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Weekly News Digest
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October 5, 2017 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today. For other up-to-the-minute news, check out ITI’s Twitter account: @ITINewsBreaks.
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BLOG BUZZ: 'Neutrality in the Library? Don’t Give Me That …' by Beth O’Brien
“The other day, I was working at the library catching up on old issues of Library Journal. In the May 15th issue, I read an interesting article titled ‘Tolerance is not enough.’ Here, the author made note that we can’t simply ‘tolerate’ differences; tolerance implies hardship. We need to celebrate them. This is especially important in the library if we want to create safe community spaces for the diverse groups that we serve.“From there I flipped back to the ‘feedback’ section, which is akin to letters to the editor. There I saw a comment about politics in the library that was in stark contrast to the previous article. This reader referred to ‘Leftist Librarians’ as ‘snowflakes’ and mocked the idea of libraries as safe spaces. … “The political climate of Canada—where I’m located—and [in the] US is different, but it’s not that different. The US election brought out the worst in many, even here, north of the border. It frustrates me that this reader likens literal safety to political discourse and ‘shelter from reality.’ I agree that libraries should be nonpartisan. People of different political views should be able to feel equally safe here. But we’re not talking about debating the intricacies of foreign policy—we’re talking about actual, literal safety. “How presumptuous, using this reader’s phrase, is it to assume that all library users feel equally safe? That all library users feel the same privilege as this (no doubt) white man does? That self-care in the face of stress, fear, and adversity is not noble or necessary?” Keep reading at bookriot.com/2017/10/02/neutrality-in-the-library-is-bullshit.
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Brandi Scardilli
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