False Witness: Morality in Media and EBSCO

Abstract

In June of 2017, the Office for Intellectual Freedom got its first ever intellectual freedom challenge to a library database. The case was in Colorado and involved the Cherry Creek School District. According to a parent in the district, EBSCO, a periodical database, was promoting obscene and pornographic content to middle school students. At this writing, the campaign has spread to almost a dozen other states from the southeast to the northwest. Some schools immediately, and without much analysis, shut down access to EBSCO. Others have followed their policies and procedures and retained it, despite persistent attempts at political pressure.