LFI 2025/Week 1

Week 1: Introduction

• Real time lecture Wednesday May 7th, from 12-2 pacific/ 1-3 mountain/ 2-4 central/ 3-5 eastern
• Zoom link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9129428892

• Welcome everyone! We’re so thrilled to be starting Library Freedom Institute with such an excellent cohort! This week, we’ll be getting acquainted with the course, including curriculum, technology, goals, and each other.

Course overview

Course themes

• Surveillance and capitalism: politics, ideology, and money behind technologies
• Privacy and intellectual freedom in an environment of increasing repression
• Privacy strategies and tools with a harm reduction lens
• Individual vs collective action
• Building power in and through libraries

LFP background

• Alison intro
• Tess intro
• About LFP
• About LFI

Syllabus and weekly layout

• Undergo intensive training (3.5 months, 1-2 hours/week)
• Weekly commitments: lecture, discussion, readings, tasks, small group work
• Weekly meetings are a mix of lecture and discussion, so please be ready to participate each week!
• In-person weekend July 25-27 in Philly
• Tasks are things you’re expected to complete every week. There aren’t other assignments except for the final projects you’ll present either alone or with your small group. We’ll check in halfway through about the status of those projects, and when that happens you can share drafts or just outlines or thoughts.
• Let us know if you need to be absent from one of the real-time lectures for any reason.
• Review code of conduct.

Class technology

• Discord channel for discussion (LFI participants will be given a link)
• Zoom video/audio chat/recordings (Zoom meeting ID 912-942-8892)
• Riseup mailing list: lfi-2025@lists.riseup.net
• Wiki: libraryfreedom.wiki (course materials)
• Vimeo archive of lectures: https://vimeo.com/libraryfreedominstitute

Please note that all class technology (with the exception of Discord) is publicly accessible! That means that the mailing list archives and wiki can all be viewed by others. We’ve set it up this way so that the materials we create can easily be shared.

Outcomes for this cohort

UPDATE

• Learn to use privacy software that can be installed on patron machines or library workstations.
• Teach your own train-the-trainer workshops to other librarians in your region.
• Approach members of your community regarding privacy concerns and teach privacy-related community workshops.
• Use your new role as a Privacy Advocate to influence policy and infrastructure.
• Encourage community engagement with privacy policy issues.
• Work with your small group to develop a privacy plan that can be implemented in your library or others.

Final projects (optional)

UPDATE Every group will work together on components of the final project. This final project should choose from and expand on the following components:

• A library privacy policy and/or example vendor agreement
• A privacy class
• A privacy program that isn't a class
• A display about privacy
• A flyer or poster about a privacy concept
• A staff training
• Something focused on privacy work outside of the library walls, like a letter to a legislator
• Other ideas that the group wishes to add can be submitted when the group submits their roles, or can be added later

Your final project should be practically-focused and should reflect your own interests!

For next week:

Guest lecturer

No guest this month; Alison will lead the lecture

Discussion

UPDATE (discord)

Tasks

• Lecture, readings and discussion forum on Discord
• Read through materials on libraryfreedom.wiki
• Start readings for Week 2