With Intellectual Freedom Comes Intellectual Responsibility

The fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual will select the good and reject the bad.

In general, I'm not fond of standing in front of rooms of people and presenting to them. I prefer to share knowledge in more informal and interactive ways. I find discussions, dialogues, and conversations, with their free-flowing exchange of ideas and feelings, much more pleasant and productive. I'd rather be a guide who is travelling the learning path together with my audience than delivering the overall one-way communication that is the nature of presentations.

Still, sometimes I'm asked to give a presentation that I'm excited about. Recently a local organization devoted to civic education and civil discourse asked my library to host their student cohort for the school year. Roughly 90 high school juniors from 9 different schools around our metro area. They gather once a month for a day, and in the second semester, after foundational learning and experiences, work together to create a comprehensive fact sheet on the topic of their choice (Immigration and Border Control, this year; chosen in September) and organize a panel of experts for an exchange of ideas.

In addition to hosting, they asked us to provide presentations on two topics: research methods and resources available through our library system and "the role libraries play in civil society, the library as a democratic institution, and our civic responsibility to seek reliable information." I enthusiastically accepted the latter topic, had a very good time putting together the content, and enjoyed presenting. It was well received.

Immediately before my portion of the day, someone from their team gave a lesson on The Perception Gap.

More in Common’s research on the Perception Gap shows that there is a gap between Americans’ perceived beliefs of those on the opposite side of the political spectrum than them and those people’s actual beliefs. Each party tends to perceive their opposite to be more extreme than they are, obscuring the middle ground many of us actually have with each other on major political issues.

When I got to the front of the room, before jumping into my planned content, I improvised a short transition. It went roughly along the lines of the abridged recreation that follows.

"The Perception Gap makes me think of the cognitive bias known as 'the fundamental attribution error.' A 'cognitive bias' is an unfairness in our thinking. Everyone has many, as they represent how our brains instinctively function. The fundamental attribution error means our human tendency to attribute our own actions, behaviors, and choices to occurring under the influence of situational factors and context; they are the result of where we are as much as who we are. On the other hand, we attribute the actions, behaviors, and choices of others as only determined by--and representative of--their character without considering their circumstances. We see ourselves as complex and nuanced; we see others as simple and two-dimensional.

"That's simply a part of how our thoughts process. Being aware of your own biases and perception gaps helps you learn to be more fair and understanding with others. The last presentation was all about building greater awareness of how much common ground there really is between those who see themselves as opposed and excluded from each other. Finding and working with that common ground is important.

"It doesn't, though, mean we need to try to be the same. Our goal should not be to agree to think, feel, and behave the same. Because a democratic society is based on the idea that we are different, that we can accept and embrace those who are different as neighbors and community, and that we can learn to negotiate among those differences to find a common good. Much of what you talk about in this program focuses on listening, respecting, and understanding others. Giving them full appreciation in your thoughts to overcome that fundamental attribution error and similar biases, to believe others who are different are just as complex and nuanced as you are. That's how you make democracy work: you share stories with each other, listen, and respond.

"And that speaks to the core of my identity as a librarian. I believe I can help to make the world a better place--that we all can--by giving our attention to the stories of others. Both living ones and the ones in books and other library material. Research shows that reading--particularly complex stories about those who you find different--improves your natural empathy. It exercises the skill of imagination it takes to put yourself in the shoes of others and see things from their perspective. And that's why I'm a librarian."

Here are the slides from my presentation and their brief speaking notes for myself.

Libraries, Democracy, Relationships, and Responsibility - The role libraries play in civil society; the library as a democratic institution and our civic responsibility to seek reliable information.

Who gets to use the library?

• What was required for you to walk through the door today and start using our resources?
• If you have a library card, how much did it cost?
• Did you have to prove your citizenship status to get a library card?

Everyone is welcome at the library

It is free

A few things require you to be a resident (not citizen)

If you want to check out our things, we want to know who you are and how to contact you so we can do a good job keeping track of our things—but that is all we need to know about you

Who owns the library?

The library is owned by “the public.” The residents (of the county).

Paid for by property taxes

Shared ownership; shared use – be good at sharing

Late fees: “market obligation” vs. “moral obligation” to be a good citizen

I’m going to throw a lot of words at you, so be prepared.

Ask: What do you see?

The central idea at the heart of all my words today: Civic Discourse requires Intellectual Freedom

What do those words mean to you?

What does the word “democracy” mean to you?

I want to go through a few slides of quotations from famous figures without spending too much time on any of them, as a sort of collage of ideas to help us get some big ideas into focus

"I have an unshaken conviction that democracy can never be undermined if we maintain our library resources and a national intelligence capable of utilizing them."

 ― Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. President, in a letter to publisher Herbert Putnam

What did he mean by “national intelligence?”

“Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy—where information is free and equally available to everyone. People tend to take that for granted, and they don’t realize what is at stake when that is put at risk.”

 ― Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress 2016-2025

Qualifier: “where information is free and equally available to everyone”

“A public library is the most democratic thing in the world. What can be found there has undone dictators and tyrants.”

 — Doris Lessing, Novelist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007

“[Librarians] are subversive. You think they’re just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They’re like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn’t mess with them.”

 ― Michael Moore, film director, producer, screenwriter, and author.

“A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.”

 ― Jo Godwin, Librarian and library profession leader

What does that mean?

Go back to “who owns the library?” Everyone. So: one of the library’s goals is to have something for everyone. A broad array of interests and perspectives. In Johnson County, for example, that’s roughly 600,000 different people.

The metaphor of windows and mirrors; mirrors and windows. Every person should find at least a few mirrors in a library collection, something that reflects their identity, experiences, and values; and every person should find some windows, things that give a view of different identities, experiences, and values.

