Democracy Forum

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Key Discussion Points: libraries and democracy privacy protection intellectual freedom and censorship informed citizenry, challenges and threats from book bans to funding Guests: Rich Boulet, Director, Blue Hill Public Library Alexandra Hinrichs, Children’s Author and Middle School Librarian at Leonard Middle School in Old Town Alison Macrina, Founder and Director of the Library Freedom Project Jamie Ritter, Maine State Librarian To learn more about this topic: Book Banning Efforts Surged in 2021. These Titles Were the Most Targeted | New York Times, April 4, 2022 World librarians, archivists rush to save Ukraine’s digital history | The Washington Post, April 8, 2022 Tired of years of budget woes, Ellsworth library director leaving for MDI | BDN, April 5, 2022 Schools nationwide are quietly removing books from their libraries | Washington Post, March 22, 2022 Book bans and the threat of censorship rev up political activism in th