7 Auditing Tools to Uncover Soft Censorship
A Library 2.0 "Everyday Librarian" Webinar with Sonya Schryer Norris
OVERVIEW:
The heart of this session is seven auditing tools you can use in any library, regardless of size or budget, to uncover soft censorship — from a thirty-minute walkthrough of your own building to data-driven benchmarks using the Seattle Public Library's open checkout dataset and free tools built specifically for this kind of collection analysis.
There are titles missing from library shelves right now that were never formally challenged, never voted on, never even discussed, and there is no record of their absence. It’s called soft censorship and it’s happening in libraries across the country. In most cases, nobody intended it.
We'll look at the three mechanics through which soft censorship operates — Removal, Rejection, and Restriction — using Kayla Martin-Gant's research as our framework. We'll examine what the current climate is doing to library workers and how that stress quietly reshapes collections through a phenomenon researchers call anticipatory anxiety. We'll look back at the 1950s comic book scare — because the mechanics of soft censorship are not new, and what happened to the profession then has direct lessons for now.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
This session is for collection managers, selectors, programming and staff, and library directors who need auditing tools to evaluate how soft censorship may be operating in the library.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Apply seven data-driven auditing tools to uncover soft (self-) censorship in library collections
- Identify the three operational mechanics of soft censorship
- Explain how anticipatory anxiety drives fear-based collection development decisions
- Analyze how the profession was targeted during the 1950s comic book scare to drive soft censorship in public libraries.
The recording and presentation slides will be available to all who register.
DATE: Wednesday, July 8th, 2026, 12:00 - 1:00 pm US - Eastern Time
COST:
- $99/person - includes live attendance and any-time access to the recording and the presentation slides and receiving a participation certificate. To arrange group discounts (see below), to submit a purchase order, or for any registration difficulties or questions, email admin@library20.com.
TO REGISTER:
Use the payment box above to register and pay. You can pay by credit card. You will receive an email within a day with information on how to attend the webinar live and how you can access the permanent webinar recording. If you are paying for someone else to attend, you'll be prompted to send an email to admin@library20.com with the name and email address of the actual attendee.
If you need to be invoiced or pay by check, if you have any trouble registering for a webinar, or if you have any questions, please email admin@library20.com.
NOTE: Please check your spam folder if you don't receive your confirmation email within a day.
SPECIAL GROUP RATES (email admin@library20.com to arrange):
- Multiple individual log-ins and access from the same organization paid together: $75 each for 3+ registrations, $65 each for 5+ registrations. Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.
- The ability to show the webinar (live or recorded) to a group located in the same physical location or in the same virtual meeting from one log-in: $299.
- Large-scale institutional access for viewing with individual login capability: $499 (hosted either at Learning Revolution or in Niche Academy). Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.
Sonya Schryer Norris is a third-generation Michigan library worker with over 26 years of experience, including 16 years as a Consultant in Library Development for the Library of Michigan. Since founding Plum Librarian LLC in 2020, she has served as a consultant and trainer to 12 state libraries. Sonya has created 35+ courses on Niche Academy adopted in all 50 states and internationally, and her articles have appeared in Library Journal, Computers in Libraries, and for Cengage. She presents regularly for organizations including Library 2.0 and state library agencies.
