INTERVIEW
Intellectual freedom, censorship and the fight for access
Executive Director of the Garfield County (Colorado) Public Library District James LaRue will be speaking at this year’s CILIP Scotland Conference, taking place on 3 and 4 June. Jamie is an intel- lectual freedom advocate and author of The New Inquisition: Understanding and Managing Intellectu- al Freedom Challenges (Libraries Unlimited, 2007), and On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US. Here he answers some questions ahead of his appearance - book your place now at
www.cilips.org.uk/cilips24. .
Information Professional – Can you tell us when you first became interested in it, and if there was any par- ticular spark that ignited that interest?
Jamie LaRue (JLR) – When I was 10-years-old, I was reading Mad Magazine, hidden behind a textbook I was supposed to be reading. My teacher took my magazines away from me! This was an early sign of institutional censorship. Later on, as a library director, I found it fascinating that the most commonly challenged materials were fairy tales. It got me thinking: why don’t we want children to hear these darker stories? And why do those stories endure?
What do you see as a library service’s position in relation to intellectual freedom? Why should they be engaging with Intellectual Freedom and what should they be thinking about when they engage?
JLR – The job of the librarian is to gather, organise, and present to our community the intellectual content of our culture. But that culture is constantly changing. Our job might also be to convene these deeper conversations. What’s changing, exactly, and why?
Do you think there is a balancing act between the theory and the practice of defending Intellectual Freedom? If so, where does that balance manifest itself – does it depend on the person or does the institution have more sway? What steps can we take to mitigate biases (whether per- sonal or institutional/structural).
JLR – Quite aside from issues of personal bias, we need to be alert to the actual behaviour of our institution: what are the statistics on use, on demographics? How good a job are we doing of sam- pling not just the mainstream but the fringe (from which all change begins)? And what are we doing about self-publishing, the greatest rise of publishing in the history of humanity? Beyond that, we need to articulate and embrace the value of policies. Policies spell out what an institution stands for. But they also provide real-world guidance when dealing with many kinds of challenges.
Recent years have seen a rise in so-called “culture wars”, and libraries have been at the centre of that on many occasions. How can libraries cope with attacks on intel- lectual freedom when there is often a political angle to it? What steps can they take to remain neutral, yet still be firm in their opposition.
30 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
James LaRue.
JLR – The short answer: respond to individual curiosity, and create a space where the community can have meaningful conversations. Don’t dodge the deep issues of the day; step into their heart. My best advice: keep calm, follow your policies, and carry on.
And the follow on to that is the rise of cancel culture – what are your thoughts on that, and will things get better or worse as we move into an election year?
JLR – Things are getting worse for sure. There are four rea- sons people seek to censor: personal prejudice, parental panic, demographic panic, and the will to power. Expect the last one to be on full display in the coming years. Moreover, there really is a rising tide of authoritarianism not just in the US but in the world. What is being cancelled, and why?
Do you see technology (AI, machine learning etc) hav- ing any impact on this – either positively or negatively?
JLR – We already fail to keep up with self-publishing. AI floods the system with junk that might conceal jewels. And we’ll also see AI-informed psychological ops.
What else should we be considering when it comes to intellectual freedom and libraries? Is there anything on the horizon that we should be worried about or hopeful for?
JLR – With the exponential increase in content creation, how do we not only become thoughtful consumers, but preserve the essential humanity of creation? Given that rise of authoritarianism in the world, there has never been a more urgent need for trusted institutions that tell the human story. Can we be that institution? IP
April-May 2024
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
