Intellectual freedom presentation for Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation donor event.

1. Libraries and Intellectual Freedom

3. “Intellectual freedom is 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 be explored.”
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/basics/intellectual.cfm

4. Congress shall make no law…

5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/salim/

6. WARNING:
The contents of this library may
have ideas that offend you.

7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sno-islelibraries/

8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sno-islelibraries

9. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sno-islelibraries

10. A conversation about access
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sno-islelibraries

11. Requests for Reconsideration
 Challenges
 The objections
 2 to 3 dozen each year
 Offensive language
 Violence
 Nudity
 The Library
 Sexuality
 495,000 registered borrowers
 Occult
 1.4 million items

12. ALA 10 Most
Challenged Books
2007
Anti Ethnic
Sexism
Homosexuality
Anti-Family
Religious Viewpoint
Unsuited to Age Group

13. ALA 10 Most
Challenged Books
2007
Religious Viewpoint

14. ALA 10 Most
Challenged Books
2007
Racism

15. ALA 10 Most
Challenged Books
2007
Homosexuality
Sexually Explicit
Offensive Language

16. Not on the 2007 list
but frequently
challenged.
Magic

18. … the library is a community resource for people of all
ages, races, creeds, national origins, and political or
social views. It is a physical and virtual place where
ideas and information are freely communicated
through the collection and other services and
resources. A variety of viewpoints is represented in the
library's collection, regardless of the author's race,
nationality, or political, religious, or social views. The
existence of a particular viewpoint in the collection is
an expression of the library's commitment to
intellectual freedom and not an endorsement of the
particular point of view.

19. Collection Development Assistant Manager