PNLA Quarterly, Vol. 63 No.1 Fall 1998

Keynote:
Read! Learn! Connect!--@ the Library

Good evening, and thank you for inviting me to be with you. It's a real pleasure to be here today. As President of the American Library Association I bring you greetings from ALA--both to the Idaho Library Association who is hosting us in this wonderful spot and to the Pacific Northwest Library Association. Being from Alaska, I've seen a lot of friends, colleagues and familiar faces today - it's nice to have the ALA presidency back in the Northwest after a long hiatus and I thank you all.

It is both an honor and a challenge being ALA's president as together we work to ensure resources for all who use our libraries. In a few minutes I'm going to talk about upholding and affirming intellectual freedom in an electronic age - from my own philosophical perspective as well as the perspective of The American Library Association. But perhaps more importantly, I'm going to talk about intellectual freedom from the perspective that hits us hardest where we live--the political perspective.

As you attend sessions here and at home on the Internet, and on electronic access you will you will realize that intellectual freedom is only one of the many issues that concern us as we talk about cyberspace. You will hear many-often differing--messages. Making sense of them as you return home and provide services to those who live in your communities will be the challenge. And the decisions you make will be local ones - each of you in your own communities, I hope, with policies that assure the rights of the library users in your home towns.. The future is seductive--it promises that people anywhere in the United States can have the same access to material electronically. The sobering present is that this is not yet a technical reality for most of us. And even if it were a technical reality today, implementing it will be questioned by those who want to restrict content that one can access at the library.

ALA is awash with excellent material to help you. ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom has an excellent webpage. I have a selected list of intellectual freedom links on my web page at www.ala.org. If you don't have access to the Internet--call or write and we will send you what you need. There will be time for questions at the end.

Intellectual freedom at the library--I'll start as all good storytellers do from my own beginnings.

As thousands of mothers and fathers do with their children every week, my parents took me to the library so I could read, enjoy the books, and explore a world full of imagination, learning and wonder.

During those childhood visits, I didn't think about libraries as the "cornerstone of democracy." I don't think anyone in my family knew anything about library values, except that to us, a first generation immigrant family, the library was a real "value" because the materials were free to use.

As I begin my year as ALA president, I'm especially grateful to my parents for taking me to the library. Those visits started my life on a path that has led me here today-and led directly to my choice of a theme.

One of the most fun and most difficult parts of being ALA president is selecting a theme -- one that is timely, that reflects your personal interest and also "speaks" to your colleagues. The theme I have selected is "Celebrating the Freedom to Read! Learn! Connect!"

It is a message close to my heart. It is what our libraries are all about. But the truth is I didn't just choose this message, it chose me.

One year ago in June, we were celebrating a major First Amendment victory after the Supreme Court struck down the Communications Decency Act. Twelve months later, many of us are struggling with unresolved questions resulting from that decision.

What better time to remind our library users, members of the public, legislators and others that the Freedom to Connect is what libraries and librarians stand for!

The greatness of our libraries and our profession has always been our commitment to intellectual freedom. The library is the only public institution that guarantees all people free and open access to information-- regardless of their age or ability to pay, their social or political background.

Keeping the spirit of intellectual freedom alive for our children and grandchildren is without a doubt the major challenge facing us today. Nowhere in the First Amendment does it say that children and young adults are excluded for the rights guaranteed to all under the Constitution.

Merely professing adherence to intellectual freedom is easy. Applying its principles in controversial situations is hard. Unfortunately, many of us are learning the hard way that upholding intellectual freedom is easier when you aren't connected to the Internet.

I want to speak to you today not just as ALA's president, but as a fellow librarian. Let me assure you I know first-hand from having been through a censorship challenge on what parental and community pressure is like. I've faced a censorship challenge that landed our librarians in the newspaper, on the local TV news and in the middle of numerous public hearings with several hundred people attending. I'm not speaking to you from an ivory tower.

