Judith Krug, 1940-2009
In a 2002 talk, Ms. Krug explained that the role of librarians is to bring people and information together. “We do this by making sure libraries have information and ideas across the spectrum of social and political thought, so people can choose what they want to read or view or listen to. Some users find materials in their local library collection to be untrue, offensive, harmful or even dangerous. But libraries serve the information needs of all of the people in the community — not just the loudest, not just the most powerful, not even just the majority. Libraries serve everyone.”-The New York Times
Judith Krug, a founder of Banned Book Week, was a librarian from Evanston, Illinois, who had the courage not just to talk, but to act, insuring that all of our citizens, young and old, have equal and ready access to information and story. “My personal proclivities have nothing to do with how I react as a librarian,” Ms. Krug said in an interview with The New York Times in 1972. “Library service in this country should be based on the concept of intellectual freedom, of providing all pertinent information so a reader can make decisions for himself.”
To find out more about the extraordinary life work of Judith Krug, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/us/15krug.html?ref=obituaries
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/opinion/15wed4.html?ref=opinion
To find out more about the American Library Association's Banned Book week and how you can help, go to:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.cfm
No comments:
Post a Comment