Intellectual Freedom
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The American Library Association defines intellectual freedom, a fundamental professional ethic of the field of librarianship, as the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored. Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas." (See ALA Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A)
For a broad, historical overview of intellectual freedom, check out the following article:
- Intellectual Freedom and ALA: Historical Review (in the Encyclopedia of Library & Information Science, 2nd ed. Online access for UW-Madison users only.)
Resources on the Web
The Office for Intellectual Freedom is charged with implementing ALA policies concerning the concept of intellectual freedom as embodied in the the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. The site contains information on ALA intellectual freedom policies, censorship, privacy and the USA PATRIOT Act.
Nonprofit and nonpartisan organization committed to protecting civil liberties. Key issues include free speech, privacy and technology, racial equality and religious liberty.
Nonprofit and nonpartisan organization committed to protecting civil liberties. Key issues include free speech, privacy and technology, racial equality and religious liberty.
The EFF advocates on behalf of free expression in a digital age. It was created to defend our rights to think, speak, and share our ideas, thoughts, and needs using new technologies, such as the Internet and the World Wide Web.
EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, D.C that focuses public attention on "emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values." Users can subscribe to a free, award-winning electronic newsletter on civil liberties in the information age.
Since 1986, FAIR has offered well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship. FAIR works to "invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints.
An online magazine promoting the idea that librarians are the servants and protectors of the public sphere and that intellectual freedom and social responsibility are central to the profession. It is published every other week and contains discussions, commentary, announcements, humor, web links and news affecting the library world.
An article by Mary Minow, a library law consultant, about the implications of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
The Free Expression Policy Project (FEPP) provides research and analysis on difficult censorship issues, and seeks free speech-friendly solutions to the concerns that drive censorship campaigns. Primary areas of inquiry include restrictions on publicly funded expression in libraries, museums, and universities; Internet filters; restrictive copyright laws and mass media consolidation.
A nonprofit, public interest law firm committed to promoting freedom of information, expression and petition.Provides advice, education and legal representation.
An alliance of organizations dedicated to protecting the First Amendment right of free expression and the values it represents, and to opposing governmental efforts to suppress constitutionally protected speech." FEN members meet on a quarterly basis to share information and strategies.
Features comprehensive coverage of key First Amendment issues and topics, a first amendment library and guest analyses by legal specialists. Maintained by the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.
An alliance of 50 national non-profit organizations united by the conviction that freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression must be defended. The NCAC works to educate members and the public at large about the dangers of censorship and how to oppose them.
A nonprofit organization dedicated to online policy research, outreach, and action on issues such as access, privacy, digital defamation, and the digital divide. Contains online policy issues of concern for LGBT communities, disabled communities, elderly communities, health-related communities, women and youth.
The SPLC is an advocate for student free-press rights and provides information, advice and legal assistance at no charge to students and the educators that work with them.
A national coalition of teens and adults committed to defending the free expression rights of youth.
"An international database on censorship of books and newspapers, and literature on freedom of expression, produced by the Norwegian Forum for Freedom of Expression."
Resources in SLIS Library
Call No: Ref 363.31 C332c (v.1-v.4)
Censorship : a world encyclopedia / editor, Derek Jones.
London ; Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, c2001.
Call No: 021.097309 Sa45i
Intellectual freedom and social responsibility in American librarianship, 1967-1974 / by Toni Samek ; with a foreword by Sanford Berman.
Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, c2001.
Call No: 323.44 B226 2004
Banned Books: 2004 Resource Book.
Chicago, IL : American Library Association, 2004.
Call No: 323.44 Am34i6
Intellectual freedom manual / compiled by the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association.
6th ed. Chicago : American Library Association, 2002.
Call No: 323.44 B695p2
Purity in print : book censorship in America from the Gilded Age to the Computer Age / Paul S. Boyer.
2nd ed. Madison, Wis. : University of Wisconsin Press, c2002.
Call No: 323.44 H6298 2002
Hit list for children 2 : frequently challenged books / Beverley C. Becker and Susan M. Stan for the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association.
Chicago : American Library Association, 2002.
Call No: 323.44 H63 2002
Hit list for young adults 2 : frequently challenged books / Teri S. Lesesne, Rosemary Chance for the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) ; with a foreword by Chris Crutcher.
Chicago : American Library Association, c2002.
Call No: 323.44 P336L
Libraries, the First Amendment, and cyberspace : what you need to know / Robert S. Peck.
Chicago : American Library Association, 2000.
Call No: 323.44 Sp31
Speaking out! : voices in celebration of intellectual freedom / [edited by] Ann K. Symons, Sally Gardner Reed.
Chicago : American Library Association, 1999.
Call No: 921 B818R
The dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown : civil rights, censorship, and the American library / by Louise S. Robbins
Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, c2000.