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Ethics of Intellectual Freedom
Ethics of Intellectual Freedom
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 for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored.
Intellectual Freedom
Why is it important?
Importance
It is the educational media specialist and the school library's duty and responsibility to introduce young learners to the world of information.
School libraries are the only place in schools where students can have unlimited access to all forms of text and literature.
Students have the right to a relevant, balanced and diverse school library collection that represents all points of view.
Encourages freedom to hold, receive and circulate ideas and critically examine and interpret the information they find.
Professional Practice
Governs student access and promotes intellectual freedom.
Makes sure rules and regulations encourage or inhibit intellectual freedom for students.
Library media specialist must assure access to information in other languages accommodate students for whom English is a second language
Access to information for students of all grades must include an examination of their opportunities for intellectual and on-site physical access.
Questions to Ask
Are electronic resources made available to students?
Are students' confidentiality respected?
Is rule infringement unfairly denying students access?
Is access to the library media center restricted to rigidly scheduled classes?
Are rules governing access to the LMC by students in study halls appropriate?
Can students use the LMC anytime during the school day, before and after school, during lunch, etc?
Are students discouraged from using non-print materials?
Title
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."
ALA Code of Ethics: "translates the values of intellectual freedom that define the profession of librarianship into broad principles that may be used by individual members of that profession as well as by others employed in a library as a framework for dealing with situations involving ethical conflicts."
Library Bill of Rights
Challenging = Censorship
Suppression of ideas and information with content or points of view that individuals, groups or government officials find objectionable or dangerous.
Those who censor tend to pressure media specialist into removing said texts or information from their collection and from public access.
Most censors take the form of an overly concerned individual or group who wish to improve society, protect children, and restore what the censor(s) see as lost moral values while disregarding only what they find unorthodox or dangerous.
Can come from any source, conservative or liberal.
Censorship
Most Common Phrases
Phrases
"We should not allow books that contain foul language."
"Search engines like Google just serve as access to inappropriate websites... They must be banned from the school!"
"This comic book contains graphic content that is unsuitable for children! Ban the Walking Dead from our library!"
"Our children should not read about witches, magic, vampires, or ghosts.Those are against our religion."
"Save our library! Down with Manga and Anime!"
"This book contains racial discrimination! Burn it!"
What can media specialist do?
Banned Books
Creating a Materials Selection Policy for reconsidering challenged materials and asking approval from the school board
Develop a policy that requires and "challenges the challenger" to read the whole text or material first.
Encourage transparency in the selection by keeping the challenged materials out of sight in the main collection.
Arrange opportunities to educate teachers, students and parents about the selection and reconsideration or reexamining of the materials to make sure process of selection was properly followed for materials in the school library collection
Through reconsideration, media specialist can either allow alternative materials or limit use of the material being challenged.
Media Specialist Role
Collection Development Plan
Banned Books Week
Annual Event held last full week of September
Celebrates the freedom to read and the value of free access to information
Supports the freedom to seek and express ideas, unorthodox or unpopular.
Showcases books that have been banned and/or censored and discusses the controversies of each challenged material
Video
https://youtu.be/XXQtgx9HNxE
Video
Collection Development Plan
https://gwhs.osceolaschools.net/UserFiles/Servers/Server_612929/File/Media%20Center/Gateway%20High%20School%20Collection%20Development%20Plan.pdf
Ethics
Ethics of Justice - First Amendment Right
Ethic of Critique - Challenge Process
Ethic of Care - Meeting the intellectual needs of each individual student
Ethics of the Profession - Code of Ethics for Librarians and Library Bill of Rights
Kidder - Right vs Right
Kant - Fulfilled the duty of providing intellectual freedom for students
References
50 Years of Intellectual Freedom. (2018, May 22). Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/11/01/50-years-office-intellectual-freedom/.
Admin. (2018, July 02). First Amendment and Censorship. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/censorship.
Intellectual Freedom. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.floridamediaed.org/intellectual-freedom.html.
Kersey, P. (2018, November 12). Gateway High School Collection Development Plan. Retrieved from https://gwhs.osceolaschools.net/student_info/panthers_media_center_-_open_from_6_45am-2_30pm/collection_development_plan.
Kpekoll. (2019, March 28). Intellectual Freedom Resources. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/resources.
Library Bill of Rights. (2019, February 11). Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill.
Rberquist. (2019, February 06). Professional Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/tools/ethics.
Shapiro, J. P., & Gross, S. J. (2013). Ethical educational leadership in turbulent times: (re)solving moral dilemmas. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Starratt, R. J. (2004). Ethical leadership. San Francisco (California, Estados Unidos): Jossey-Bass.
Top Ten Most Challenged Books Lists. (2019, April 09). Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10.