This panel explores how intellectual freedom is being challenged across research, public discourse, and digital environments, and what academic communities and information professionals can do in response. The discussion connects freedom to read with freedom to research, data integrity, privacy, and democratic participation.
Panelists:
Alison Macrina, Founder, Library Freedom Project
Kristi Thompson, Research Data Management Librarian, Western Libraries
Michelle Arbuckle, Executive Director, Ontario Library Association
Moderated by: Geoffrey Robert Little, Vice-Provost and Chief Librarian, Western Libraries
Panelists will discuss urgent and under-recognized threats to intellectual freedom, including research data access and integrity, book challenges and censorship trends, privacy and surveillance, and the impacts of digital rights on students, researchers, and teaching.
The session will explore censorship beyond the book—such as data suppression, licensing restrictions, and algorithmic control—as well as how surveillance and risk affect academic inquiry. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn about concrete actions they can take to support intellectual freedom.