A Fresh Look at the Library Bill of Rights - Part IX
Exploring the Issues of Liberty and Intellectual Freedom
Taken from the Fall 1998
NCompass
In this latest installment of the NCompass series examining applications of intellectual freedom and the Library Bill of Rights, we explore the issues of liberty and intellectual freedom.
“Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,....” This statement from the First Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution indicates the importance of freedom of inquiry and liberty of expression to the framers of the
Constitution. George Orwell, in the introduction to Animal Farm, writes, “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” This, of course, is the sticking point with intellectual freedom. To hear personal
beliefs affirmed, or to protect beliefs we hold personally, are not difficult challenges. The difficulty arises when ideas expressed
conflict with one’s personal beliefs. Yet as Michael Gorman states in his book, Our Singular Strengths, “It is the expression of
the minority, the despised, the different, that (librarians) should protect at all costs.”
For librarians, the principles of freedom of expression, freedom to read, and intellectual freedom, are the mainstay of the
profession. In practice, these principles should infuse every service, every program, and every selection made on behalf of the
library. These are rights that should be fostered, preserved and protected within the scope of the public library services to the
community.
Intellect is defined by Webster’s Online Dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellect as the “power of knowing...the capacity for
knowledge.” The idea of a free intellect is a liberating one. What if we could follow our thoughts and ideas wherever they might
lead? And shouldn’t we also be able to say what we think about where our ideas lead us? We can pursue ideas to wherever
our thoughts might lead. That is what is meant by intellectual freedom. And we can say what we think about where those ideas
lead us. That is what is meant by freedom of expression.
Ideally, libraries do more than just react to challenges to these personal freedoms. As public institutions and protectors of
inalienable rights, libraries should encourage critical thinking and reading by including information on diverse and possibly
controversial topics. Libraries should be places where ideas can be pursued. A library should provide access to information
about different cultures, ideas, and beliefs. The role of the library is not just to protect intellectual freedoms, but to advocate for
them. It is not enough to simply not deny access, but librarians should encourage and enable the pursuit of new and different
ideas, and seek to broaden the horizons of people in their community.
Kit Keller
For more information see the Library Commission home page,
search on "freedom". Full text of the Nebraska Intellectual Freedom Handbook
[obsolete link removed] is also available.