ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL N e w s ■ N o v e m b e r 1999 / 841 Entering the next century with strength by Steven Herb A s p a r t o f t h e 100th a n n iv e rs a ry is s u e o f L ib ra ry J o u r n a l in 1976, Eli O b o le r w ro te a p ie c e e n title d “T h e F re e M ind: In te lle F r e e d o m ’s P e rils a n d P r o s p e c ts .” R e p rin te d in his b o o k D e f e n d in g In te lle c ­ t u a l F re ed o m : T he L ib ra r y a n d th e Censor, O b o le r t h o u g h t t h e a rtic le still s e r v e d a s “a r e m i n d e r t o e x p e r i e n c e d lib r a r ia n s a n d a s tim u lu s to lib ra ry n e o p h y te s to e n g a g e , p e r ­ so n a lly a n d d irec tly , in th e n e c e s s a ry b a ttle to sa v e in te lle c tu a l fre e d o m . A fte r se v e ra l y e a r s , a b o u t t h e o n ly a d d it i o n s I b e lie v e n e e d e d a re to u n d e r s c o r e its p e r h a p s p r e ­ s c ie n t c o m m e n ts o n th e in c h o a te d a n g e r s to lib ra rie s in th e c o m m e rc ia l in fo rm a tio n in ­ d u s try a n d o n c e a g a in to a s k v e h e m e n tly fo r s tro n g m e a s u re s b y t h e lib ra ry p ro fe s s io n to p r e v e n t t h e s p re a d in g c o n ta g io n o f c e n s o r­ s h ip [w h e th e r c o n s c io u s o r u n c o n s c io u s ] b y lib ra ria n s th e m s e lv e s .”1 T w e n ty y e a rs later, it is in te re stin g to n o te th a t th e tw o larg e st item s o n th e In tellectual F re e d o m C o m m itte e ’s v e ry full a g e n d a this a u tu m n h a v e b e e n a n e x a m in a tio n o f th e p o ­ te n tia lly d e le t e r i o u s e ffe c ts o f c o m m e rc ia l o u ts o u rc in g o n inte lle ctu a l fre e d o m p rin c ip le s in libraries a n d th e o n g o in g d e b a te re g a rd in g filters a n d th e In te rn e t— a b a ttle th a t is b e in g w a g e d w ith in libraries a n d a m o n g lib rarian s as o fte n as it is o u tsid e th e p ro fe s sio n . c tu It s e e m s a g o o d tim e i n d e e d fo r ACRL to h a v e a d o p te d a n d a p p r o v e d its “In te lle c tu a l a l F r e e d o m P rin c ip le s fo r A c a d e m ic L ib ra rie s.” O b o le r, w ith th e h e lp o f Z e c h a ria h C h a fe e Jr., p r e s e n ts th r e e s im p le tru th s th a t p ro v id e a s o lid f o u n d a tio n fo r th e ACRL d o c u m e n t a n d w h ic h “t h o s e w h o b e lie v e in t h e b rig h t fu tu re o f th e fre e e x e rc is e o f th e fre e m in d s h o u ld fin d a g r e e a b l e ”:2 • there is n o g o o d reaso n to assum e that the fre e flo w o f id e a s a n d a rg u m e n t w ill n o t r e ­ su lt in a b e tte r life for th e individual a n d nation; • th o s e fe w w h o a d v o c a te s u p p re s s io n , re stric tio n , a n d c e n s o rs h ip a re in n o w a y so m u c h w is e r th a n th e m a s se s th a t th e y c a n sa fe ly re g u la te th e ir v ie w s fo r th e m ; a n d • c o n tra ry to th e “v irtu e s o f t r a d itio n a n d th e o b v io u s e vils o f c h a n g e ” a rg u m e n t, le t u s h a v e e n o u g h fa ith in o u r in stitu tio n s to b e ­ lie v e th a t th e y c a n sa fely w ith s ta n d v o ic e a n d p a p e r ( a n d W eb site!).3 T h e “In te lle c tu a l F re e d o m P rin c ip le s for A cadem ic Libraries” arrive at a tim e w h e n te m p ­ ta tio n s to restrict o r tig h te n c o n tro l o f a cc ess to in fo rm a tio n lo o m large in