{"id":5467,"date":"2026-02-20T14:25:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T21:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/?p=5467"},"modified":"2026-02-17T09:38:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:38:01","slug":"our-freedom-to-read-and-why-its-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/2026\/02\/20\/our-freedom-to-read-and-why-its-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Re-Post: Our Freedom to Read and Why It’s Important"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Libraries are essential gateways for all persons living in Canada to advance themselves through literacy, lifelong learning, social engagement, and cultural enrichment.<\/p>\n~ Canadian Federation of Library Associations Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, we put together a blog series all about Intellectual Freedom. We thought we’d re-share this for anyone who didn’t get the chance to see it before, and to celebrate Freedom to Read Week. Click the links below to read the posts! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Freedom to Read and Why It\u2019s Important \u2013 Staff \u2013 PRLS Support Site<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Freedom to Read and Why It\u2019s Important \u2013 Boards \u2013 PRLS Support Site<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Freedom to Read and Why It\u2019s Important \u2013 Patrons \u2013 PRLS Support Site<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parkland Regional Library System Advocacy Webpage <\/a>– Intellectual Freedom Advocacy Resources <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Intellectual Freedom? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Intellectual freedom gives people the right to think for themselves. It respects individual dignity and self-rule. This freedom allows people to form their own ideas and opinions by questioning the world around them. Every person has the right to access information from all points of view, in all formats, and without restriction. Privacy is required for true intellectual freedom. Protection of this freedom assures every person\u2019s right to form their own ideas and opinions (Censorship Q&A, American Libraries Association, n.d.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origins of intellectual freedom are found in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights<\/a> adopted by the United Nations in 1948 and are defined as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our freedom to advance knowledge, learn and grow, and support open and informed discourse and decision-making is also recognized as a fundamental freedom in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms<\/a> and forms the basis of our democratic systems (Calgary Public Library, 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helpful Definitions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ban<\/strong> – The removal of materials from a library based on the objections of a person or group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Censorship<\/strong> – Limiting or removing access to words, images, or ideas. The decision to restrict or deny access is made by a governing authority. This could be a person, group, or organization\/business. Censorship by the government is illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenge<\/strong> – An attempt to have a library resource removed, or access to it restricted, based on the objections of a person or group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collection Development Policy<\/strong> – Guidelines libraries use for the selection, acquisition, purchase, and disposition of library materials. The policy assists library staff in building a collection that aligns with the library’s mission and can be made public to inform library users of selection criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harmful to Minors<\/strong> – Sexually explicit materials that adults have a legal right to access, but that lack any serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. It is illegal to knowingly distribute these materials to any minor. The fact that a work has topics addressing sex, or contains sexual content, does not make the material \u201charmful to minors.\u201d Whether materials are considered \u201charmful to minors\u201d is determined by the Canadian court system under the obscene materials<\/a> and child pornography<\/a> sections of the Canadian Criminal Code.<\/a> (Censorship Q&A, American Libraries Association, n.d.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public Good<\/strong> – The benefit or well-being of the public (Oxford Languages, n.d.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional Resources <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

CFLA\u2019s Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Freedom to Read Week <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Centre for Free Expression\u2019s Canadian Library Challenges Database <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Centre for Free Expression\u2019s Library Policies Database<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calgary Public Library\u2019s Intellectual Freedom Policy <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALA\u2019s Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Library Freedom Project\u2019s Intellectual Freedom Talking Points and Messages <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALA\u2019s How to Respond to Challenges and Concerns about Library Materials <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALA\u2019s Banned and Challenged Books website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CFLA Issues Guidance on Responding to “Notices of Personal Liability” – Librarianship.ca<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Manual (2021), Tenth Edition, edited by Martin Garnar<\/em> (available for borrowing from Parkland’s Reference Collection)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Libraries are essential gateways for all persons living in Canada to advance themselves through literacy, lifelong learning, social engagement, and cultural enrichment. ~ Canadian Federation of Library Associations Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries In 2025, we put together a blog series all about Intellectual Freedom. We thought we’d re-share …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,34,86,35,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advocacy","category-collection-development","category-library-management","category-policies","category-professional-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5467"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6060,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5467\/revisions\/6060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}