Running head: PERSONAL STATEMENT ON INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

Personal Statement on Intellectual Freedom

Amy R. Nimmer
Georgia Southern University

PERSONAL STATEMENT ON INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

Amendment I of the United States Constitution states, Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the government for a redress of grievances, according to Cornell University Law
School (First Amendment, n.d.) As a high school media specialist, it is my job to make sure that
the students rights to read and browse the internet are protected. These types of issues fall under
the category of Intellectual Freedom.
Intellectual Freedom is having the choice to explore and read scholarly type materials, on
the internet or print, without the interference from adults who do not agree with what a student
may choose to read. It is having free access to information that may or may not be controversial
to some people. According the American Library Association (ALA), it is the responsibility and
the right of all parents and guardians to guide their own childrens use of the library and it
resources and services. (Libraries and Intellectual Freedom, 2014) Many times, parents and
teachers believe that it is the responsibility of the Media Specialist to police what students can
and cannot read. The Media Specialist is used as a guide to help students figure out what he or
she likes to read without the burden of being scrutinized about his or her choices.
As the current Media Specialist at the high school, one of the ways that I avoid selfcensorship is to have a subscription with Jr. Library Guild. Each month the company sends seven
books, each from a different reading level. These reading levels include: Fantasy/Science Fiction,
Nonfiction, Sports, Young Adults, Young Adults +, History, and High Interest Reading for high
school. I do not choose which book is sent, only the category. This subscription costs $1500. If
the budget is adequate next year, I hope to add more levels. Once these books come in each
month, they are displayed on a New Release shelf for all students to see. I also take student
requests to order new books. Students have the freedom to come to me and make these requests

PERSONAL STATEMENT ON INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

with confidentiality. Hill states, In most cases of actual censorship, objections to a book are
based on offensive language, sexual content, or unsuitability by age, and a complaint is filed to
suppress the book (Hill, 2010, p. 9). I leave all books on the shelf until such a complaint is
brought to my attention. At that point, I discuss the situation with the media committee and make
a decision based on the severity of the book. Once again, this keeps me from making those
decisions myself as to what books to take off the shelf.
One way that I would like to promote intellectual freedom in the media center is to use
online tools. Lamb believes that the value of online tools for furthering intellectual freedom by
promoting creative thought, communication, and collaboration (Lamb, 2007, p. 39). I want to
be able to help students use these tools in ways to increase student achievement. Also, I will have
the responsibility to protect students from accessing inappropriate sites while making sure that
useful web tools are unblocked. Because of the Childrens Internet Protection Act (CIPA), overblocking legal content affects minors First Amendment right to access constitutionally protected
material in the school library (Bill of Rights, 2014). I also want the students to be able to use
social media for educational purposes. Students today are digital natives, and almost require the
use of social media to function in everyday life. As the media specialist, I would like to
implement a training session at the beginning of each year to discuss intellectual freedom with
students and staff. I would include the Library Bill of Rights and the Code of Ethics of the ALA.
During this training session, I would take suggestions from both students and teachers.
I hope to promote intellectual freedom in the school community by letting parents and
guardians know that their children will be protected from certain inappropriate sites. The CIPA
requires schools to us a technology protection measure, such as filtering software, to protect
minors from accessing obscene or pornographic information, according to Lamb (Lamb, 2007,
p. 40). I believe that it will be important for the parents to be aware that I am up to date on all of

PERSONAL STATEMENT ON INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

the laws and legislation that pertains to the media center, intellectual freedom, and censorship. I
would also like to provide students and parents/guardians strategies for protecting their personal
identify. This was a suggestion given in the article, Intellectual Freedom of Youth. I would also
like to give suggestions on different types of web sites or social technologies for the students and
parents/guardians to use.
In conclusion, Adams states, School librarians are a major force in protecting intellectual
freedom in their libraries and having allies who support students access to information can make
the school climate friendly to intellectual freedom. It may take years, but progress in educating
about students First Amendment and privacy rights in school libraries can be made one teacher,
principal, parent, and student at a time (Adams, 2011).

PERSONAL STATEMENT ON INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

References
Adams, H. (2011). The intellectual freedom calendar: Another advocacy plan for the
school library. School Library Monthly, 28. Retrieved from
http://www.schoollibrary
monthly.com/articles/Adams2011-v28n7p52.html
Bill of Rights Access Denied: What is intellectual freedom? (2014). American Library
Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/
content/aaslissues/intellectual_freedom_brochure0212.pdf
First amendment. (2014). Cornell University Law School. Retrieved from
www.law.cornell.edu/
constitution/first_amendment
Hill, R. (2010). The problem of self-censorship. School Library Monthly, 27, 9-12.
Lamb, A. (2007). Intellectual freedom for youth: Social technology and social networks.
Knowledge Quest, 36, 39-45.
Libraries and Intellectual Freedom. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ilovelibraries.org/
getinformed/intellectualfreedom