Conference Agenda (All times are shown in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) unless otherwise noted)
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
Challenging Book Challenges: Understanding the Background, Examining "Astroturfing" as a Current Political Strategy, and Finding Ways Forward
Time:
Monday, 30/Oct/2023:
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Location:Bourg, Mezzanine, Novotel
Presentations
ID: 225 / [Single Presentation of ID 225]: 1 Panels 90 minutes Confirmation 1: I/we acknowledge that all session authors/presenters have read and agreed to the ASIS&T Annual Meeting Policies Topics: Libraries (librarianship; libraries; museums; other cultural institutions; information services; scientific and technical information; technology in libraries) Keywords: Censorship; astroturfing; politics; intellectual freedom; disinformation
Challenging Book Challenges: Understanding the Background, Examining "Astroturfing" as a Current Political Strategy, and Finding Ways Forward
Deborah Charbonneau1, Suliman Hawamdeh2, Shannon Oltmann3, Joseph Winberry4, Jieun Yeon5, Andrew Zalot6
1Wayne State University, USA; 2University of North Texas, USA; 3University of Kentucky, USA; 4University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, USA; 5Syracuse University, USA; 6University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Challenges to books in libraries have sharply escalated from 2021—present. While currently concentrated in the U.S, book bans are becoming widespread globally; these challenges often adapt strategies honed in the U.S., such as astroturfing. In this context, astroturfing refers to an illusion of grassroots organizing, in which national, elite-led organizations covertly coordinate local actions. Astroturfing is another manifestation of mis- and disinformation which ends up stoking fires of partisanship and discontent. In this panel, we will examine book bans, astroturfing, and solutions to these challenges, from several distinct yet interrelated perspectives.
