Photo from Dr. Emily Knox 

Emily (she/her) is an associate professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Her book, Book Banning in 21st Century America (Rowman & Littlefield) is the first monograph in the Beta Phi Mu Scholars’ Series. Her most recent book is Foundations of Intellectual Freedom (ALA Neal-Schuman). Emily’s articles have been published in the Library Quarterly, Library and Information Science Research, and Open Information Science.

Emily serves on the board of National Coalition Against Censorship and is the editor of the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy.

Her research interests include information access, intellectual freedom and censorship, information ethics and policy, and the intersection of print culture and reading practices. She is also a member of the Mapping Information Access research team.

She has been interviewed by media outlets such as NPR, the Washington Post, Time, and Slate.

Emily received her Ph.D. from the doctoral program at the Rutgers University School of Communication & Information. Her master’s in library and information science is from the iSchool at Illinois. She also holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Smith College and an A.M. in the same field from The University of Chicago Divinity School.

Freedom to Read 2023

Join Central Illinois Reads: A Freedom to Read partnership

The Freedom to Read is essential to our democracy, but also under attack.

Central Illinois libraries are joining together to encourage you to exercise your intellectual freedom.

Get a library card. Read outside your comfort zone. Unite against book bans.

For more than 20 years, Peoria Public Library has hosted a citywide literary event inviting all residents to read the same book at once.

But this year, instead of one city and one book, Peoria Public Library is joining with sister libraries across Central Illinois to invite everyone to read outside their comfort zone by choosing a banned or challenged book. Instead of Peoria Reads, we are Central Illinois Reads.

Six area public libraries will join Peoria Public Library along with longtime Peoria Reads partners, Bradley University, Methodist College and Neighborhood House.

Our partner libraries include: Chillicothe Public Library, Dunlap Public Library District, Fondulac District Library, Illinois Prairie District Public Library, Morton Public Library and Pekin Public Library.

From April through October, local libraries will host a number of events to empower you to stand against censorship. Hear from nationally known authors whose books have been banned and from librarians  who are pushing back against intolerance, exclusion and censorship.

Find your voice and celebrate your Freedom to Read with us.

Upcoming Peoria Reads Events 2023

Thursday, April 13 — Why Ban Books with Dr. Emily Knox

6 p.m. at Peoria Public Main Library, 107 NE Monroe.

Join us for an evening with Dr. Emily Knox, author of Book Banning in 21st Century and Foundations of Intellectual Freedom, the later just published in 2022.
Knox, an associate professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, serves on the board of the National Coalition Against Censorship. She is also editor of the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy.
We are honored to host her for an important discussion about the rise in book bannings across the country as part of Central Illinois Reads: Freedom to Read.
Free and open to the public.
Registration is requested, but not required. https://forms.gle/mXeKcfYDUbfr3MY79
Audience Q&A after her talk.

Sunday, April 23 — Author Event with James Klise

2 p.m. at Peoria Public Library North Branch, 3001 W. Grand Pkwy.

Join us for an afternoon with evening with Peoria native now Chicago-based novelist James Klise.
The author of award-winning novels for young adults, Klise’s a new historical novel, I’ll Take Everything You Have (Algonquin Young Readers), tells a queer coming-of-age crime story that Publishers Weekly calls “a mesmerizing snapshot of 1930s Chicago.”
Klise will read briefly from the book, then join local author-librarian Joel Shoemaker on stage for a conversation about writing, research, book challenges, and more.
An audience Q&A will follow, and books will be available for sale and signing.
Free and open to the public.
Registration is requested, but not required. https://forms.gle/vi7T5c3mHbxxNWDQ8

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Central Illinois Reads

For more than 20 years, Peoria Public Library has hosted a citywide literary event inviting all residents to read the same book at once. 

But this year, instead of one city and one book, Peoria Public Library is joining with sister libraries across Central Illinois to invite everyone to read outside their comfort zone by choosing a banned or challenged book. Instead of Peoria Reads, we are Central Illinois Reads.

Six area public libraries will join Peoria Public Library along with longtime Peoria Reads partners, Bradley University, Methodist College and Neighborhood House.

Our partner libraries include: Chillicothe Public Library, Dunlap Public Library District, Fondulac District Library, Illinois Prairie District Public Library, Morton Public Library and Pekin Public Library.

Peoria Reads! is led by Peoria Public Library with the help of community partners, Methodist College, Bradley University and Neighborhood House.

• Bring our diverse community together in ways to promote better understanding.

• Broaden and deepen readers’ appreciation for books dealing with significant issues.

• Bring more people into libraries, bookstores, and literacy institutions

• Increase opportunities for discussion between youth and adults

• Achieve a better understanding of ourselves and of our own humanity.

Upcoming Central Illinois Reads Events

april

aprName That Shredded Book

13apr6:00 pm7:30 pmFeaturedWhy Ban Books?

20apr2:00 pm4:30 pmFeaturedThird Thursday Movie Series: Page to ScreenThis month: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

23apr2:00 pm4:00 pmFeaturedThere’s More to the Story with Author James Klise

27apr5:30 pm7:30 pmFeaturedPeoria Reads: Dinner & a Movie: The Kite Runner