A Fresh Look at the Library Bill of Rights - Part III
Article One - Bill of Rights
Taken from the Summer 1996
NCompass
"Books and other library resources should be provided for
the interest, information and enlightenment of all people of the community
the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin,
background, or views of those contributing to their creation."
Article I of the Library Bill of Rights as adopted June 18, 1948 and
amended February 2, 1961, June 27, 1967, and January 23, 1980 by the American
Library Association Council and affirmed as Nebraska Library Bill of Rights
April 3, 1981 by unanimous adoption of Nebraska Library Commission.
As the latest installment in the
NCompass series examining
applications of intellectual freedom and the
Library Bill of Rights,
we explore how librarians articulate their selection policy by spending
money on materials and applying
Article I of the
Library Bill
of Rights.
What does Article I mean to Nebraska librarians in their
daily lives? It means that while Roger Welch's humor may not be to your
taste, as a Nebraska author he may belong on your shelf. Madonna's performance
art may not please you, but that is not a reason to ban her book. Since
the alleged Unabomber's treatise in mathematics has become one of the most
requested American doctoral dissertations, you might be filling interlibrary
loan requests regardless of your personal feelings about the suspect. Your
compact disc music collection for young adults may include artists or groups
that you and some members of the public might not appreciate.
In a recent conversation, a librarian stated that she would prefer not
to purchase the book authored by O.J. Simpson. But we know it is important
for librarians to remember that the quality of the book is more important
than our perception of the actions of the writer. When you receive a complaint
about items in your collection, instead of defending the material, ask
the protester, "What should we add to the collection that would add balance?"
The important principle stressed in Article I is access to material
for all community interests, viewpoints and questions. "Librarians have
a professional responsibility to be inclusive, not exclusive, in collection
development and in the provision of interlibrary loan. Access to all material
legally obtainable should be assured to the user," from Interpretations
of the Library Bill of Rights (adopted by ALA Council).
Article I leads the librarian directly to the selection
policy. The following excerpt from The Nebraska Intellectual Freedom
Handbook illustrates how Article I can serve as the foundation
of the library collection development policy. Prepared by the Intellectual
Freedom Committee, Nebraska Library Association, published and distributed
in cooperation with the Nebraska Library Commission, it provides guidelines
for the development of a materials selection policy-the greatest tool for
defending The Library Bill of Rights.