Intellectual Freedom Leads to Experiencing Diversity - Final Post

Intellectual Freedom Leads to Experiencing Diversity

Reading through the articles and resources provided over the last two weeks took time to read and watch, but also time to see how they connected.  Then, it hit me...WITHOUT DIVERSITY there cannot be TRUE INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM.  This is illustrated so well in Jole Seroff's article, when speaking with a returning student.  The student praised the school for its access to information and commitment to intellectual freedom, but noted that the lack of diversity within the school stifled the ability to hear other points of view and experiences.  This really made something click for me.  We can provide the access to encourage intellectual freedom, but we must also provide programs and opportunities to explore and experience diversity.  It is up to librarians to create safe spaces where students have freedom to access, experience, and understand the information gathered.  

Intellectual freedom provides students with access to information from so many sources and points of view, which makes it the librarian's obligation to provide programs to support this flood of ideas. As Serott shared in her article, there are books that address intellectual freedom that can be read and shared in class like The Book Thief which can then lead to sharing the ALA's Freedom to Read Statement.  This is really a great way to teach intellectual freedom instead of preaching it.  Now that students understand intellectual freedom, it is time to add the diversity.  One area to start may be with societal gender roles.  Beth Brendler shows us that literature is moving away from the "boy" and "girl" books of the past, which gives students option to explore all literature in a safe and neutral location.  But how does one librarian find the funding, program ideas, and resources to provide experiences in diversity?

This is truly a daunting task for the lone school librarian.  Here is where collaboration comes into play.  School libraries and public libraries are "natural partners", as Tonya Potter explains.  It just makes sense to join forces, especially with schools not having the funding that the public library may have.  It is a fiscally sound union, which has a greater impact on our shared patrons.  One example that Marta Murvosh gave was how a school library and public library paired up to make an author visit possible.  This natural partnership could help provide programs/speakers with other life experiences including different cultures, political beliefs, and gender identities. Individual school librarians may not have the funding (or support), but collaborating with the public library can have advantages.  This could be an event spearheaded with a specific set of students in mind that could benefit a larger set of students/patrons, which the public library might host.  This collaboration leads to programming events that is a win-win for the partners, but also a greater number of students.  This partnership can lead to summer programming ideas, holiday events, teen/tween advisor boards, and so many other dual benefit activities. 

                          

This week's take away is two fold. One, intellectual freedom is everyone's right and librarians are the guiding force to support this right.  Two, intellectual freedom exposes patrons to diversity and librarians are the guiding force to provide programs to explore the information and diversity in a safe space.  Intellectual freedom and diversity are natural partners, there cannot be one without the other.  Liz Hartnett was so right when she said that "libraries should promote and model intellectual freedom at every opportunity and programming is the ideal vehicle" (Hartnett, n.d.). School libraries and public libraries must ban together to support their shared patrons in their journey to become educated global citizens.  

Other Resources:

Intellectual Freedom: A Pathway to More Diversity!

Kids! Know Your Rights - ALA

References

Brendler, B.M. (2014, Spring). Blurring gender lines. Reference & user services quarterly. 53(3), 221-224.

Hartnett, L. (n.d.). Library programming and intellectual freedom. [Lecture Recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k5dl4U_RP8.

Murvosh, M. (2013, January 1). Partners in success: When school and public librarians join forces, kids win. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/partners-in-success-when-school-and-public-librarians-join-forces-kids-win.

Potter, T. & Johnson, K. (2017, May/June). Two libraries working toward common goals. Knowledge Quest. 45(5), 22-29.

Seroff, J. (2015, September/October). Developing a curriculum in intellectual freedom: What our students need to know. Knowledge Quest. 44(1), 20-24.

Creating space for these positionsto be heard respectfully can be a challenge when the dominant culture of the institution is liberal and secular, but intellectual freedom is undermined if the school-wide discourse becomes hegemonic.

Creating space for these positions to be heard respectfully can be a challenge when the dominant culture of the institution is liberal and secular, but intellectual freedom is undermined if the school-wide discourse becomes hegemonic.

Creating space for these positions to be heard respectfully can be a challenge when the dominant culture of the institution is liberal and secular, but intellectual freedom is undermined if the school-wide discourse becomes hegemonic.