A Fresh Look at the Library Bill of Rights - Part V
Article Three - Bill of Rights
Taken from the Spring 1997
NCompass
"Libraries should challenge censorship in the
fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment."
(Article III 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.)
In this latest installment of the NCompass series examining applications
of intellectual freedom and the Library Bill of Rights, we explore
how librarians challenge censorship, exert community leadership, and demonstrate
the courage of their convictions by ensuring that the material in their
libraries truly represents diverse points of view.
Librarians are in a position to be the most dangerous censor in the
community because they select what is available to everyone else. They
can demonstrate respect for the spirit of Article III by examining their
own choices and omissions rigorously. For example, if we don't purchase
It's Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris because we think the illustrations
vulgar and graphic or because we think someone in the community might complain,
we can't demonstrate leadership in challenging censorship. This book could
answer questions for children puzzled about the sexual innuendo they encounter
on television and in their schools, especially questions they wouldn't
feel comfortable asking another human being.
The library collection development policy should be well publicized.
Promoting the principle of intellectual freedom through the collection
development policy prepares the community for the library's challenge of
censorship and defense of intellectual freedom. When the censors discover
It's Perfectly Normal in the library, librarians can meet their
shock and outrage, not with defensiveness, but with appreciation that they
have taken the time to let us know what they think. We can explain the
reconsideration procedure to them and offer to help fill out forms. When
we examine our own discomfort with certain kinds of materials, we are in
a good position to be an articulate advocate for the right to information
for all.
For more ideas about how to challenge censorship, see http://fileroom.aaup.uic.edu/FileRoom/documents/TofCont.html
[obsolete link removed] from the
University of Illinois, a wealth of information on all forms of censorship,
including an archive of cases and definitions of censorship
for Access to Electronic Information, Services, and Networks: A Nebraska
Library Commission Interpretation, a draft of the Commission's statement
on Intellectual Freedom and the Internet on the Commission Home Page.
Full text of the Nebraska Intellectual Freedom Handbook is also available.
[obsolete link removed]
Throughout 1997, NCompass will continue this series of articles
exploring the Library Bill of Rights. We invite our readers to share
ideas and help us examine the issues and possible ramifications of the
Library Bill of Rights.