m a n y a c a d e m ic se t­ tings. T h e su rp rise m a y b e th a t th e effort to restrict access to inform ation is as likely to c o m e fro m a p re s s u r e d lib ra ry a d m in istra to r a s a sy ste m a d m in istra to r o r u n iv ersity official o u t­ s id e o f th e library. A bout th e author Steven Herb is head o f the Education a n d Behavioral Sciences Library, a ffilia te associate professor o f language a n d literacy education a t Penn State University, a nd the current chair o f the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, e-mail: slh18@psu.edu Intellectual freedom and the academic library ACRL PRINCIPLES mailto:18@psu.edu 842 / C&RL N ew s ■ N o v e m b e r 1999 Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries A s tro n g in te lle ctu a l fre e d o m p e r s p e c ­ tive is critical to th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f a c a ­ d e m ic library c o lle c tio n s a n d se rv ice s that d isp a ssio n a te ly m e e t th e e d u c a tio n a n d r e ­ se a rc h n e e d s o f a co lle g e o r u niversity c o m ­ m unity. T h e p u r p o s e o f th is s ta te m e n t is to p ro v id e a n in te rp re ta tio n o f g e n e ra l in te l­ lec tu al fre e d o m p rin c ip le s in a n a c a d e m ic library se tting a n d , in th e p ro c ess, raise c o n ­ s c io u sn e ss o f th e in te lle ctu a l fre e d o m c o n ­ tex t w ith in w h ic h a ca d em ic librarians w ork. T h e s e p rin c ip le s s h o u ld b e re fle c te d in all re le v a n t library p o lic y d o c u m e n ts. 1. T h e g e n e ra l p rin c ip le s se t fo rth in th e Library Bill o f Rights form a n in d is p e n s ­ a ble fram e w o rk for b u ilding collections, ser­ vices, a n d p o lic ies th at se rv e th e e n tire a c a ­ d e m ic c o m m u n ity . 2. T h e p riv ac y o f library u s e rs is a n d m u st b e in v iolable. P olicies s h o u ld b e in p la c e th at m ain tain co n fid en tiality o f library b o rro w in g re c o rd s a n d o f o th e r in fo rm a ­ tio n re la tin g to p e rs o n a l u s e o f library in­ fo rm a tio n a n d services. 3. T h e d e v e lo p m e n t o f library c o lle c ­ tio n s in s u p p o rt o f a n in stitu tio n ’s in stru c ­ tio n a n d re s e a rc h p ro g ra m s s h o u ld tra n ­ s c e n d th e p e rs o n a l v a lu e s o f th e selector. In th e in te rests o f r e s e a rc h a n d lea rn in g , it is e sse n tia l th at c o lle c tio n s c o n ta in m a te ri­ als re p re s e n tin g a v ariety o f p e rs p e c tiv e s o n su b je cts th a t m ay b e c o n s id e re d c o n tro ­ versial. 4. P re se rv a tio n a n d re p la c e m e n t efforts s h o u ld e n s u re th a t b a la n c e in library m a te ­ rials is m a in ta in e d a n d th a t c o n tro v e rsia l m ate ria ls a re n o t re m o v e d from th e c o lle c ­ tio n s th ro u g h theft, loss, m utilatio n , o r n o r­ m al w e a r a n d tear. T h e re s h o u ld b e a le rt­ n e ss to efforts b y sp e c ia l in te re s t g ro u p s to b ia s a c o lle c tio n t h o u g h syste m atic th eft o r m u tilation. 5. L icensing a g re e m e n ts s h o u ld b e c o n ­ siste n t w ith th e Library Bill o f Rights, a n d s h o u ld m ax im iz e access. 