students.
“Our culture is at a tipping point, a shift in its tolerance for the First Amendment. It is imperative that today’s library students have a deep and thoughtful exposure to the value of free speech. And who better to receive it from than the 2015 WISE instructor of the year?” said James LaRue, Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom and the Freedom to Read Foundation.
“I’m excited to teach the intellectual freedom and censorship class again this Fall,” said Professor Emily Knox. “The course is one of the highlights of my semester. I, like the students, enjoy listening and learning from our weekly speakers and I love our spirited class discussions.”
To encourage students outside the University of Illinois to participate, FTRF is offering four half-scholarships ($700 each). Applications for the scholarships are due May 2, 2016. For more information and to apply for the scholarship visit www.ftrf.org/?Krug_Education
Students enrolled in programs affiliated with the WISE consortium will be provided course credit automatically upon completion of the course. Others will need to coordinate course credit with their home institution.
For more information and questions regarding registration please contact: Karla Lucht at U of I, klucht@illinois.edu, 217-244-3810, or staff at the Freedom to Read Foundation, FTRF@ALA.org or 312-280-4226.
For information about technology used for online education at U of I please see: http://www.lis.illinois.edu/academics/itd/welcome.
The Freedom to Read Foundation (www.ftrf.org) is a First Amendment legal defense and education organization affiliated with the American Library Association. In 2009, following the death of its founding executive director Judith Krug, FTRF created the Judith Krug Memorial Fund. The Krug Fund has two purposes: to support Banned Books Week via event grants to organizations, and to provide intellectual freedom education. For more information on the Krug Fund, or to make a donation to support its work, please visit www.ftrf.org/?Krug_Fund.
The Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Illinois (http://www.lis.illinois.edu) is the premier LIS program in the nation, consistently ranked number one by U.S. News and World Report. We offer advanced degrees with areas of specialization including data curation, digital libraries, social and community informatics, socio-technical data analytics, and youth services as well as continuing professional development opportunities. Courses are available both on campus and online.
