Intellectual Freedom

Intellectual Freedom in School Libraries
By Linda J. Shirley

School libraries and media centers need to make sure they provide students and faculty with the opportunity to access information. While students are researching, there is the possibility that they may come in contact with inappropriate or incorrect content. School library and media specialists and teachers have the responsibility to teach students how to decide between reliable and unreliable sources. As students use the internet to research topics, they should know what sources to trust and which to skip over. If a school curriculum is set up to meet the needs of the students, then critical researching skills should be included. However, use of the internet can get complicated if students are allowed unlimited access. If schools do not use filters, then students can, and will, be introduced to inappropriate materials. In order to lessen the likelihood that this will happen, school libraries and media centers have the ability to block certain websites. Is this censorship? I do not think so. Even though many educationally appropriate websites are blocked by the filters, they do their job and prevent most of the inappropriate materials from being viewed by the students. If a student absolutely needs to view the contents of a blocked website, he/she can copy the website and view it at home (hopefully with the supervision of his/her parents).

As for banning books, I think that is a completely different issue. Books are banned for various reasons, usually related to political or religious beliefs. I understand that school libraries and media centers cannot always provide students with every book that has ever been written. However, I do believe the students should have the ability to read books that may be appealing to them, even if the topics or language used in the book are opposed by the political and religious beliefs of the neighborhood or school district.

I think that the confidentiality issues involved with student library records is an interesting topic. I never realized that students’ beliefs, interests, and identity issues could be tracked by the books that he/she takes out from the library. I also think that a student may take out books to learn about different topics, and the books may have no relevance to the type of person he/she is. If circulation records were not confidential, many misconceptions could be made about students, which could lead to negative attitudes toward the school and the library, which would probably discourage the students from reading.