Wayne State University's School of Information Sciences Inclusive Excellence Committee is proud to host a fireside chat titled, "Intellectual Freedom in the 21st Century" on Wednesday, October 21st at 12:00 p.m. 

During this virtual event, we will be joined by Lesliediana Jones (Director of the Neef Law Library and Assistant Professor) and Dr. Shannon Oltmann (Associate Dean and Professor of the School of Information Sciences. The scholars will speak about their extensive work in the area of intellectual freedom. This conversation will address themes such as book bans, generative artificial intelligence, and "the right of individuals to access, explore, and express ideas without censorship" (WSU Libraries' Strategic Plan 2025-2028, Vision, Mission, and Value Statement).

About our speakers:

Lesliediana Jones is the Director of the Neef Law Library and Assistant Professor (Teaching) in the Wayne State University Law School. She received her JD from the Wayne State University Law School and her master's degree in library science from the Wayne State University School of Information Science. Jones has held several other library positions previously, including assistant director of public service at the Harvard University Law School Library and head of document services at the George Washington University Law School. Jones is the 2025-2026 president of the Freedom to Read Foundation, an organization that participates in litigation for freedom of speech and the press. She does advocacy work in the field of intellectual freedom and First Amendment rights as it pertains to libraries.

Shannon M. Oltmann is the Associate Dean and Director of the School of Information Sciences at Wayne State University, where she is also a full Professor. Previously, Oltmann was an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator in the School of Information Science at the University of Kentucky. Oltmann’s research interests include intellectual freedom, censorship, information precarity, and qualitative research methods. She wrote the book Practicing Intellectual Freedom in Libraries and edited The Fight Against Book Bans: Perspectives from the Field; her work has been funded by the American Library Association and the Institute of Museum & Library Services and has been widely published. She studies the implementation of and resistance to censorship in libraries and other spaces. Another stream of work investigates information precarity, a lack of information and resources brought about by systemic marginalization. Oltmann has spoken to a wide variety of groups, organizations, and media outlets about intellectual freedom. She is on the Board of Directors for the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) and is an Associate Editor for Library Quarterly. She obtained her Ph.D. from Indiana University.

Want to learn more about intellectual freedom? View the University Library LibGuide on the topic here.