Canadian Library Association Statement on Intellectual Freedom
The Canadian Library Association (CLA) is a prominent nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting high standards in librarianship and library services across Canada since its inception in 1946. Central to its mission is the Statement on Intellectual Freedom, originally adopted in 1974 and revised in subsequent years. This statement emphasizes the importance of free access to information and the right of individuals to explore diverse ideas and viewpoints without censorship. The CLA serves a wide membership, including individual librarians and institutional libraries, and represents a variety of library types such as public, special, school, and academic libraries. The organization actively engages with governmental bodies and conducts workshops and seminars to advocate for librarians and the communities they serve. By prioritizing intellectual freedom, the CLA highlights the vital role of libraries in fostering informed and engaged citizens in a democratic society. This commitment to intellectual freedom underscores the association's dedication to upholding the principles of access, equity, and diversity within the library ecosystem.
Canadian Library Association Statement on Intellectual Freedom
Date: 1974
Place: Hamilton, Ontario
Significance: Similar to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, this statement affirms the right of Canadians to have access to knowledge, for their own good and that of the nation
Canadian Library Association Statement on Intellectual Freedom
•All persons in Canada have the fundamental right, as embodied in the nation’s Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to have access to all expressions of knowledge, creativity and intellectual activity, and to express their thoughts publicly. The right to intellectual freedom, under the law, is essential to the health and development of Canadian society.
•Libraries have a basic responsibility for the development and maintenance of intellectual freedom.
•It is the responsibility of libraries to guarantee and facilitate access to all expressions of knowledge and intellectual activity, including those which some elements of society may consider to be unconventional, unpopular or unacceptable. To this end, libraries shall acquire and make available the widest variety of materials. It is the responsibility of libraries to guarantee the right of free expression by making available all the library’s public facilities and services to all individuals and groups who need them.
•Libraries should resist all efforts to limit the exercise of these responsibilities while recognizing the right of criticism by individuals and groups.
•Both employees and employers in libraries have a duty, in addition to their institutional responsibilities, to uphold these principles.
The Canadian Library Association (CLA) is a nonprofit voluntary organization founded in 1946 by Elizabeth Homer Morton to help develop high standards of librarianship and library and information services. The organization’s Statement on Intellectual Freedom was adopted in June, 1974, by its executive council, which revised it in 1983 and 1985. In 1987 the CLA had approximately 3,500 individual and 800 institutional members. The body’s five divisions represent the various interests of public, special, school, and college and university libraries, and library trustees.
In 1968 the CLA became a unilingual association, leaving representation of Canada’s francophone libraries to ASTED (Association pour l’avancement des sciences et des techniques de la documentation). Open to anyone with an interest in libraries, the CLA is governed by an elected council and a board of directors. Its council is composed, in part, of representatives from provincial library associations. The CLA maintains active publication and seminar and workshop programs, and it speaks for librarian’s concerns at the national level by making representations to government and official commissions.