Advocacy in the US of A(z): How Arizona fits into the National Advocacy Ecosystem

Registration Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BMTRovWWT9epV9XsUFs6mw

Program Description:

Erin MacFarlane and Kent Oliver will give an update on the efforts of ALA's Policy Corps in opposition to censorship activity across the country and present a broader picture on how libraries are at the center of the culture wars. The presentation will reflect on Arizona's recent legislative session, including how the most dangerous bills were mostly copycat legislation from other states. Attendees will also learn about steps they can take independently to fight censorship. 

Presenters:

Erin MacFarlane has served as Chair of AzLA's Legislative Committee since 2016. In that time, she has worked at both the local, state, and federal level to help influence legislation that impacts library services. Erin is also a member of ALA's Policy Corps and is a liaison for the ALA state legislative delegation. Erin works for Maricopa County Library District, and lives in Goodyear with two middle aged Labradors and a couple of library loving teenagers.

Kent Oliver retired in 2022 as the Director of Nashville Public Library (NPL) where he served from 2012 – 2022. Through his leadership, NPL expanded key programs to promote early reading, adult literacy, and digital learning. In June 2017, Library Journal and Gale named NPL Library of the Year.  NPL’s Votes for Women Room opened in 2020 which celebrates the passage of the 19^th Amendment and voting rights.  In May 2022 NPL launched the nationally recognized I Read Banned Books campaign. Also, in 2022 NPL was named Library Journal’s Marketer of the Year.

Kent is currently a senior fellow for the Public Policy and Advocacy Office of the American Library Association, involved in policy discussions related to First Amendment freedoms.  In this role Kent mentors, coordinates, and partners with members of ALA’s Policy Corp to advance advocacy on fighting book bans focused on Unite Against Book Bans. 

He is a three-time President of the Freedom to Read Foundation and has chaired the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the American Library Association (ALA). He received the Stark County Ohio Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award for Defense of the First Amendment. His writings on intellectual freedom and defense of the First Amendment have been published in Forbes,The Costco Connection, The Tennessean, and more. He is a nationally and internationally known speaker on library issues and challenges including literacy and the freedom to read.

Kent lives in Nashville Tennessee USA.