![]() "The current investigation by the British House of Commons into former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's administration during the COVID-19 crisis, focusing on messages exchanged by senior figures, highlights the critical importance of these records for the health of our democracy. (Amel Emric/Associated Press) Freedom to know The National Library in Sarajevo reopened on 22 years after the landmark building was destroyed during the Bosnian war, along with its nearly two million books and manuscripts. Let's be clear: It is our minds that are the true battlefield, and libraries are a good proxy for those." "Suppressing freedom to read is a core tactic used by those who seek to exercise authoritarian control over our societies. ![]() "The current wave of book banning in libraries, and the broader context of censorship and constraints around the freedom of expression, are all stark reminders that the techniques used in Nazi Germany are once again in fashion," said Ovenden. Ovenden's public lecture outlined what he characterizes as "five freedoms that libraries defend for us, and why we must, in turn, defend libraries and archives, as they are at the heart of open, democratic societies." Freedom to read It's a very current one.' (John Cairns/Harvard University Press)įrom a Florida state law that requires school librarians to remove contested books from classrooms under threat of imprisonment, to Ukrainian librarians risking their lives to save materials targeted by Russian missiles, Ovenden says "unfortunately, there are many new aspects to the threat to knowledge coming about all the time." Richard Ovenden's 2020 book, Burning the Books, delves into the history of destroying knowledge, but he told IDEAS that with 'events like Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the book bannings now, I should be doing another edition of the book. His 2020 book described historical examples of book burnings and trashed archives, but Ovenden notes that events involving libraries in the last few years have "been a stark reminder of the threats to institutions that most people take for granted." He is also the author of Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge. Richard Ovenden is the 25th Bodley's Librarian, director of libraries at the University of Oxford. Those serious matters were described in a talk entitled Libraries as Defenders of Open Society that Ovenden gave at the Toronto Public Library in February 2023 as part of its Freedom to Read Week. The idea that we are engaged in serious matters for the sake of society needs to be shouted out." "Anybody who's worked in libraries knows this has almost certainly never been true, and it's certainly not true today. librarian Richard Ovenden is determined to counter. These are the tired stereotypes of his profession which U.K. Stern-faced floor monitors shushing visitors. Professional introverts, walled off behind books. Ideas 53:58 The Librarian Who Won’t Stay Quiet
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