Article Database

Silencing Stories: Challenges to Diverse Books

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This research expands on a previous discourse analysis of censorship on challenges to diverse books through more robust analysis of the challenge cases. The article specifically focuses on two common themes found in the arguments that book challengers give for the redaction, restriction, relocation, and removal of diverse titles in and from school curricula, school libraries, and public library collections in the U.S. The article begins with a working definition of diverse books and a brief overview of the campaign to increase their publication and circulation in the U.S. An overview of previous research on general book challenges and challenges to diverse literature is provided, as well as the methodology for analysis. The article concludes with a discussion of recommendations for protecting access to diverse books in public libraries and schools.

Using Open Records Laws for Research Purposes

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Opposing Censorship in Difficult Times

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What does it mean to support intellectual freedom under the new administration? How do we uphold our values when many will disagree with the information provided in our institutions? In this short essay I offer a summary of my research on book challengers to better understand why people attempt to censor information. I then argue that, to move forward, librarians and other information professionals must recommit to supporting the principles of intellectual freedom, the code of ethics, and the values of librarianship; review policies; and know their communities—local, state, and national.

Document Delivery and Interlibrary Loan on a Shoestring

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The Inconsistent Work of Web Filters: Mapping Information Access in Alabama Public Schools and Libraries

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Recent popular and academic discussions regarding the Internet have raised the question of whether and how networked intermediaries have a (dis)integrating social effects. In this study, we use public records of configurations of Internet filters in Alabama public schools and libraries to show how different institutions implement nominally consistent content standards inconsistently. We argue that these varying implementations are both significant and troubling for two reasons: first, they overreach the stated goals of the legislation with which they in principle comply; second, they may contribute to a broader epistemic breakdown by fragmenting the kind of information made available through and across public institutions.

Intellectual Freedom and the Agnostic–Postmodernist View of Reading Effects

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One of the more confusing aspects of contemporary librarianship is its support for collecting “all sides” in its institutions while, at the same time, arguing for the positive nature of reading for all. This article focuses two positions toward knowledge effects. One, the postmodernist view, is agnostic toward the effects of gaining new knowledge while the other, the traditional–modernist view, holds that the effects of new knowledge can be known and are inevitable. It is the postmodernist position that undergirds contemporary librarianship’s support for intellectual freedom.

Ethical Perspectives on Data and Software Sharing in the Sciences: A Research Agenda Author Links Open Overlay Panel

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Data and software are critical components of scientific work. Increased data and software sharing promises many benefits for science. Many stakeholders are building infrastructure and implementing policies to promote sharing. However, sharing remains rare in practice. Attention must be paid to researchers’ ethical perspectives on sharing to fully realize the promise of sharing and promote greater circulation of data and software and better uptake of infrastructure for data and software curation. This research presents an agenda for researching these perspectives, including characterizing and accounting for researchers’ perspectives; examining how these perspectives shape decisions related to data and software sharing; and understanding how and why differences in perspectives arise and are contested, negotiated, and resolved in multidisciplinary scientific collaboration. This agenda will enable stakeholders to identify and resolve differences in ethical perspectives, and develop policies, infrastructures, and education that support existing ethical perspectives, and cultivate better ethical practices.

“The Books Will Still Be in the Library”: Narrow Definitions of Censorship in the Discourse of Challengers

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One of the many areas of conflict between challengers and professional librarians centers on the definition of censorship. Challengers often employ a definition that maintains that banning materials is the only true form of censorship, while the codified definition of censorship within librarianship is concerned with impediments to access. Through analysis of arguments in the West Bend (WI) challenge case, this article explores three themes in challengers’ narrow definitions of censorship found in their discourse. First, challengers argue that moving books within the library is not considered to be censorship. Second, they maintain that labeling books for content is also not a form of censorship. Finally, challengers focus on “common sense” actions and the power of the majority in their arguments to impede access to controversial materials.

Supporting Intellectual Freedom: Symbolic Capital and Practical Philosophy in Librarianship

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Compressed Sensing-Enabled Phase-Sensitive Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography

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Here we present a novel phase-sensitive swept-source optical coherence tomography (PhS-SS-OCT) system. The simultaneously recorded calibration signal, which is commonly used in SS-OCT to stabilize the phase, is randomly sub-sampled during the acquisition, and it is later reconstructed based on the Compressed Sensing (CS) theory. We first mathematically investigated the method, and verified it through computer simulations. We then conducted a vibrational frequency test and a flow velocity measurement in phantoms to demonstrate the system’s capability of handling phase-sensitive tasks. The proposed scheme shows excellent phase stability with greatly discounted data bandwidth compared with conventional procedures. We further showcased the usefulness of the system in biological samples by detecting the blood flow in ex vivo swine left marginal artery. The proposed system is compatible with most of the existing SS-OCT systems and could be a preferred solution for future high-speed phase-sensitive applications.