The Library Juice Press Handbook of Intellectual Freedom has been named 2016 Eli M. Oboler Award winner. 2001 SLIS graduate Laura Kotultsky (an Associate Librarian, University of Calgary) co-edited this notable work alongside Mark Alfino (Philosophy Department, Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington).
Press release here: http://www.ala.org/news/member-news/2016/03/library-juice-press-handbook-intellectual-freedom-named-2016-eli-m-oboler-award
Excerpt: "In recognizing The Library Juice Press Handbook of Intellectual Freedom, the Oboler Award selection committee said it believed that the book was an enormous contribution to the existing literature and indispensable to a thorough discussion of the subject of intellectual freedom. The book looks at intellectual freedom from a wider range of theoretical perspectives and in connection with a wider range of cultural topics, under the premise that "thought and action about intellectual freedom needs to be informed by a broader and more complex range of topics and theoretical reflection than it typically has been." The 21 articles focus on topics including threats to intellectual freedom, academic freedom, the arts, the internet, censorship along with connections to contemporary social issues and institutions, and historical and cultural theories."
Laura Koltutsky is an associate librarian within the University of Calgary Libraries and Cultural Resources. She previously worked at the University of Houston from 2001-2008 and as an adjunct professor for the Department of Library and Information Sciences at the University of North Texas from 2004-2008. Laura is a co-editor of the Library Juice Press Handbook of Intellectual Freedom: Concepts, Cases, and Theories. She currently serves on the Council of the American Library Association and is active within the Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility communities of the association.
Mark Alfino teaches for the Philosophy Department at Gonzaga University. His teaching and research interests are broad, but tend to focus on two general problems: the nature of language and the nature of values. He publishes on topics in ethics and, in recent years, has been working on the topics of Happiness and Wisdom. In the last few years, he has returned to Information Ethics with a new book of collected papers on Intellectual Freedom. He has also been working in the area of philosophy of culture and takes a group of students to Benin on a short term study abroad program.