Lunch and Learn // Public Libraries are Being Tested: The First Amendment & Intellectual Freedom
Thursday, January 21, 2027 @ 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
// A talk by Mary Danko, Director of the Fletcher Free Library
What does intellectual freedom really mean and what happens when it is challenged? This timely and engaging program explores the essential role public libraries play in protecting the freedom to read, access information, and support diverse ideas. We’ll consider book challenges and other real-world situations libraries face involving displays, programs, meeting rooms, privacy, and First Amendment rights.
Fletcher Free Library Director Mary Danko will also explore how strong policies, professional ethics, and thoughtful decision-making help libraries navigate difficult and sometimes controversial situations, while remaining welcoming institutions that serve the entire community.
About Our Speaker:
Mary Danko is nearing her 10-year anniversary as Director of Burlington’s Fletcher Free Library, having previously served as library director in Sunapee, New Hampshire, and in Weathersfield and Hartland, Vermont. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree from Syracuse University, and more recently an MBA from Champlain College.
Mary grew up outside of Cleveland, Ohio, the granddaughter of immigrants from Czechoslovakia and Ireland. Her parents never attained a college degree, but they fostered in Mary a love of reading and a lifelong intellectual curiosity, as well as introduced her to regular visits to the local library.
