Essay Guidelines

There are two ways to participate: Write an essay or volunteer to be interviewed.

Essay Guidelines

Essays should be no more than 2500 words in length, and should provide details of a full experience, from initial contact through ultimate resolution. Essays can be a first person narrative or a case study description. I am also seeking descriptions of interactions that may not have ended in a formal challenge or request for reconsideration. These anecdotes should reflect the concerns of either the patron or the librarian or both.

Tips on writing: Explain the situation and how you were involved. How was the issue resolved? What lessons were learned? What resources did you draw upon (don’t list resources; describe the resources and why they were helpful)? Had you received any training on handling challenges prior to the situation you describe? Have you received any since? Did your library have a procedure in place? If not, does it have one now? What did you learn from the experience? What advice would you give to someone in a similar situation? Were policies added or changed because of this incident?

Writers should include the facts of the challenge. If this is information based on a personal experience, please share your thoughts and feelings about the confrontation, dealing with administrators, and dealing with the public.

Your submissions should be submitted with the following information:

1. Essay Title.

2. 100 word biographical statement.

Your submissions should follow these formatting rules

**We will work on formatting the work submitted by librarians outside of the United States. Do not let language skills and/or formatting questions prevent you from submitting.

1. Text should be attached as a .doc and sent to intellectualfreedombook@gmail.com

2. Your name should be the document label (example JaneSmith.doc)

3. If you have questions about style, please consult The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, as your general guide to punctuation, capitalization, quotation, abbreviation, source citation, use of italic, etc.

Submitting an essay does not guarantee publication.

If you have questions about your essay and/or topic, please contact me at: intellectualfreedombook@gmail.com

Contributors will be asked to sign an Writer Agreement before publication.

Deadline: We are still accepting stories. Contact us if you have a story idea.

Interviews

If you would prefer to be interviewed about your experience, send me an email with a description of the experience. Please provide links and/or attachments to any material that will provide additional background on the situation.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Val Nye