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General Library Science

Intellectual Freedom

Attn: LATI Session 6 learners

This is a large guide, so we’ve selected the links that are most likely to help you prepare for our discussion. There's a lot of helpful information in the rest of the guide, so check out the other pages too, but the following should be more than enough.

ALA Documents

Access

Copyright

Privacy

Intellectual freedom is defined by the American Library Association (ALA) as “the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction.” Three issues dominate this category: Censorship, Copyright, and Privacy. This guide provides resources to better understand the basic issues involved with Intellectual Freedom, and helps you become familiar with the official positions of the ALA. We have also included advice on communicating policies to patrons, as well as some additional ideas for planning displays and programs around Intellectual Freedom issues.

The ALA provides useful questions and answers on the basics of Intellectual Freedom and Censorship, and the Maryland Library Association has their complete Intellectual Freedom Manual online.

What Is Intellectual Freedom?

Intellectual freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question cause or movement may be explored.

What Is Censorship?

Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain persons—individuals, groups or government officials—find objectionable or dangerous. It is no more complicated than someone saying, “Don’t let anyone read this book, buy that magazine, or view that film, because I object to it!” Censors try to use the power of the state to impose their view of what is truthful and appropriate, or offensive and objectionable, on everyone else. Censors pressure public institutions, like libraries, to suppress and remove from public access information they judge inappropriate or dangerous, so that no one else has the chance to read or view the material and make up their own minds about it. The censor wants to prejudge materials for everyone.

ALA Documents

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read
An annual ALA event observed since 1982.

Confronting Challenges By Customers
ALA offers some useful strategies for communicating library policies to customers.

What books are being censored?

Internet Censorship 
Computer use in libraries are on the rise and its important to understand some of the issues surrounding their use like filtering and kids using the Internet in libraries.

Copyright
Copyright can get complicated, but there are some basic issues that can be communicated fairly easily. For the more in-depth and thorough questions, consult the U.S. Copyright Office.

General Information

Fair Use

While the owner of a copyright has the right to authorize others’ use of the work, there are limitations. One limitation is “fair use”, in which a person does NOT have to get authorization from the copyright holder. These situations usually involve criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research and are based on certain factors laid out by the government.  

Privacy & Confidentiality

Information Management

What is cataloging?

Cataloging creates records with access points, subject headings, and classification number. It also maintains the system which makes the records available.

Library Catalogs

Library catalogs consist of a set of records that provide information about the materials in the collection. The OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) is the online display of cataloging records through a computer terminal.
Enoch Pratt Free Library's OPAC 

Classification Systems

Dewey Decimal System (DDC)

The Dewey Decimal Classification System (PDF) organizes collections by dividing information into ten main classes with corresponding three-digit numerals.

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress Classification System organizes collections by dividing information hierarchically into categories using the letters of the alphabet and Arabic numerals.

Subject Headings

In addition to author and title searches, library catalogs also use subjects to obtain information. The most commonly used subject headings are provided by the Library of Congress (LCSH), Sears List of Subject Headings (SEARS), and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).

WorldCat
WorldCat is an online, union catalog of network libraries that provides users with a brief bibliographic record and its location.

OCLC
OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world's information.

Marina
Marina is a statewide interlibrary loan system. Customers with any Maryland public library card can request materials not owned by their local public library system from another Maryland library using this service.

Collection Development and Management

Collection Development and Collection Management are often used interchangeably or in tandem and jointly include activities that are related to the development of the library’s collection in support of the library’s mission. The process include:  selection, determination and coordination of policies, needs assessment, community and user outreach, resource sharing, weeding, storage, preservation, and evaluation.

A Collection Development Policy is a formal written statement of the principles guiding a library’s selection of materials.  Below are examples of collection development policies in public libraries:

Professional Development

Professional Organizations

ALA Accredited Schools of Library and Information Science 

Career Employment

Blogs
Blogs excel at getting information out quickly, so if you’re interested in the field and maybe thinking about going to library school, check out some of these librarian’s blogs. They often discuss library careers, the future of libraries, as well as how technology is impacting the profession.