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Intellectual Freedom
ALA must continue to take a leadership role on issues related to intellectual
freedom. As professionals, librarians must dedicate themselves to the right
and responsibility of libraries to provide all patrons with complete and
balanced information, in both electronic and in print formats. We must
diligently work to make programming on all sides of controversial issues
freely available and accessible. As defenders of liberty, libraries must be
proponents of free and unfettered access to all information materials in a
variety of mediums and formats.
To be successful, libraries must offer materials and services that reflect the
values, interests, and resources in their own community. The reality is also
that libraries must comply with state and local laws and policies set by the
local governing body. This may mean that, at times, libraries are directed to
make choices on collection development, access, and filtering that do not meet
the high standards and practices promoted by ALA.
Hopefully, librarians who must challenge policies such as censorship or
filtering will use the ALA stand on intellectual freedom to lobby for and gain
free and open access to all information, even when this commitment to freedom
tests the limitations placed on libraries by local interests. At the very
least, ALA should support librarians with a clearly articulated philosophy
that empowers local libraries to argue for the most open access possible.
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