Intellectual Freedom (IF)
1. The Library Bill of Rights
The Ridgemont Public Library stands in support of the American Library Association’s (ALA)
“Library Bill of Rights.” The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums
for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services:
a. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information,
and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials
should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those
contributing to their creation.
b. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on a
current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed
because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
c. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to
provide information and enlightenment.
d. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting
abridgement of free expression and free access to all ideas.
e. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin,
age, background, or views.
f. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they
serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the
beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.
2. Freedom to View
The Ridgemont Public Library stands in support of the American Library Association’s (ALA)
“Freedom to View Statement,” which sets forth these principles:
g. To provide the broadest access to film, video, and other audiovisual materials
because they are a means for the communication of ideas. Liberty of circulation is
essential to insure the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression.
h. To protect the confidentiality of all individuals and institutions using film, video, and
other audiovisual materials.
i. To provide film, video and other audiovisual materials which represent a diversity of
views and expression. Selection of a work does not constitute or imply agreement
with or approval of content.
j. To provide diversity of viewpoints without the constraint of labeling or prejudging
film, video, or other audiovisual materials on the basis of the moral, religious, or
political beliefs or the producer or filmmaker or on the basis of controversial
content.
k. To contest vigorously, by all lawful means, every encroachment upon the public’s
freedom to view.
3. General Proposals of the Freedom to Read
The Ridgemont Public Library stands in support of the Freedom to Read Foundation’s
following propositions:
l. It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest
diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular,
or considered dangerous by the majority.
m. Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or
presentation they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them
to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for
determining what should be published or circulated.
n. It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to
writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.
o. There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine
adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the
efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.
p. It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of a label
characterizing any expression or its author as subversive or dangerous.
q. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people’s
freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or
groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at
large; and by the government whenever it seeks to reduce or deny public access to
public information.
r. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the
freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought
and expression. By the exercise of this affirmative responsibility, they can
demonstrate that the answer to a “bad” book is a good one, the answer to a “bad”
idea is a good one.
IF-1 Collection Policy
The Library believes freedom of speech and the press as set forth in the First Amendment to the
Constitution should be upheld. As a consequence, the Library subscribes to the American Library
Association’s Bill of Rights reaffirming that “libraries should provide books and other materials
presenting all points of view concerning the problems and issues of our times.” Also, the Library believes
that “no library materials should be excluded because of race or nationality or the social, political, or
religious views of the authors.”
1. Religious and political problems
a. The Library will remain impartial by representing all religious and political ideologies as
adequately as possible.
b. In the selection of both religious and political materials, the Library Director selects
according to the main selection policy.
2. Sex and morality
a. Although the question of sex and morality is a difficult one, the Library believes that
books intelligently presented deserve to be read, even though these books may contain
certain passages or images that are sexually explicit. The criteria for selection of these
materials is that they are accurate, objective, and well-written.
b. For questions regarding sex and morality in books, the Library ascribes to the Freedom
to Read.
c. Citizens’ requests for reconsideration of library materials
In the case of questions arising from differences of opinion concerning any library
material, the following procedure will be observed in recognizing those differences in an
impartial and factual manner.
A “Citizen’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials” form must
be completed and presented to the Library Director.
The Library Director, along with a committee of the Library Board, will reevaluate the
material in question and make specific recommendations. The citizen who submitted
the “Citizen’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials” form will be notified as
to the decision made by the Director and the Board subcommittee in a timely fashion.