Go Ask Friedman
Staff -- School Library Journal, 7/1/1999
Director of Web Site Attacked by Dr. Laura Will Appear at ALA Conference
The director of "Go AskAlice," the health and sex education Web site lambasted by radiotalk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger, will appear at the American Library Association's annual conference in New Orleans. Jordan Friedman, Columbia University's director of health education, will speak from 8 to 9 a.m. Monday, June 28, at an issues briefing run by ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee. The meeting is open to all association members.
The purpose of the briefing is to let Friedman explain and answer questions about the site, which has stirred controversy since April, when Schlessinger attacked ALA for having a link to "Alice" on the association Web site. "Alice" includes graphic discussions of sexual topics and is included on "Teen Hoopla," the Web page run by ALA's Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) for young people aged 12 to 18.
"I want Jordan there to say, 'This is why we do it,'" explained Judith Krug, executive director of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. "I think people need honest, straightforward information on the 'Go Ask Alice' site."
