It's that time of year again, where we sound the alarm on censorship in all its forms during Banned Books Week—and today, more specifically, raise awareness of the overly restrictive blocking of legitimate, educational websites and academically useful social networking tools in schools and libraries on Banned Websites Awareness Day.
Still at the top of the list of gravely important internet issues in 2020 is Net Neutrality, the basic principle that prohibits internet service providers from speeding up, slowing down, or blocking any content, applications, or websites you want to use. Add in a pandemic, with a large amount of the U.S. population working from home and homeschooling, and there are some real potential issues for information inequality!
And let's not forget that there is also a presidential election in a little over a month's time. What happens when you are trying to find useful and important information about the candidates, their political agendas, and beliefs, but you also have to contend with the barrage of fake news and untrusted sources via social media and other suspect sources?
Our Digital Learning Portal provides access to databases full of resources to help promote critical thinking and teach information literacy skills. Our Digital Media Portal provides access to ebooks, audiobooks, and streaming movies and music, all at the swipe of a touchscreen or virtual button press on any number of electronic devices.
As a public library, we have and will always advocate for the "comprehensive collection of recorded knowledge, ideas, artistic expression, and information in a variety of media, including current technology..."
Everyone should be able to access information on the web without hindrance or censorship... and one of the best ways to do that is with your library card!
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