American Public Square + Public Libraries

Why do American Public Square and Public Libraries make sense as partners?

Civic Discourse requires Intellectual Freedom

First, let’s look at American Public Square for a moment . . . 

From americanpublicsquare.org – middle of the page 

A healthy civil society is defined by strong communities and networks that encourage active participation. Members of civil societies:

• Embrace their duty to participate in the social and political life of their community.
• Recognize and appreciate the differences among them and are willing to accept and respect those differences.
• Work toward common goals and encourage the discussions and activities that ensure everyone has a voice.
• Honor and protect fundamental rights and freedoms, ensuring dignity for all.
• Believe in the importance of education and its vital role in creating informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens who contribute to their communities

From www.ala.org/aboutala – American Library Association: About

The ALA Mission: Empowering and advocating for libraries and library workers to ensure equitable access to information for all.

Our Core Values

• Access
• Equity
• Intellectual Freedom and Privacy
• Public Good
• Sustainability

What is your reaction to one of all of those?

I want to especially focus in on Intellectual Freedom today.

Access, Equity, and Intellectual Freedom . . . 

"I have an unshaken conviction that democracy can never be undermined if we maintain our library resources and a national intelligence capable of utilizing them."

 ― Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. President, in a letter to publisher Herbert Putnam

 

"Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.”

― Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of president Franklin D. Roosevelt

 

"The more freedom we enjoy, the greater the responsibility we bear, toward others as well as ourselves."

― Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize winner

www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill – Library Bill of Rights

A quick look for context; we’re not going to read all of that right now. 

I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

VII. All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect people’s privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information.

 

Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; January 29, 2019.

Library Bill of Rights

ALL PEOPLE

MATERIALS SHOULD NOT BE EXCLUDED

ALL POINTS OF VIEW

CHALLENGE CENSORSHIP

FREE EXPRESSION AND FREE ACCESS TO IDEAS

RIGHT TO USE A LIBRARY

NOT BE DENIED OR ABRIDGED

EQUITABLE

REGARDLESS OF BELIEFS OR AFFILIATIONS

ALL PEOPLE

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Adopted June 19, 1939

Who gets to use the library?

What does the library contain?

“A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.”

 ― Jo Godwin, Librarian and library profession leader

What was happening in the world in 1939?

“All People” and “All Points of View” mean everyone. Democrat and Republican; Antifa and MAGA; KKK and Black Panther

Designated Petitioning Zones at all buildings for protests and petitions

Bothers even Library Board Members at times

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with a parent deciding a certain book is not right for her child. There is a colossal problem with a parent deciding that, therefore, no child should be allowed to read that book.”

 ― Jodi Picoult, author

This also means we don’t police what children check out and use. Each family decides their own values and limits.

Lots of sensationalistic press about “exposing,” “corrupting,” “grooming,” and similar

Locally, I’ve seen: “Libraries are worse than pornography stores” because we don’t “label” our “porn”

www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/freedomreadstatement – The Freedom to Read Statement

A quick look for context; we’re not going to read all of that right now. Here are a few highlights to give you the flavor of the statement:

• The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack.
• Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy . . . 
• Now as always in our history, reading is among our greatest freedoms.
• It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.
• There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others . . . 
• It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression.

The Freedom to Read Statement

We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. We believe that these pressures toward conformity present the danger of limiting the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend. We believe that every American community must jealously guard the freedom to publish and to circulate, in order to preserve its own freedom to read. We believe that publishers and librarians have a profound responsibility to give validity to that freedom to read by making it possible for the readers to choose freely from a variety of offerings.

 

Adopted June 25, 1953, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee; amended January 28, 1972; January 16, 1991; July 12, 2000; June 30, 2004.

The Freedom to Read Statement

Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad. We trust Americans to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be "protected" against what others think may be bad for them. We believe they still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression.

The fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual will select the good and reject the bad.

“The role libraries play in civil society; the library as a democratic institution and our civic responsibility to seek reliable information.”

How do you “select the good and reject the bad?” --> Discussion!

A portion of this recently came across my feed as a meme, and I liked it so much I found the source. Concluding with it here seems appropriate.

A Prayer for the Tired, Angry Ones

Laura Jean Truman

God,

We’re so tired.

We want to do justice, but the work feels endless, and the results look so small in our exhausted hands.

We want to love mercy, but our enemies are relentless, and it feels like foolishness to prioritize gentleness in this unbelievably cruel world.

We want to walk humbly, but self-promotion is seductive, and we are afraid that if we don’t look after ourselves, no one else will.

We want to be kind, but our anger feels insatiable. 

Jesus, in this never-ending wilderness, come to us and grant us grace.

Grant us the courage to keep showing up to impossible battles, trusting that it is our commitment to faithfulness, and not our obsession with results, that will bring in Your shalom.

Grant us the vulnerability to risk loving our difficult and complicated neighbor, rejecting the lie that some people are made more in the image of God than others.

Grant us the humility of a decentered but Beloved self. 

As we continue to take the single step that is in front of us, Jesus, keep us from becoming what we are called to transform. Protect us from using the empire’s violence--in our words, in our theology, in our activism, and in our politics--for Your kingdom of peace.

Keep our anger from becoming meanness.

Keep our sorrow from collapsing into self-pity. 

Keep our hearts soft enough to keep breaking.

Keep our outrage turned towards justice, not cruelty.

Remind us that all of this, every bit of it, is for love. 

Keep us fiercely kind.

Amen.

― from the book A Rhythm of Prayer

The vulnerability to risk loving our difficult and complicated neighbor, rejecting the lie that some people are more than others.

Be fiercely kind.