Coordinator of Information Literacy University of South Carolina Upstate
In the past few years, there have been a number of high-profile book and material challenges at school and public libraries. How these libraries handle challenges has received increased attention in the media and professional literature, but there has been little research on book and material challenges at academic libraries.
Has the rash of material challenges in school and public libraries affected the work of academic libraries? How prepared are library employees and administrators to handle challenges? How concerned are we, and how concerned should we be? In summer 2022, the presenters conducted a mixed-methods survey of academic library employees across the United States to get exploratory answers to these and other questions. In this presentation, the authors will share the results, show the ramifications of increasing material challenges to higher education institutions, and offer suggestions on how academic libraries can better prepare for challenges to intellectual freedom.