Approaches to Intellectual Freedom Instruction at Canadian Library Schools
Date
November 18, 2025 10:00 - 11:30
Location
Online
Details
Description: “Approaches to Intellectual Freedom Instruction at Canadian Library Schools” is a follow-up to the Intellectual Freedom plenary presentation at the 2025 BC Library Conference. We are fortunate to have three professors from across the country who will share their approach for teaching, discussing, and encouraging student-led engagement in their IF courses.
Join Dr. Toni Samek (University of Alberta), Dr. Cameron Pierson (University of British Columbia), and Dr. Mahdi Ganjavi (University of Toronto) for an informative Q&A and a review of their programs’ intellectual freedom courses, moderated by BCLA’s Executive Director, Rina Hadziev.
The presenters will also provide tips, ideas, and best practises for teaching IF, applicable to conversations within a library setting with new hires, colleagues, and staff who are processing this challenging topic.
When: Tuesday, November 18th at 10am – 11:30am PDT via Zoom
Who should attend: Library workers with an interest in Intellectual Freedom, library professors, library leaders, and those training staff and / or hiring future library students
Presenters:
- Dr. Toni Samek is Professor and former Chair at the School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta and Scholar-in-Residence at the Centre for Free Expression (CFE), Toronto Metropolitan University.
- Mahdi Ganjavi, PhD (University of Toronto), is a lecturer, scholar, publisher, and distinguished historian specializing in the history of education, print, and literature in the Middle East. A former postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, he currently teaches at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information.
- Dr. Cameron Pierson: UBC iSchool Lecturer
Host: British Columbia Library Association
