Event Title
Being Proactive Amid the Landscape of Censorship and Book Banning in Illinois (panel presentation)
Presenter Bio
Janet Anderson
Janet Anderson has been a teacher librarian at Barrington High School for over 15 years. She has worked for Naperville districts 203 and 204 and Oswego 308 which gave her a wonderful awareness of different school systems and an appreciation for what works best for students.
In her role at Barrington High School, she is also one of the faculty sponsors for the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA). Becoming their sponsor happened solely because she wanted to meet the GSA students and tell them about amazing books where they could see themselves. While at Barrington in her role as librarian she has also been a literacy and technology coach, but her favorite role is literacy advocate.
Gina Caneva
Gina Caneva is a high school media specialist in her 19th year as an educator at East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, IL. For 15 years, she was a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) high school English teacher at Corliss High School and TEAM Englewood Community Academy and a high school English Teacher, Teacher-Librarian, and Writing Center Director at Lindblom Math and Science Academy. She also writes op-eds for a variety of publications and has had over 80 published on a variety of educational topics including banning books. Follow her on Twitter at: @GinaCaneva.
Andrea Jamison
Dr. Andrea Jamison is an Assistant Professor of Librarianship at Illinois State University. Professor Jamison has more than 17 years of experience working in the field of education and libraries. She speaks internationally on library inclusivity, intellectual freedom, and the interplay of race, power, and privilege in children’s books. Her research involves examining equity issues in library services and the role that libraries play in either perpetuating or mitigating systems of inequity.
Sarah Steiger
Sarah Steiger is the Manager of Libraries and Digital Media at CPS. Joining CPS in 2020, Sarah has 12 years of experience in Library Information, Instructional Technology, and strategic messaging in librarianship. Sarah holds a library endorsement from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, a Master of Education from DePaul University, and Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Kansas.
Kara Thorstenson
Kara Thorstenson is the Director of Digital Learning and Libraries for Chicago Public Schools. She has been a school librarian, instructional technology coach, and district administrator for 18 years in Illinois public schools. She is a COSN Certified Educational Technology Leader and a Director-at-Large on the board of the Illinois Library Association.
Presentation Type
Panel Discussion
Start Date
9-1-2023 11:10 AM
End Date
9-1-2023 12:10 PM
Description
Professionals on the front lines of school librarianship share their experiences and knowledge of how to best get and stay prepared for book challenges and censorship attempts.
Being Proactive Amid the Landscape of Censorship and Book Banning in Illinois (panel presentation)
Professionals on the front lines of school librarianship share their experiences and knowledge of how to best get and stay prepared for book challenges and censorship attempts.