Reproductive Health and Libraries: Navigating the New Information Landscape

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. V. Wade, librarians in states where abortions are now illegal have faced confusing directives, concern for their jobs, and threats from those who say that libraries, and librarians, are no longer permitted to have and share information related to abortion.

In this timely webinar, our presenters will share practical guidance on the protections librarians have when providing access to information about abortion.
 

After participating in this event, libraries workers will:

• Understand how laws addressing abortion access and reproductive health do and do not impact libraries.
• Gain a basic understanding of how courts have dealt with similar situations in the past.
• Understand strategies and best practices for responding to threats or potential accusations of aiding and abetting a crime.
   

This webinar is part of the Defending Intellectual Freedom: Facing Challenges and Fighting Back series.
 

About the Instructors

Deborah Caldwell-Stone is Director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and Executive Director of the Freedom to Read Foundation. For over twenty years she has worked closely with library professionals and library trustees on a wide range of intellectual freedom issues related to library service in the United States. She has served on the faculty of the ALA-sponsored Lawyers for Libraries and Law for Librarians workshops and is a contributor to the 10th edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual and other publications.
 

Theresa Chmara is an attorney in Washington, DC. She also is the General Counsel of the Freedom to Read Foundation. She is the author of Privacy and Confidentiality Issues: A Guide for Libraries and their Lawyers (ALA 2009). She has been a First Amendment lawyer for over thirty years and is a frequent speaker on intellectual freedom issues in libraries. She is a contributing author for the Intellectual Freedom Manual, published by the Office of Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association. She also served as an instructor for the Lawyers for Libraries training seminars and is an instructor for the American Library Association First Amendment and Library Services eCourse.

This event will be hosted in Zoom. Automatic captions will be enabled for this event.

CALL Training Partner for this Event: American Library Association