Each year, the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL-IFC) presents the Julie J. Boucher Memorial Awards for Intellectual Freedom. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PRURGENT
Each year, the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL-IFC) presents the Julie J. Boucher Memorial Awards for Intellectual Freedom. The two awards presented are:
The Julie J. Boucher Memorial Award - awarded annually to an individual or organization in the library community who actively promotes intellectual freedom in Colorado, and
The Julie J. Boucher Community Honor Roll - awarded annually to recognize an individual or group in Colorado not directly affiliated with libraries [i.e., not an employee or volunteer in a library] that promotes intellectual freedom.
These awards are named for Julie Boucher, an employee of the Colorado State Library and an outspoken opponent of censorship. More information about the award can be found here: https://cal-webs.org/Julie_Boucher_Memorial.
This year, CAL-IFC is excited to recognize Sue Lathrop (Lamar Public Library, Director) and Kimberly Chambers (SPLASH Youth of Northern Colorado, Director) as our 2019 Boucher Award winners!
Sue was selected as our winner of the 2019 Boucher Memorial Award for maintaining her library’s subscriptions to EBSCO databases amid numerous, escalating challenges that led to the involvement of the Lamar City Council. CAL-IFC admires Sue’s bravery in maintaining these vital informational resources for her community, and her continued commitment to educating community members about the role of online databases in the public library.
Kimberly was selected as our winner of the 2019 Boucher Community Honor Roll for her work to bring Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) events to northern Colorado. Under Kimberly’s guidance, SPLASH has created inclusive, safe, and positive storytime environments for youth across the region and has organized several immensely popular DQSH events, despite the presence of protesters.
Congratulations to our award recipients and thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate those who are going above and beyond to protect our intellectual freedom. This year’s winners will be celebrated at the 2019 Julie Boucher Keynote on Intellectual Freedom, which will take place on Saturday, September 21, 2019 in Loveland.
To find out more or to register, click https://cal-webs.wixsite.com/calcon19 | 
