Intellectual Freedom

Intellectual Freedom

The History of Intellectual Freedom and Censorship

Threats to intellectual freedom have existed since the printed word. History has seen bitter censorship battles over what should and should not be published, sold, and read. The fight for intellectual freedom has been long and complex, and many agencies have been involved in the process. For example, in 1954, libraries had difficulty importing materials from behind the Iron Curtain. The post office had taken on the role of the censor and had labeled certain papers "unmailable" and refused to deliver them (Newsletter, January, 1954, 7). The Civil Rights era was also a difficult time for our country, and libraries were not exempt from its pressures. On August 11, 1962, a federal court ordered the public library in Montgomery, Alabama to desegregate its reading and browsing areas. The very next day in Albany, Georgia, "several Negro youths went into the public library, [and] the building was immediately closed 'indefinitely in the interest of public safety'" (Newsletter, October, 1962, 1). Even as late as 1962, intellectual freedom was still a dream. There was not equal access to information. The reaction of this library actually impeded the access to all users in an attempt to discriminate against the few.

We believe rather that what people read is deeply important - that ideas can be dangerous - but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society.

Today the ALA takes the stand of anti-censorship, but as illustrated, that was not always the case in the United States. In the 19th and much of the 20th centuries, librarians felt it their duty to restrict access to library materials to children and adults. Librarians were admonished "to ob...

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... to dominate to the library field. Intellectual freedom is a world-wide problem and is very complex. It includes all forms of information, access to all users, and censorship. Librarians face many pressures when dealing with users and providers of information. There is pressure from parents, religious groups, administrators, and government agencies to restrict access to certain materials. Sometimes they win and sometimes they lose, but librarians "do not state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant. We believe rather that what people read is deeply important - that ideas can be dangerous - but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours" (From the Freedom to Read Statement as quoted in Rubin 161). Librarians continue to fight for that freedom today.