Discusses the importance of librarians being advocates for children and fighting for free and open access to printed and electronic information. Discusses Banned Book Week; intellectual freedom; the American Library Association's four main concerns related to the Internet--access, quality, education, and local control; and the importance of…

Lists values that should underpin librarians' work: stewardship, service, intellectual freedom, privacy, rationalism, commitment to literacy and learning, unfettered access to recorded knowledge and information, and democracy. Discusses how these values should be used to shape a vision of the future library, a "library as a place" that challenges…

Reviews common technical services policies relating to circulation, cataloging, and collection development that routinely prevent full access to public library resources for children and adolescents. It is argued that technical services librarians can work closely with those in youth services to ensure intellectual freedom for children and youth.…

Discussion of the acquisition and dissemination of revisionist history materials by public libraries focuses on revisionism related to the Jewish Holocaust. Intellectual freedom is addressed, the role of the public library is considered, handling holocaust-denial literature is described, and an example from the Edmonton Public Library is…

Discusses three philosophical positions taken by librarians regarding Holocaust denial literature in library collections: inclusion, exclusion, and inclusion with labeling as inaccurate. Concludes that librarians should not undertake the role of arbiters of truth but should responsibly and intelligently build collections that provide access to…

This document focuses on intellectual freedom as it relates to school library media centers and instructional materials. Its purpose is to help school districts develop and adopt necessary policies that will build a solid foundation for intellectual freedom as part of the school climate, devise procedures that should be followed when an expression…

Considers ethical issues faced by special libraries concerning access to information and the needs of clients, the organization, and society. Topics discussed include collection development policies; physical access; user fees; organizational loyalty versus intellectual freedom; social responsibility; and personal values. (Contains 10 references.)…

These articles address the core values of librarianship, focusing on democracy and public libraries; equity of access to information, including building collections, circulation policies, interlibrary loan, and intellectual property and licensing; intellectual freedom, including rating systems for various media; and library service in the light of…

This document provides guidelines on policymaking for public librarians and public library trustees in Vermont. Topics covered include: (1) the importance of policies in bringing order, logic, stability, and continuity to a library's operation; (2) the roles of trustees and librarians in adopting carrying out policies; (3) reasons why policies…

Includes seven articles that discuss censorship and intellectual freedom in junior and senior high schools. Highlights include access to appropriate information; library material selection; dealing with complaints; a list of potentially controversial titles and topics; a history of book burning; the censorship of fiction; weeding versus…

For many years, there has been pressure on American schools to restrict or deny students access to books or periodicals deemed objectionable by some individual or group on moral, political, religious, ethnic, racial, or philosophical grounds. Censorship of library books in school media centers is present today. The library media specialist is…

The American Library Association and the American Association of School Administrators have worked together for many years to address issues surrounding public school censorship and academic freedom. The purpose of this book is to provide educators and citizens alike with information essential to sustaining the free marketplace of ideas in…

While the general principles and techniques of collection development can be applied to most libraries, the unique characteristics of each media program produce new and changing demands requiring flexibility and creativity. Concepts from curriculum theory, children's and adolescent literature, educational technology, and library science are…