Censorship and public library collections
"Extremist" Literature on library shelves?
The recent report of the Centre for Social Cohesion - Hate the State - has raised again the issue of the nature of public library collections, this time in regard to Islamic literature and the allegation that some public library services are stocking "extremist" Islamic publications.
Commenting on the recent debate Ian Snowley, CILIP's President said, "I applaud the responsible way this debate has been conducted and especially the fact that there have been no calls for censorship. We support the concerns that library services should have "balanced" collections representing a range of viewpoints. It is a key role for professional library staff to ensure that the stock of a library service meets the needs of their local community and that a range of viewpoints is represented in their collections".
CILIP believes that:
* Access to any book or information should not be restricted on any grounds except the law. If publicly available material has not incurred legal penalties then it should not be excluded on moral, political, religious, racial or gender grounds, to satisfy the demands of sectional interest. The legal basis of any restriction on access should always be stated. [The full text of CILIP's statement on Intellectual Freedom, Access to Knowledge and Censorship is attached]
* Collections should represent a wide range of perspectives and viewpoints and that this is part of the responsibility of a public library service in providing the "comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons desiring to make the use thereof..." required by the Public Libraries and Museums Act (1964).
"It is important that public libraries continue to be seen as impartial sources of information and knowledge" concludes Ian "and that no creed, philosophy or political viewpoint is seen to be favoured. This is an important responsibility and one which CILIP members take very seriously".
Contact: Guy Daines, Director of Policy and Advocacy
Tel: 020 7255 0632
Notes to Editors
CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers. It forms a community of around 36,000 people engaged in library and information work, of whom around 21,000 are CILIP Members, and 15,000 are stakeholders including customers of CILIP Enterprises. CILIP members work in all sectors: business and industry, science and technology, further and higher education, schools, local and central government, the health service, the voluntary sector, national and public libraries. Visit www.cilip.org.uk for more information about CILIP.
Ian Snowley is CILIP's President for 2007. He is available to be interviewed on this subject and may be contacted through the main CILIP contact (see above) or emailed at: ian.snowley@cilip.org.uk
The Centre for Social Cohesion published its report on "Hate the State: How British Libraries Encourage Islamic Extremism" on 5 September 2006 and it was a major feature on BBC2's Newsnight that day. Further information on the report can be found at: http://www.socialcohesion.co.uk/
The full text of CILIP's statement on Intellectual Freedom, Access to Information and Censorship can be found at:
www.cilip.org.uk/policyadvocacy/foi
- Ends -
Updated: 24 January 2008