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 QuarterlyLibrary 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 PostTime, 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.

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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