IFLA Statement on Libraries and Intellectual
Freedom
International Federation of Library Associations
and Institutions (IFLA)
Statement on Libraries and Intellectual
Freedom
Statement prepared by IFLAlFAIFE and approved
by The Executive Board of IFLA 25 March 1999, The Hague, Netherlands
lFLA (The International Federation of
Library Associations and Institutions) supports, defends and promotes
intellectual freedom as defined in the United Nations Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
IFLA declares that human beings have a
fundamental right to access to expressions of knowledge, creative thought
and intellectual activity, and to express their views publicly.
IFLA believes that the right to know and
freedom of expression are two aspects of the same principle. The right
to know is a requirement for freedom of thought and conscience; freedom
of thought and freedom of expression are necessary conditions for freedom
of access to information.
IFLA asserts that a commitment to intellectual
freedom is a core responsibility for the library and information profession.
IFLA therefore calls upon libraries and
library staff to adhere to the principles of intellectual freedom, uninhibited
access to information and freedom of expression and to recognise the privacy
of library user.
IFLA urges its members activity to promote
the acceptance and realisation of these principles. In doing so, IFLA
affirms that:
- Libraries provide access to information, ideas and
works of imagination. They serve as gateways to knowledge, thought and
culture.
- Libraries provide essential support for lifelong learning,
independent decision-making and cultural development for both individuals
and groups.
- Libraries contribute to the development and maintenance
of intellectual freedom and help to safeguard basic democratic values
and universal civil rights.
- Libraries have a responsibility both to guarantee and
to facilitate access to expressions of knowledge and intellectual activity.
To this end, libraries shall acquire, preserve and make available the
widest variety of materials, reflecting the plurality and diversity
of society.
- Libraries shall ensure that the selection and availability
of library materials and services is governed by professional considerations
and not by political, moral and religious views.
- Libraries shall acquire, organise and disseminate information
freely and oppose any form of censorship.
- Libraries shall make materials, facilities and services
equally accessible to all users. There shall be no discrimination due
to race, creed, gender, age or for any other reason.
- Library users shall have the right to personal privacy
and anonymity. Librarians and other library staff shall not disclose
the identity of users or the materials they use to a third party.
- Libraries funded from public sources and to which the
public have access shall uphold the principles of intellectual freedom.
- Librarians and other employees in such libraries have
a duty to uphold those principles.
- Librarians and other professional libraries staff shall
fulfil their responsibilities both to their employer and to their users.
In cases of conflict between those responsibilities, the duty towards
the user shall take precedence.