Deborah Caldwell-Stone on Defending the Freedom to Read

This program will be held virtually via Zoom and is free and open to the public
Listen to the program HERE

Direct from the headlines and media screens comes news of the latest efforts to ban or restrict certain books from school and public libraries and even bookstores. Today’s challenges are new, but the effort to ban books has a long history. Please join us as we host Deborah Caldwell-Stone, JD, Director of the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom and Executive Director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, to explore this issue and the latest challenges.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone has served on the faculty of the ALA-sponsored Lawyers for Libraries and Law for Librarians workshops and has published widely on intellectual freedom. She earned her Juris Doctor cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law and has practiced appellate law before state and federal courts in Chicago. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.

Portions of this program were underwritten by a bequest of the estate of Peggy Sullivan. Peggy’s distinguished service with the ALA both as President and Executive Director, her longtime commitment to the Caxton Club, and her commitment to libraries everywhere suggested the theme for this event. This program brings together the ALA, the Caxton Club, and Chicago Collections to discuss a timely topic in honor of our mutual friend, Peggy Sullivan.