6. O p e n a n d u n filte re d a c c e s s to th e In te rn e t s h o u ld b e c o n v e n ie n tly availab le to th e a c a d e m ic c o m m u n ity in a c o lle g e o r un iv ersity library. C o n te n t filtering d e v ic e s a n d c o n te n t-b a s e d re stric tio n s a re a c o n ­ tra d ic tio n o f th e a c a d e m ic library m ission to fu rth e r re se a rc h a n d lea rn in g th ro u g h e x ­ p o s u re to th e b ro a d e s t p o ss ib le ra n g e o f id e a s a n d in fo rm a tio n . S u ch re stric tio n s are a fu n d a m e n ta l v io la tio n o f in te lle ctu a l fre e ­ d o m in a c a d e m ic libraries. 7. F re e d o m o f in fo rm a tio n a n d o f c re ­ a tiv e e x p re s s io n s h o u ld b e re fle c te d in li­ b ra ry e x h ib its a n d in all re le v a n t lib ra ry p o lic y d o c u m e n ts. 8. L ibrary m e e tin g ro o m s, re s e a rc h car­ re ls, e x h ib it s p a c e s , a n d o t h e r fa c ilitie s s h o u ld b e a v ailab le to th e a c a d e m ic c o m ­ m u nity re g ard less o f re se a rc h b e in g p u rs u e d o r su b je c t b e in g d isc u sse d . A ny re stric tio n s m a d e n e c e ssa ry b e c a u s e o f lim ited a vail­ ability o f s p a c e s h o u ld b e b a s e d o n n e e d , as re fle c te d in library p olicy, ra th e r th a n o n c o n te n t o f re s e a rc h o r d isc u ssio n . 9. W h e n e v e r p o ss ib le , lib ra ry se rv ice s s h o u ld b e availab le w ith o u t c h a rg e in o r­ d e r to e n c o u ra g e inquiry. W h e re c h a rg e s a re n e c e ssa ry , a free o r lo w -c o st a lte rn a tiv e (e .g ., d o w n lo a d in g to d isk ra th e r th a n p rin t­ ing) s h o u ld b e a v ailab le w h e n p o ssib le . 10. A se rv ice p h ilo s o p h y s h o u ld b e p r o ­ m o te d th a t affords e q u a l a c c e ss to in fo rm a ­ tio n fo r all in th e a c a d e m ic c o m m u n ity w ith n o d isc rim in atio n o n th e b a sis o f race, v a l­ u e s, g e n d e r, se x u a l o rie n ta tio n , c u ltu ral o r e th n ic b a c k g ro u n d , p h y sic al o r lea rn in g d is­ ability, e c o n o m ic status, re lig io u s b eliefs, o r view s. 11. A p ro c e d u re e n s u rin g d u e p ro c e ss s h o u ld b e in p la c e to d e a l w ith re q u e sts by th o s e w ith in a n d o u tsid e th e a ca d em ic c o m ­ m u n ity for re m o v a l o r a d d itio n o f lib ra ry re so u rc e s, e x h ib its, o r services. 12. It is r e c o m m e n d e d th at this sta te m e n t o f p rin c ip le b e e n d o r s e d b y a p p ro p ria te in­ stitu tio n al g o v e rn in g b o d ie s , in c lu d in g th e facu lty s e n a te o r sim ilar in stru m e n t o f fac­ ulty g o v e rn a n c e . — A d o p te d b y ACRL In te lle c tu a l F reed o m C o m m itte e : J u n e 2 8 , 1 999- A p p r o v e d by ACRL B o a r d o f D irectors: J u n e 29, 1999. M e m b ers o f th e 1 9 98-98 ACRLIFC w e re C h a ir , L a u r e n c e A. M ille r , e - m a i l : m ille rl@ s e rv m s .fiu .e d u ; K a re n B a c s a n y i, W ayne State U niversity; S u san B ry n teso n , U n iv e rsity o f D e la w a re ; J e n n if e r S. Burr, N a za re th C ollege o f R ochester; Ja c k F orm an. M esa C ollege; M. C harlotte H ess, W o rk sh o p in Political T h eo ry Policy Analysis; K eith W. Russell. N ational A gricultural Library; Marty Stilwell, K ellogg C o m m u n ity C ollege; a n d ACRL staff liaison M ichael G o d o w . ■ mailto:millerl@servms.fiu.edu C&RL N e w s ■ N o v e m b e r 1999 / 843 T h e c o n c e rn s th a t a d m in istra to rs e x p re s s a re u su ally g e n u in e a n d im p o rta n t to a c k n o w l­ e d g e w h e n c o n stru c tin g o r re