The debate over the use of the Internet in libraries has opened a national discussion and galvanized the library community as no other issue ever has. Much of this debate is about protecting children from what some view as "harmful" material. Such concern, while natural and important, should not be allowed to overshadow other equally important issues.

The American Library Association has four main concerns related to the Internet--access, quality, education and local control. I'd like to talk briefly today about each of these concerns, how they relate to our core value of intellectual freedom, also how you and I can help provide a voice of reason in the national debate over libraries and the Internet.

First, access. One of my predecessors ALA President Mary Somerville used to say, "Kids who aren't logged on and literate will be lost in the next century." The same holds true for adults. Take away the hype and fear mongering and the bottom line is the Internet is simply a tool, one which is becoming increasingly important to the way we live, learn work and conduct business. For all of us, it is a tremendous resource.

The American Library Association believes all children and adults should have access to this important educational tool-- not just those who can afford computers and online connections. For many children and adults, school and public libraries may be the only place they have access to computers and the Internet. Thanks to ALA's leadership and a lot to your hard work, the federal government, states and communities across America are investing in libraries as public access points for information technology.

The latest study by ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy shows that about two-thirds of all public libraries now offer public access to the Internet at one or more branches. Our goal is to have every library connected by the year 2000. Even as I speak, the ALA Washington Office and library advocates across the country continue to fight to save the education or e-rate discounts that will help make online connections affordable for thousands more schools and libraries.

A second key issue related to the Internet is quality. No one knows better than we librarians that not all information is created equal. This problem is compounded in cyberspace where the vastness and lack of organization can make it difficult to find "the good stuff." Today librarians are working to organize, evaluate and select online resources in much the same way they do books and other materials. Many school districts and local libraries have developed their own virtual libraries.

In the last year, the American Library Association has established a national reputation as a leader in promoting quality online resources, particularly for children. The Librarian's Guide to Cyberspace, the 7000+ Great Sites and Teen Hoopla Internet Guide for Teens have gained national attention from the White House, national media like The Washington Post and Parade magazine and local media from coast to coast.

Third is education. Like movies, radio and TV before it, the Internet has raised many people's fears about its impact on children simply because it is new and not well understood. The best way to deal with these concerns is through education--education for parents and children is to teach them to make wise choices, the same say they do in selecting books, movies and materials. Many libraries offer classes and tutoring for parents, children and others. The national Internet teach-ins being kicked off this September provide an excellent opportunity for libraries to take a leadership role in their c communities. Information is available on the ALA Web page at www.ala.org/teach-in or by calling the ALA Public Information Office at 800-545- 2433, ext. 5041.

Our fourth concern is local control. Local library boards make their own policies. These policies have - for many years--been based on professional policies recommended by the American Library Association. They will continue to be. ALA policies are based on the 1st Amendment and accepted best practices of the profession. We know that each community has individual needs and concerns--ALA's policies are not imposed or forced on libraries and library trustees. When libraries make policy in concert with ALA policy it is because they believe in the principles of intellectual freedom and ensuring the greatest access to resources for all. Attempts by state and national legislators to mandate filtering or other library use policies are not only inappropriate, they violate basic democratic principles of self-governance.

The discussion about the use of Internet in libraries is taking place all over America--among librarians, your neighbors, talk show hosts, local governing bodies, Congress, and in our courts. Some of it represents attempts by one facet of our society to impose their values--religious or otherwise--on others. While sexually explicit material is always at the top of the list, many people want to shield children from material on homosexuality, violence, drugs and alcohol, hate speech, the environment, and, perhaps ironically, even sites that advocate free speech on the Internet.

Parents are frightened and they are looking for solutions. Often they feel insecure because often they are not as technologically proficient as their children and want the comfort of being able to depend on other adults who come into contact with their young-including library staff--to protect their children in the same way they would if they could always be with them.

In a broader sense, this is not a new phenomenon. We've said for decades that librarians can't act in local parentis--in place of parents. But there are many ways in which we can and do support parents.

The questions being raised are not unanticipated. Nor are they new.

How can our society protect children from materials that clearly are not appropriate for them? What materials should tax dollars pay for anyway? How much access is too much? What is the role of librarians?

