Intro to intellectual freedom in libraries with a focus on public libraries in Massachusetts.

1. Brains In Their Heads

2. Stop! That book is censored!
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Koran
Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by
Sherman Alexie
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

3. Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but
unlike charity, it should end there.
--Clare Booth Luce

4. The Foundation of
Intellectual freedom
“Congress Shall Make No Law Respecting an
Establishment of Religion, or Prohibiting the Free
Exercise Thereof; or Abridging the Freedom of
Speech, or of the Press; or the Right of the People
Peaceably to Assemble, and to Petition the
Government for a Redress of Grievances.”
The First Amendment, Constitution of the United States

5. How does the First Amendment
apply to libraries?
Public libraries, schools and colleges are
governmental agencies.
Even in the more structured school
environment, students retain substantial rights.
States can’t restrict the flow of information more
than the federal government.
States can provide greater freedoms.

6. Libraries can limit speech
By time
By place
By manner
Restrictions should be content-neutral and narrowly
tailored to serve a compelling interest.

7. What about young people?
Children have lesser but still significant rights.
Speech can’t be suppressed solely to protect the
young from ideas that a legislative body thinks is
unsuitable for them.
Reno v ACLU (1997)
Restrictions put into place to protect young people
cannot be so broad as to limit adults’ rights to
protected material.

8. What’s protected?
Nearly everything

9. What’s not protected?
Slander
Fighting words
Libel
Obscene material
Child pornography / material that is “harmful to
minors”

10. What’s obscenity? A jury or court
must decide that:
The average person would find the work as a whole
appeals to the prurient interest.
The work depicts sexual conduct specifically defined
by the applicable law.
The work lacks serious literary, artistic, political or
scientific value.
Miller v. California (1973)

11. What’s pornography?
“Pornography” has no legal meaning.
Child pornography is information, usually
pictures, depicting minors in a sexually explicit
manner.

12. What’s “harmful to minors”?
Material that appeals to the prurient interests of children.
Material that is offensive to children.
Material that has no serious literary, artistic, political or
scientific value to children.
Nearly every state provides some protections for libraries
using such material for educational purposes.

13. Harmful to minors
It shall also be a defense in any prosecution under this
section if the evidence proves that the defendant was a bona
fide school, museum or library, or was acting in the course of
his employment as an employee of such organization or of a
retail outlet affiliated with and serving the educational
purpose of such organization.
http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI
/Chapter272/Section28

14. Confidentiality
That part of the records of a public library which
reveals the identity and intellectual pursuits of a
person using such library shall not be a public
record as defined by clause Twenty-sixth of
section seven of chapter four.
http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXII/Chap
ter78/Section7

15. Public libraries
Serve the entire community, so should reflect all
points of view.
Protect the right of the parent, and only the
parent, to decide what his child will see or view.
Staff should be familiar with state “harmful-to-minor”
statutes. If a law is broken in the library, it should
be reported to the police.

16. Intellectual Freedom in libraries is
supported by
Policies passed by the library’s governance
board, who represent the community.
The Library Bill of Rights.
“A person’s right to use a library should not be denied
or abridged because of origin, age, background, or
views.”
By staff, who have a professional responsibility
to provide access to information.

17. Librarians care about access to
information and…
Ensure that collection development policies reflect
community needs.
Build collections based on professional criteria.
Encourage families to evaluate electronic
information.
Understand that young people need access to all
kinds of information.

18. Who’s responsible for safety in the
information age? We all are.
• Families need to communicate with kids about values
and responsibility.
• Librarians should help kids and families toward
information literacy.
• Information literacy and critical skills are more
important than ever before.

19. Brains in Their Heads?
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with
care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of
feet,
You're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
--Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!