Intellectual Freedom Forum
About the Intellectual Freedom Forum
The Intellectual Freedom Forum, previously the Intellectual Freedom Committee, strives to uphold the value of intellectual freedom in Virginia's libraries by monitoring and reporting on intellectual freedom issues in the Commonwealth.
Get Involved
Coming Soon!
Intellectual Freedom Projects
Refer to book resumes to find relevant reviews, educational value, and significance. Book resumes are easy to share with parents, community leaders, elected officials, and other stakeholders to advocate for books in the fight against censorship.
Book Challenges
Has your library experienced a challenge or a reconsideration of your materials, displays, website content, or another intellectual freedom issue? Let the VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee know, and we can offer support, guidance, and resources for you and your library. If you aren’t sure what constitutes a reconsideration or a challenge, please report it and let us know anyway.
The American Library Association collects statistics on challenges as well to monitor trends in intellectual freedom issues. If you have received a challenge at your library, please fill out their quick and easy challenge report (this can be submitted anonymously).
Click the button above to view the archive of 2019-2024 news.
VLA has also created a Dropbox of files related to the court cases, CL22-1984 (A Court of Mist and Fury) and CL22-1985 (Gender Queer). Original Petitions and Finals Orders are included, as well as briefs submitted by the authors, publishers and other interested parties.
Past Statements from the Intellectual Freedom Committee
Statement on Academic Freedom
Recent protests across Virginia's university campuses regarding the conflict in Gaza have highlighted concerns about intellectual freedom in higher education. The implications for free speech and access to information are significant.
The Virginia Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee staunchly supports intellectual freedom, equitable access to information, and the free exchange of ideas as follows:
1. Reaffirm Students' Right to Peaceful Protest: Students have the right to peaceful protest and expression of moral concerns. However, university administrators have the responsibility to publicize content-neutral, time, place, and manner rules for protest so other students can pursue their academic studies unimpeded.
2. Distinguish Between Critique and Discrimination: Criticism of any government’s or political entity’s decisions, or military actions, or of university policies should not in themselves be equated with bigotry. It is crucial for university administrators and community leaders to discern between legitimate critique and discriminatory rhetoric.
3. Ensure Academic Freedom: Instructors should not face penalties for assigning students reading or viewing material that presents diverse perspectives, including those critical or supportive of governmental policies or historical actions. Individuals should not be labeled as hostile to a population for recommending critical perspectives. Intellectual inquiry thrives on exploring differing viewpoints and accessing the widest range of information possible.
4. Ensure Access to Information: University libraries must serve as repositories of a wide range of viewpoints, providing students with the broadest possible access to information. The integrity of libraries as centers for student learning and access to information must be protected.
We urge educators, administrators, policymakers, and the community at large to uphold intellectual freedom everywhere, especially in higher education. We encourage the public to seek information and utilize libraries to delve deeper into the issues prompting protests. Let us continue to cultivate an environment that nurtures critical thinking, robust dialogue, and the free exchange of ideas, safeguarding our institutions of higher learning as bastions of intellectual inquiry and academic excellence.
Virginia Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee
For more information, please visit the statements on free speech and academic freedom issued by the organizations below:
Please email any questions or concerns to [email protected].
March 18, 2024: Vet Voice Foundation letter re: proposed book bans
The following email was sent with a letter to the school boards of Rockingham, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, King George, Spotsylvania, Fluvanna, King William, Goochland and Hanover; and to the Boards of Supervisors of Hanover, Goochland and King William today, March 18.
Vet Voice Foundation, a nonpartisan veterans organization representing over 1.5 million veterans and military family members, is deeply alarmed by the attempts to ban books in Virginia's schools and libraries. This letter is both a forceful condemnation of these actions and a rallying cry for the defense of our foundational freedoms.
As service members, we pledged our lives to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. This oath is sacrosanct, embodying our dedication to the liberties that have long set our nation apart, including the freedom of speech and the unfettered right to access information.
When books are banned, and voices are silenced, it is not just an attack on these rights but a direct affront to the very essence of democracy and the freedoms for which we, as veterans, have served to protect.
Please see the attached letter in support of the Virginia Library Association (VLA) and the Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL). Vet Voice Foundation stands in solidarity with the VLA and VAASL in their shared mission to protect and promote the freedom to read.
We hope that you will too.
VLA Message to King William, Hanover and Goochland Boards of Supervisors: February 16, 2024
VLA’s Intellectual Freedom and Executive Committees recently sent a letter to the Boards of Supervisors of King William, Hanover and Goochland Counties in response to an email to the King William Board by a resident.
Below is the email sent by VLA, and at the bottom this page, the original email (February 8) that prompted the response. VLA’s response was emailed on February 16. READ MORE
|
