Fighting against a nationwide attack on libraries and education

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Event America's Work Force Union Podcast American Federation of Teachers Government AWF AFT Community Involvement

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Guest Name:

Emily Drabinski

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Emily Drabinski, President of the American Library Association, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and talked about the ALA and attacks on libraries across America. Drabinski also spoke about the Unite Against Book Bans campaign and a tool kit for patrons to support their local library.

Drabinski has worked as a librarian for nearly 20 years, and for most that time, has served on the Association. She explained how the ALA operates, as it is not a governing body for libraries or librarians. Drabinski addressed one of the largest misconceptions about the ALA - that it creates and implements library policy. While they cannot create policies, the ALA strives to create access and equity for all regarding libraries and the informational services they provide.

She said there is currently an organized, nationwide attack on libraries and librarians, as groups seek to remove books written by and/or written about underrepresented groups of people. The efforts have gone so far as to seek the removal of several hundred books that are not stocked at local libraries This is the first time in her 20 years as a librarian Drabinski has had to deal with anything of this sort.

To help library patrons and librarians alike, the ALA created a tool kit to provide assistance and guidelines to show support for local libraries. This tool kit also supports their campaign, Unite Against Book Bans, as it provides helpful statistics to promote reliable facts on the need for local libraries. To learn more about the campaign or to access the tool kit, please visit uniteagainstbookbans.org.

To hear more from Drabinski, please play the episode above.

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

Fighting against a nationwide attack on libraries and education

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