Documenting the Surge

Author _ Emily Knox (knox@illinois.edu), Editor, Journal of Intellectul Freedom and Privacy.

When the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy (JIFP) first started publishing in 2016, the United States was in a radically different political environment. Barack Obama was president and there was little thought given to a pandemic. The publication of this seventh volume comes after the election of Donald Trump, the first time the US has not had a peaceful transfer of executive power, and a pandemic that has killed more than 6.42 million people worldwide and more than 1 million in the US. Along with these huge shifts in our political and social structures, we have seen an incredible increase in the number of book challenges and bannings across the states.

The surge started in the fall of 2021 once students started going back to school in-person. Over this time JIFP’s issue length has greatly increased. This is due to the work of our news editor, Eric Stroshane of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, who meticulously researches and documents every public instance of media challenges in schools and libraries in the country. Although other outlets also provide some of this information, only JIFP provides a fully comprehensive and documented record of these challenges. Eric’s work is vital for preserving the historical record of this unprecedented time. Note that this increase in the number of cases that are documented has required us to change how journal issues are indexed. Now instead of having one index entry for title and author for targets, these are separated into two entries.

This issue also includes a commentary by Robert Holley that was previously published in Against the Grain on censorship from the progressive side of the political spectrum. The peer-reviewed feature by Paul Pedley covers the foundations of information privacy. Future issues of the journal will focus on COVID-19 as well as intellectual freedom and social justice. Calls for additional special issues are posted to the journal’s website (https://journals.ala.org/jifp). If you have suggestions or would like to serve as an editor for future special issues, please contact me (knox@illinois.edu). The journal publishes commentaries and peer-reviewed feature articles that discuss censorship, freedom of expression, and data collection and dissemination, all understood broadly.

As I begin my service as editor of the JIFP, I would like to thank Shannon M. Oltmann for her work guiding the journal over the past five years. I would also like to thank our subscribers for their financial support. I am often asked “What can I do to support library workers and teachers during this time?” Along with voicing your support for their work at board meetings, in local media outlets, and on social media you can also join the Freedom to Read Foundation (https://www.ftrf.org). The Freedom to Read Foundation is the legal arm of the American Library Association and provides advocacy for libraries, education on intellectual freedom, and support for litigation in freedom of expression cases. Individual and organizational members of the FTRF receive a 50 percent discount to this journal. Please encourage others to support the vital work of the foundation and this journal.