[Libs-Or] Tuesday Topic: OLA/OIFC Joint Statement on Materials Challenges and Intellectual Freedom

Tue Jun 6 08:17:17 PDT 2023

Hi all,
For June's Tuesday Topics, provided to you by the Intellectual Freedom
Committee, we share with you the following joint statement from OLA/OIFC
regarding the recent onslaught of materials challenges and the impact on
intellectual freedom.

We hope that this statement lends support to libraries across Oregon as
they experience these challenges, and serves as a reminder that the IFC is
here to support.  You are not alone and we are here.

If you need support, please reach out to the IFC:
https://www.olaweb.org/if-home ;
https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/iftoolkit/home ; ifc.chair at olaweb.org;
ifc.members at olaweb.org

https://ola.memberclicks.net/assets/Communications/2022-23_communications/IFC%20General%20Letter%20of%20Support%20June%206%202023.docx.pdf

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June 6, 2023

Statement from the Oregon Library Association and the Intellectual Freedom
Committee

RE: Materials Challenges and Intellectual Freedom

In December 2021, the Oregon Library Association (OLA) and the Intellectual
Freedom Committee (IFC), with input from the OLA Equity Diversity Inclusion
and Anti-Racism Committee, issued a joint statement
<https://ola.memberclicks.net/assets/Communications/2021-22_communications/OLA-OIFC_Statement.pdf>
condemning the current wave of book challenges and censorship attempts
occurring at schools and libraries across the State of Oregon and the
country.  Since then, censorship attempts have continued to rise at an
alarming rate.  The IFC and OLA are reaffirming our stance, supporting
libraries and schools in continuing to protect the First Amendment rights
of all library users.

The materials that have most often been targeted for restriction or removal
include topics specific to the 2SLGBTQIA+
<https://ok2bme.ca/resources/kids-teens/what-does-lgbtq-mean/> experience
or on subject matters that relate to race, racism, or the experiences of
the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community.

The bulk of current challenges have been traced to groups pursuing a
special-interest, political agenda that seeks increased control over the
ideas and information available to minors, particularly in school and
library settings. We see concerned parents being manipulated by
disinformation and co-opted into a coordinated effort that threatens the
core American values of free expression and free access to ideas. These
threats result in muting the voices of historically marginalized groups,
just as these communities are finally beginning to gain fair representation
in library collections.

 The ninth principle within the ALA Code of Ethics
<https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics> states:

“We affirm the inherent dignity and rights of every person. We work to
recognize and dismantle systemic and individual biases; to confront
inequity and oppression; to enhance diversity and inclusion; and to advance
racial and social justice in our libraries, communities, profession, and
associations through awareness, advocacy, education, collaboration,
services, and allocation of resources and spaces.”

Libraries have a duty to provide resources that ensure equitable service to
and representation of the diverse groups and perspectives of their
communities. As explained in the ALA’s EDI Interpretation of the Library
Bill of Right
<https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/EDI>s,
“All community members will feel truly welcomed and included when they see
themselves reflected in collections that speak to their cultures and life
experiences… Socially excluded, marginalized, and underrepresented people,
not just the mainstream majority, should be able to see themselves
reflected in the resources and programs that libraries offer.”

Further, many of these challengers have used cyberbullying and personal
intimidation tactics toward libraries and individual library workers.  Some
of the tactics have included social media campaigns designed to mobilize
support for censorship rather than sensitivity and critical thought,
attending board meetings with the intent of aggressively requesting
immediate action regarding library materials, and personally attacking
individual library workers, including posting their personal information,
photos, and phone numbers on social media.  The IFC condemns the use of
intimidation and extralegal means aimed at censorship which are
antithetical to ALA’s Freedom to Read statements
<https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/freedomreadstatement>.

We recognize the role of parents/guardians to make reading and viewing
choices for their children, but that right only exists on an individual
basis. Individual parents do not have a right to make those choices for
others. Blanket restrictions imposed by government or school officials that
are applied to all readers remove the right from individual parents to make
choices for their own children. The vast majority of books challenged are
not on mandatory reading lists, but simply exist in the library. The proper
response to objectionable materials in the library is to not read them, or
not let your child read them. Removing or restricting materials for all
readers violates the rights of parents/guardians to make those same choices
for their children.

In sum, the IFC supports parents' involvement in education and guidance in
media selections for their own minor children, but we stand firmly behind
our Library Bill of Rights
<https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill> and the Freedom to
Read statements and against overarching actions which violate the First
Amendment rights and dignity of others. Libraries have a core
responsibility to uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and to
stand up against censorship, regardless of the age, background, race,
gender or any other characteristic of the reader, and the IFC supports our
school and public library efforts to protect these freedoms. The OLA and
IFC reaffirm the ALA Statement on Book Censorship
<https://www.ala.org/advocacy/statement-regarding-censorship> and support
all Oregon libraries in their efforts to protect materials from censorship,
especially the voices of the oppressed and marginalized.

The IFC supports the undeniable right of all readers, regardless of age,
background, gender, sexual orientation, or race, to information with a full
range of ideas, opinions, concepts, topics and thoughts, and calls on
parents, educators, administrators, and board members to resist attempts to
censor materials. Of course not every book is right for every reader, but
the right of every reader to read what they choose must be honored.

Emily O’Neal                                        Star Khan

IFC Chair 2022-2023                                              OLA
President, 2022-2023

This statement comes from the Oregon Library Association (OLA) and OLA’s
Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC), with input and support from the OLA
EDI and Antiracism Committee.  OLA is a professional organization of Oregon
library workers.  The IFC provides expertise and support for intellectual
freedom issues on behalf of OLA and is the professional committee with the
charges to support intellectual freedom and to respond to censorship. OLA
in combination with IFC supports Oregon school and public libraries in
managing challenges to materials within their library collections.

From,
Intellectual Freedom Committee
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