After a hiatus of several years, the Eastern Oregon Forum returns with four presentations at Blue Mountain Community College is starting in October.
The October forum is is titled “Banned Books” and will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at BMCC’s Science and Technology Building, Room ST-200.
The cost is $5 per person and admission is free for students.
The Banned Books forum will be a panel discussion that will draw from the experiences of librarians who have been involved in book challenges. The forum will also provide tools for members of the public who want to support libraries and the freedom to read.
Forum participants are April Witteveen and Brittany Young.
Witteveen is the 2023 Oregon Library Association Intellectual Freedom Champion Award recipient. She received the award in recognition of courage and excellence in defending the freedom to read while director of Crook County Public Library. Witteveen is currently library director at OSU Cascades in Bend.
Young is the president of the Oregon Library Association and law librarian at Lane County Law Library. She is also one of the hosts of the podcast Overdue: Weeding Out Oppression in Libraries produced by the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Antiracism Committee of the Oregon Library Association.
For more information about the EO Forum, contact Jen Merritt at InterMountain Education Service District at jen.merritt@imesd.k12.or.us.
The EO Forum is a collaborative effort between Blue Mountain Community College; InterMountain Education Service District; the East Oregonian; American Association of University Women; and Harriet Isom, a former United States ambassador who also serves on the committee. The cost for this series of four forums is $15 per person, $25 per couple or $5 per forum at the door and free admission for students.
