Join the League of Women Voters of Moscow for a Speaker Series event, Book Ban Busters: Preserving the First Amendment, on Wed., Jan. 31 at 12 p.m. in the 1912 Center Arts Workshop Room.

Public and school libraries in Idaho and across the country are facing pressure to restrict access to books and other materials. Heather Stout and Mary Ann Funk, representing the Idaho North Central Alliance, a group dedicated to defending the region’s libraries and the right to read, will talk about proposed legislation in Idaho that could impact First Amendment rights. The Alliance is a campaign formed under the aegis of Fight for the First, a national nonprofit organization that helps communities act in defense of the constitutional right to free speech.

Heather Stout was a librarian for many years at the Lewiston City Library, where her focus was early literacy and youth services. She became a librarian because of her deep belief that a well-informed citizenry is the basis for our democracy. Mary Ann Funk taught high school English in Kansas and served for 34 years as a school librarian for the Lewiston School District. Heather and Mary Ann are passionate about intellectual freedom for all and continue efforts to make sure that all citizens regardless of age can always practice their constitutional guarantee of free speech. In 2023 they worked with the nonprofit group Fight for the First to co-found the North Central Idaho Alliance, which is dedicated to defending the region’s libraries and the right to read.