Immroth Award 2005

Nanette Perez, nperez@ala.org

The Hays (Kansas) Public Library Board of Trustees have been named the recipients of the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award for Intellectual Freedom for 2005, presented by the American Library Association (ALA) Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT).

The Immroth Award honors intellectual freedom fighters in and outside the library profession who have demonstrated remarkable personal courage in resisting censorship. The award consists of $500 and a citation.

The Immroth Award Committee recognizes the Hays (Kansas) Public Library Board of Trustees because, in the words of Chair Laurence Miller, "The Board persevered long after many others would have been discouraged and defeated. The result has been a series of victories that have made Hays Public Library a role model for other libraries throughout the country."

Starting with an effort to remove Jennifer Aho's "Learning about Sex" in 1981, to a controversy in 1998 over "Daddy's Roomate," to the current pressures to limit access to the Internet, the Board has resisted and defeated censorship efforts that "call the roll" of major censorship issues of the last quarter century. The Board also has fought off organized efforts to "pack" its membership with censors.

The Immroth Award will be presented Saturday, June 25, 2005, at a special awards reception at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

For more information on this and other intellectual freedom awards, visit http://www.ala.org/ifrt.