ACRL is excited to co-sponsor the webinar “Negotiating Intellectual Freedom-Compliant Contracts” with ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) at 2:00 pm Central on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
Every day, in every type of library, librarians are making decisions about which library management system to use; choosing distributors for ebooks, audiobooks, and databases; and determining who will manage IT systems and software used by patrons. Each decision raises questions about who can access information and what personal data will be collected when they do. In this webinar, our panelists will cover ways to keep patron privacy and other intellectual freedom ethics at the forefront of contracts. Attendees will identify questions to ask, necessary components of a solid contract, and how to evaluate contracts currently in place.
Panelists include Scarlet Galvan, Collection Strategist Librarian at the University of Chicago, and Molly Rainard, founder of the Denver Organization for Library Licensing. The webinar will be moderated by OIF Executive Director Sarah Lamdan.
Guest registration: https://ala-events.zoom.us/webinar/register/8517872343632/WN_1u0milcwTHaekp4Nz3nuNw
Other webinars in the series from OIF include “Prepare for the School Year: Protecting the First Amendment Rights of All Students” (Tuesday, September 15, 5:30 pm Central, co-sponsored by AASL) and “New Best Practices for Book Challenges and Intellectual Freedom“ (Monday, October 19, 2:00 pm Central).