[Michlib-l] Clare Membiela on Free Speech in the 13th Shifting Landscapes tonight!

[Thomas Trahey]

    Mason County District Library and Abondia Center begin to explore Truth
& Politics in the public lecture series Shifting Landscapes on Monday March
7, with Clare Membiela presenting *Upholding First Amendment Rights – Free
Speech, Expression, and Access to Information *at 7-8:30 pm at the
Ludington Area Center for the Arts, and on Zoom. Clare Membiela, Library
Law Consultant, Library of Michigan, will discuss public libraries’ role in
upholding the First Amendment day in and day out.

The series will open with an examination of the role of public libraries in
supporting and upholding the First Amendment. Public libraries have existed
in the colonial “New World” since the early 1710s. Libraries have defended
the right of every person to read what they want without restriction. First
amendment constitutionalists, including the Supreme Court, have upheld the
role of public libraries to ensure freedom of speech and expression as well
as freedom to learn. As the Library of Michigan itself states, freedom of
speech is “not only about outward expression but also knowledge and
expression consumed.” Recently libraries, even in Michigan, have been
questioned about their commitment to “unbiased, non-partisan forums where
all patrons should have the right to read what they wish without fear of
retribution or censure.”

Other programs in Shifting Landscapes’ examination of Truth & Politics
include on March 14 - *What’s In an Ideology and What Are the
Consequences?: Rethinking Masculinity*, presented by Jessica Houser,
professor of psychology, West Shore Community College. The final Truth &
Politics event will take place March 21 - *Communicating Across the
Fence—or the Aisle*, presented by Brian Harrison, visiting assistant
professor of political science, Carleton College. In April, the Shifting
Landscapes series focuses on Economics (Apr 4, 11, 18).

         This 2021-2022 series is exploring six areas of our lives that
have been reshaped during the Covid-19 epidemic and the many events that
have occurred in the past 2 years. Truth and politics is the fifth topic in
the Shifting Landscapes series.

         In asking questions about the nature and purpose of politics, and
freedom of expression, the Shifting Landscapes’ series seeks to address
questions on people’s minds. It also hopes the information helps people get
more from news sources, as well as professionals and others about social
issues and news that matters to them.



         Events are free, live or by Zoom. Tickets are not necessary but
registration is helpful. To register: mcdl.pub/sl-register. To simply join
the Zoom presentation, go to mcdl.pub/SL-zoom. The link will be live about
6:45 pm on the day of the presentation. For information check the Mason
County District Library website: mcdlibrary.org or contact Thomas Trahey,
Mason County District Library at ttrahey at mcdlibrary.org or Brooke Portmann,
director of Abondia Center, at baportmann312 at gmail.com

         This project has been funded by grants from Michigan Council for
Arts and Cultural Affairs and Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the
National Endowment for the Humanities.


-- 
Thomas Trahey
Mason County District Library
Head of Circulation
231-843-8465
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail3.mcls.org/pipermail/michlib-l/attachments/20220307/a944bb97/attachment.html>