Our email this morning misidentified the storied librarian Dr. Judith Krug, in whose honor our Outstanding Librarian Award is named. We deeply regret the error, and are hoping to use this moment to reflect on Dr. Krug’s incredible lifetime dedicated to expanding the right to read.
As the American Library Association has said, “No person is more closely identified with libraries and the cause of intellectual freedom than Judith F. Krug.” She was a visionary librarian and principled defender of free expression. Dr. Krug was the inaugural director of the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, established in 1967. She also helped found both Banned Books Week and the Freedom to Read Foundation, serving as its executive director beginning in 1969.
All of us at the National Coalition Against Censorship are honored to present this year’s Outstanding Librarian Award to Dr. Carla Hayden, a fitting heir to Dr. Krug’s legacy of intellectual freedom.
Jon Anderson - Judy Blume Lifetime Achievement Award
These honorees have worked tirelessly to protect artistic freedom, intellectual inquiry, and the fundamental right to speak one’s mind, which has inspired us and made us all freer.
