The guidance note which accompanies the draft Policy sets out seven practical principles to guide and inform librarians, library workers and information professionals when considering intellectual freedom:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Be aware of relevant law Protect the rights of information users Promote the wellbeing of information users Be conscious of bias Be accountable and transparent Avoid outsourcing accountability Promote comprehensiveness in your collections
Principles of Intellectual Freedom.
society is built upon access to information and ideas, the ability to develop knowl- edge and communicate with others.” Intellectual freedom includes concepts and terms such as the freedom of expres- sion, freedom of access to information, and free speech.
The draft policy takes human rights as its starting point. The United Kingdom is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights5
and in addition the
European Convention on Human Rights6 has been adopted within UK law. Both declarations of rights guarantee the indi- vidual’s right to intellectual freedom. The draft also builds on CILIP’s Ethical Framework and Principles, which govern our behaviour as a profession.7 The draft Policy itself is intended to be concise:
“In line with CLIPs Ethical Principles, as library and information professionals we are committed to upholding, promoting and defending human rights, equality and diversity, and intellectual freedom
Timeline. Activity
First draft reviewed by Policy Committee CILIP Community consultation Second consultation draft reviewed Sector-wide/open consultation Final draft reviewed by Policy Committee Final draft presented to CILIP Board for approval
46 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL Date March
April – June June
June – July August
September
including freedom from censorship. In all our work we have an active responsibil- ity to promote intellectual freedom. We must also oppose efforts to restrict these rights whether intentionally through overt action or unintentionally through neglect. Attempts to restrict intellectual freedom can be made by state actors, vested inter- ests or any other party or individuals. CILIP, as the professional body, has a commitment to support library and information workers by upholding, promoting and defending human rights, equality and diversity, and advocating for intellectual freedom and freedom from censorship.”
The draft policy is supported by a guid- ance note which sets out seven practical principles to help librarians, information professionals and library staff in their work.
The guidance is aimed at supporting individuals to apply the policy to the best of their ability in sometimes diffi cult circumstances. It is recognised that many
librarians and information profes- sionals work in environments where they either do not control the systems or procurement processes of their institution or are otherwise unable to influence the policies under which they operate. The guidance is intended to give help and support to individuals in such circumstances.
The new policy on intellectual freedom is an important document that covers a subject at the heart of what we are, and what we do as librarians, library workers and information professionals. We are committed to ensuring that there is widespread consultation on the draft policy. There will be a number of opportunities to give your views and thoughts on the draft, and I hope that you will contribute your experi- ences to the good practice guide and anonymised case studies that will help support fellow colleagues.
Share your views – consultation process
In April, CILIP launched a two-part consultation in order to develop a new Policy on Intellectual Freedom and accompanying guidance.
During Phase One (April to May), we will be writing to our CILIP Member Networks, Special Interest Groups and Devolved Nations to solicit their feedback on our initial draft. During Phase Two (June to August) we will open the policy out for full sector consultation, in the hope of engaging as broad a range of views and experiences as possible.
Throughout the consultation period, we will be holding a series of discussion sessions, webinars and engagement events with the aim of hearing about the challenges faced by librarians and information professionals and how this Policy can help them in their work. The draft Policy, guidance note and supporting materials are live through- out the consultation period a
www.cilip.
org.uk/intellectualfreedom IP
References
1 & 2 Paul Sturges From Fighting censorship to Promoting Transparency; in: Prochnicka, M. and Kory- cinska-Huras, A. Eds. Between Past and Future: Book, Library, Information Science – Social Functions over the Centuries. Krakow: Jagellonoian University Press, 2007. Pp. 185-194.
www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ assets/faife/publications/sturges/censorship-transparency.pdf
3 Museums body warns of government ‘interference’ in contested heritage. BBC News website, 24 February 2021.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-56185566
4 Government interference in heritage threatens freedom of speech warn historians Museums Associa- tions 24 March 2021
https://tinyurl.com/y7v8mcpp
And Museums Association 4 May 2021
https://tinyurl.com/bdrucerz
5 See
www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-hu- man-rights
6 See
www.echr.coe.int/documents/convention_eng.pdf 7 See
www.cilip.org.uk/page/Ethics
April-May 2022
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