These questions provide those of us who are seeking to preserve the public's right to access information with what we in the classroom call "a teachable moment." The Internet is neither good nor evil. It is simply a tool--one that we as a society are still learning to understand and to use. As librarians, we must be leaders in educating both children and adults about both the benefits and hazards of this new medium and how to use it wisely.

I do acknowledge that we must find answers to questions about child safety on the Internet. Answers that will both allay parental fears and not make library staff members responsible for deciding what each and every parent wants his or her child to see or not see. While filtering may seem an obvious solution, most of us know it is a quick fix at best.

The best and ultimate filter is the human mind. Knowing how to make informed decisions about what we choose to see, hear and view is an essential skill in the information age --whether in the library, at school, at work or in the privacy of your home.

Brock Meeks, a commentator for MSNBC, was among the first to do an about face and support ALA's position against the use of filters in libraries. His reasoning is perhaps the best I've heard:

"No one, not the local librarian, not a piece of software, not the government--or some columnist suffering from cognitive dissonance for the matter--should determine what your kids see or don't see via the Internet. That is a parent's job... If you're concerned your kids are sneaking off to the library computer to peek at something you don't want them to see, take another look at how you're communicating with your kids...At some point you have to trust your kids."

Just as parents have to guide their children in what they can and cannot watch on TV, buy at the mall, and do after school, they must learn to teach their children what they feel is acceptable for them to view on the Web. Many of today's younger children will not even remember a time when there wasn't e-mail and an Internet. The opportunity to work as partners with parents by teaching them to guide their children in using the Internet is one of the most exciting opportunities we have today.

I, for one, believe that education, time and experience will help to resolve many of the tough issues we are struggling with today. But there must also be active involvement by online service providers and law enforcement officials at all levels if we are to deal effectively with child predators.

ALA has worked actively to protect our First Amendment freedoms in cyberspace--both through its legal challenge to the Communications Decency Act and with its ongoing campaign to educate the public, particularly parents, about this new medium.

But ALA cannot fight these battles alone. At the ALA Annual Conference in June, Sen. Wendell Ford quoted Thomas Jefferson as saying "Information is the currency of democracy." He added, "If information is the currency, then libraries are the banks."

As librarians, our mission is to share the wealth. If you and I do not fight for free and open access to information in all forms for all people, then who will?

The debate over Internet access will continue for many years. And it should. It should continue in our communities, over the airwaves, among us as professionals. If we cannot resolve it in such a way that protects all our rights, and includes all our information needs, we will resolve it in our courts.

Protecting the First Amendment in the digital environment is worthy of our time, best professional efforts, and financial resources.

The tough times will get better--but they may not get better quickly. And they will only get better if you and I take a leadership role in educating the public about this new medium. This will take courage. It requires that we be informed about these issues and provide the materials our communities need to understand and support us. I encourage you to read the mission statement of your library and ask: What do you need to make Internet access successful in your community and still carry out that mission?

I am fortunate to come form a technology rich school district. We have spent six million dollars over the last four years on eight schools. Not one of the hundreds of Internet terminals we have is filtered. Our school district and s school board has made a conscious policy decision not to filter.

Why are we unfiltered? Because I like all librarians and trustees who provide Internet access to their communities want to provide the best possible opportunities to our diverse community of users--and we cannot do that with filtering.

Each of us must with your community on these issues. One thing I can assure you is that you're not alone. The American Library Association is there for you - the Idaho Library Association and PNLA are there for you. Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions or concerns you might have.

In closing, I'd like to leave you with one thought. We all come to work every day to impart--not to restrict-- knowledge. Some of you may remember an old ALA poster with the message "It's an information jungle out there. Let a librarian be your guide." That message is truer now than ever.

It is easy to celebrate a Supreme Court victory as we did a year ago. It is harder to celebrate when we are being tested by tough issues that test our core values.

I invite--and challenge--you, your library and community to join me in celebrating the freedom to "Read! Learn! Connect!--@ the Library."