c o n stru c tin g a c a ­ d e m ic library p olicies re g ard in g collections a n d services. In th e In te rn e t a re n a a lo n e , p re s s u re to re ­ strict a c c e ss to c o m p u te r-b a s e d re so u rc e s m a y b e c o m in g from a v a rie ty o f s o u rc e s a n d situ­ atio n s— fro m th e c o lle g e a d m in istra tio n ’s c o n ­ c e rn th a t th e lib ra ry ’s c o m p u te rs a re th e last b a s tio n o f u n a u th e n tic a te d a c c e ss o n c a m p u s to th e library staff m e m b e rs w h o a re b e c o m ­ ing m o re v o c al a b o u t th e im a g e s o r w o rd s th e y o c ca sio n ally w itn e s s w ith regret. T h e d o c u m e n t a p p r o v e d b y t h e ACRL B o a rd th is p a s t J u n e s h o u ld p ro v id e a solid rock u p o n w h ic h to b u ild a n y c o llections-based o r se rv ic e -d riv e n p olicy. It is b ro a d , fair, a n d w e ll c o n n e c te d to b o th th e inte lle ctu a l fre e ­ d o m te n e ts o f all lib raries a n d th e sp e c ia l a c a ­ d e m ic fre e d o m u n d e rp in n in g s o f c o lle g e a n d re s e a rc h libraries. As th e 12th prin cip le o f th e d o c u m e n t states, “It is r e c o m m e n d e d th a t this s ta te m e n t o f p rin ­ c ip le b e e n d o r s e d b y a p p ro p ria te institutional g o v e rn in g b o d ie s , in c lu d in g th e faculty s e n a te o r sim ilar in stru m e n t o f facu lty g o v e rn a n c e .”4 O n th e w a y to th a t e n d o rs e m e n t, it is p r o b ­ a b ly w ise to e x a m in e o n e ’s ex istin g p o lic ies fo r se lf-co m p lia n ce . M any libraries a re re -e x ­ a m in in g th e ir m is s io n s ta te m e n ts re g a rd in g service p o p u la tio n s in light o f th e c h a n g e s th e I n t e r n e t h a s w ro u g h t. W h e n tw o d iffe re n t p o p u la tio n s a re c o m p e tin g fo r lim ite d c o m ­ p u te r re so u rc e s, fo r e x a m p le , h o w d o e s a li­ b ra ry p ro v id e e q u ita b le se rv ice w h e n o n e o f th e p o p u la tio n s is fro m th e c o lle g e a n d th e o th e r is from th e tow n? A c ad e m ic libraries a re a lso re visiting th e issu e s o f a n o n y m ity a n d p riv ac y a s d e fin e d b y a c c e ss to c o m p u te r re so u rc e s. T h e d a y s o f a tru ly a n o n y m o u s in -h o u s e library u s e r m a y b e c o m in g to a n e n d in t h e e le c tro n ic a g e, b u t it is critical th a t th e p riv ac y p ro te c tio n s in p la c e fo r b o rro w in g library m aterials b e sc ru p u lo u sly o b s e r v e d fo r p a tro n s u sin g re so u rc e s re q u ir­ in g a u th e n tic a tio n . W h e th e r y o u a re p la n n in g y o u r c e n tu ry ­ c lo sin g p a rty n e x t m o n th o r la m e n tin g th e tri­ u m p h o f p o p u la r c u ltu re o v e r sim p le c a le n ­ d a r m ath e m a tic s, it is a v e ry a p p ro p ria te tim e fo r a c a d e m ic libraries to revisit th e ir co lle c ­ tio n s a n d se rv ice p olicies. T h o s e libraries th a t e x a m in e a n d ad ju st th e ir p o lic e s in th e light o f th e “In tellectual F re e d o m P rinciples o f fo r A ca­ d e m ic L ibraries” w ill face th e n e x t c e n tu ry from a p o s itio n o f r e s o u n d in g stre n g th . N o te s 1. Eli M. O b o le r, D e f e n d i n g I n te lle c tu a l F r e e d o m : T h e L i b r a r y a n d t h e C e n s o r (W estp o rt, C o n n .: G r e e n w o o d Pr., 1980): 3. O rig in a l article a p p e a r e d in L ib ra r y J o u r n a l, J a n u a ry 1, 1976. 