Date: Monday, September 25, 2006

Time: 10:00 a.m. EDT - 11:30 a.m. EDT

Target Grade Levels: 9-12, Higher Education

Description:

A celebration of intellectual freedom and access! Join frequently banned authors, Chris Crutcher and Sonya Sones, and American Library Association Intellectual Freedom Expert, Kent Oliver, for this unique videoconference event.

Participants will hear about Sonya and Chris' experiences as frequently banned authors, come to understand the history of book banning in the United States and examine contemporary issues in intellectual freedom and access to information.

This event will include discussions/presentations by each panelist, followed by an interactive question and answer session. There are two ways to get involved: as an interactive videoconference site OR as a live webstream observer.

Spaces for interactive videoconference sites are limited and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Interactive videoconference sites must have Internet2 connectivity and H.323 videoconferencing equipment.

There is no need to register for the program if you'd like to observe the live stream- just see the instructions below!

This event is sponsored by MAGPI and The American Library Association.

About The Speakers:

Chris Crutcher

Who is Chris Crutcher?He's an author, educator and family therapist known for his realistic fiction.

He later earned his teaching credential and taught primary and secondary school in Washington State and California. Offered the chance to direct a "last chance" alternative school in Oakland, CA, he respectfully served at-risk K-12 students for almost a decade before returning to the Pacific Northwest to write his first book, RUNNING LOOSE for Greenwillow in the early 1980's. Eight other novels, as well as a collection of short stories and his autobiography followed. More books and several motion pictures are currently in development.

Crutcher's fast-paced fiction -- heavily influenced by his work as a therapist and child protection advocate -- is known for its expert balance of comedy and tragedy, as well as its unflinching honesty and authentic voice. He has been honored with dozens of awards and honors including the National Coalition Against Censorship's Free Speech Award for 2005, the CLA's 2005 St. Katharine Drexel Award, Writer Magazine's 2004 Writers Who Make A Difference Award, the ALA's 2000 Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, the NCTE's 1998 National Intellectual Freedom Award and the ALAN Intellectual Freedom Award.

Kent Oliver

Kent Oliver has been working in public libraries since high school, beginning as a book shelver with the Topeka (KS) Public Library. He has worked in libraries in Kansas, Missouri and Ohio. Since November 2001, he has been Executive Director of the Stark County District Library in Canton, Ohio. He is a past president of two state library associations and has chaired state association Intellectual Freedom Committees. A past member of many American Library Association committees and task forces, he is a former Kansas Chapter Councilor to the American Library Association’s Council and is a past member of the Executive Board of ALA. Currently he is the chairperson of ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee.

Sonya Sones

Sonya Sones is a young adult verse novelist. Before becoming a poet, Sonya was a struggling poet. And before that she was a film animator. After graduating from Hampshire College, she taught animation to kids all across the country on grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, made films for public television, taught filmmaking at Harvard University, designed hand-painted baby clothes for Neiman Marcus and Macy's, and worked as a photographer and a film editor, although not necessarily in that order.

Sonya’s novels-in-verse for teens have been given loads of honors, and been translated into six different languages. Her first book, Stop Pretending, won a Christopher Award, the Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry, the Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Award, and was nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize. The American Library Association has named all three of Sonya’s novels Best Books for Young Adults, and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

What My Mother Doesn’t Know , Sonya’s second novel-in-verse, was named a Booklist Editor’s Choice and an International Reading Association Young Adults’ Choice. And she’s proud to say that, for the last two years in a row, it has been included on the American Library Association’s list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books! (To find out why, please see page 46.) Sonya’s newest novel, One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies, was chosen an IRA Young Adult’s Choice, and received a Cuffie Award from Publisher’s Weekly for the Best Book Title of the Year. Though Sonya says she would have vastly preferred a Newbery.

Preparing Students/Participants

Familiarize Students/Participants with Censorship. Students and participants should have a basic understanding of the history of censorship in the United States. Have students discuss the censorship of books they're already familiar with (i.e. To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, The Chocolate Wars - - or even Captain Underpants). How do they feel about censorship?

Introduce/Familiarize Participants with Chris Crutcher's work: Crutcher's website is a great resource! Also, check out the Guide to Teaching Challenged and Banned Books: Featuring the novels of Chris Crutcher. Both are fantastic resources.

Introduce/Familiarize Participants with Sonya Sones work: Sones' website is a wonderful resource!

Explore Censorship in the School/Community: Have students interview school, university and community librarians in order to get a better sense of censorship in their own communities. What books are banned from the libraries? Why? What books had been challenged in the past? What is the library's policy on book selection?

Develop Questions: Prepare questions for the panel discussants prior to the videoconference. Each site should prepare at least 5 questions prior to the videoconference. During the Question and Answer Session, we'll call on sites in alphabetical order. Each site will be permitted to ask one question per alphabetical cycle.

Resources

Chris Crutcher's Website: A great resource for information about the author and lesson plans.

A Guide to Teaching Challenged and Banned Books: Featuring the novels of Chris Crutcher: Produced by Greenwillow/Harper Collins this 8-page teaching guide is a tremendous resource! Download the guide from Chris Crutcher's website.

Sonya Sones' Website: A fantastic resource for information about the author and her work.

10 Most Challenged Books of 2005: Take a look at the ten most challenged books of 2005.

About Banned Books: The American Library Association's Banned Books Week resource center. A great tool! Includes frequently asked questions about banned books, the 100 most challenged books of the century and more.

How to connect to the live webstream!

1. Go to http://commonsvcg.oar.net/MAGPI

2. Click on "Banned Books Virtual Panel" under live streams. The stream should be viewable in either Windows Media Player or Quicktime.

If you have difficulties connecting to the stream, please see the information in MAGPI's Streaming Policy.

The live webstream will not be available until 15 minutes prior to the event. We encourage you to test by trying to access any of the archived streams prior to the live event.