Intellectual Freedom: Intellectual Freedom Issues

One of the ten amendments of the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment gives everyone residing in the United States the right to hear all sides of every issue and to make their own judgments about those issues without government interference or limitations. The First Amendment allows individuals to speak, publish, read and view what they wish, worship (or not worship) as they wish, associate with whomever they choose, and gather together to ask the government to make changes in the law or to correct the wrongs in society.

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom provides confidential support during censorship challenges to library materials, services, and programs.

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries.

Libraries are major sources of information for society and they serve as guardians of the public’s access to information. Core values of the library community such as equal access to information, intellectual freedom, and the objective stewardship and provision of information must be preserved and strengthened, now more than ever.

This blog raises four questions for libraries about the cross-over between issues relating to access to information, copyright and intellectual freedom.

From physical access to material selection to policies dealing with challenges to privacy of patron information, the article argues that school librarians must demonstrate intellectual freedom to maintain a free and open forum for ideas. They should be protectors of intellectual freedom for minors just as public libraries protect the rights of all citizens regardless of age.

So many children live in “small worlds” where their existence is marginalized, restrained by inequities in society. Thus, libraries have a significant role in helping to mitigate some of these disadvantages by ensuring equity in access to resources and services that could potentially transform someone’s life. Fighting for intellectual freedom is one way that libraries can continue changing the narrative for marginalized groups.

The use of Internet filters to block constitutionally protected speech, including content on social networking and gaming sites, compromises First Amendment freedoms and the core values of librarianship.

Resources concerning filtering

Academic freedom is the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts (including those that are inconvenient to external political groups or to authorities) without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment.

Resources on academic ethics in higher education, including intellectual freedom

Academic Freedom is a complex issue, especially in higher education today. This guide is designed to provide some sources for research on this topic and provide avenues for further investigation.