2. Ib id ., 4. 3. Ib id ., 4. B u lle ts 2 a n d 3 i n c o r p o r a te q u o t e s fro m Z e c h a ria h C h a fe e Jr., c ite d as p a r t o f O b o l e r ’s o rig in a l te x t fro m Z e c h a ria h C h a fe e Jr., T he I n q u i r i n g M i n d (N e w York: D a C a p o Pr., 1974; R e p rin t o f 1928 E d ition): 30. 4. In te lle c tu a l F re e d o m P rin c ip le s f o r A ca­ d e m ic L ibraries, A s so c ia tio n o f C o lle g e a n d R e se a rc h L ibraries, A m e ric a n L ibrary A sso ­ c i a t i o n , 1 9 9 9 . h t t p : / / w w w . a l a . o r g / a c r l / p rin c ip le s .h tm l (11 O ct. 1999). ■ S ta te m e n t o f o w nership and m anagem en t College & Research L ibraries N ew s is p u b lish e d 11 tim es a y ea r (m onthly, co m b in in g J u ly /A ugust) b y th e A m eri­ c a n Library A sso ciatio n , 50 E. H u ro n St., C hicago, IL 60611. A m erican Library A ssociation, o w n e r; M ary Ellen K. Davis, ed ito r-in -ch ief. S eco n d -class p o s ta g e p a id at C hicago, Illinois. P rin te d in th e U .S.A. As a n o n p ro fit o rg a n iz a tio n a u th o riz e d to m ail at special ra te s (DMM S ectio n 423.12), th e p u r p o s e s , fu n ctio n , a n d n o n p ro fit statu s o f this o rg a n iz a tio n a n d th e e x ­ e m p t s ta tu s fo r fe d e ra l in c o m e ta x p u r p o s e s , h a v e n o t c h a n g e d d u r in g th e p r e c e d in g 12 m o n th s. E x te n t a n d n a tu r e o f c ir c u la t io n . (“A verage-’ fig­ u re s d e n o te th e n u m b e r o f c o p ie s p r in te d e a c h issu e d u rin g th e p r e c e d in g tw elv e m o n th s; “A ctual” figures d e n o te th e n u m b e r o f c o p ie s o f sin g le issu es p u b ­ lish e d n e a re st to filing d a te .) T o ta l n u m b e r o f c o p ie s ( n e t p r e s s r u n ) : A v e ra g e , 12,459; A c tu a l, 12,211. P a i d /r e q u e s te d o u ts i d e - c o u n t y m a i l s u b s c r ip tio n s : A v e ra g e , 11, 783; A ctu a l: 11,472. P a i d i n - c o u n t y s u b ­ s c r ip tio n s : A v e ra g e , 0; A c tu a l, 0. S a le s th r o u g h d e a le r s a n d c a r r ie r s , s tr e e t v e n d o r s , c o u n t e r sales, a n d o th e r n o n - U S P S p a i d d is t r i b u t i o n : n o t a p p l i c a b l e . O th e r c la ss e s m a i l e d th r o u g h th e USPS: n o t a p p l ic a b l e . T o ta l p a i d a n d / o r r e q u e s te d c i r c u la ti o n : A v e ra g e , 11,783; A c tu a l, 11,472. F ree d is tr ib u t io n b y m a il: A v e ra g e , 102; A c tu a l, 103. Free d i s tr ib u t io n o u ts id e th e m a il: A ver­ a g e , 0; A c tu a l, 0. T o ta l f r e e d is tr ib u t io n : A v e ra g e , 102; A c tu a l, 103. T o ta l d is tr ib u t io n : A v e ra g e , 11,885; A c­ tu a l, 11,5 7 5 . C o p ie s n o t d is tr ib u t e d : O ffic e u s e , le f t­ o v e r , s p o ile d : A v e ra g e , 574; A c tu a l, 636. T o ta l ( s u m o f p r e v i o u s e n tr ie s ) : A v e ra g e , 12,459; A c tu a l, 12,211. P e r c e n t p a i d a n d / o r r e q u e s te d c i r c u la ti o n : A v e ra g e , 99.14% ; A ctu a l, 99.11% . S ta te m e n t o f o w n e r s h i p , m a n a g e m e n t , a n d c ir c u ­ la t io n (PS F o rm 3526, S e p te m b e r 1998) fo r 1999 filed w ith th e U n ite d S tates P o stal Service, P o stm a s te r in C hi­ ca g o , Illinois, O c to b e r 1, 1999. http://www.ala.org/acrl/