tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18504323.post114018474819656635..comments2023-03-24T02:59:21.585-05:00Comments on LIS 569: History of American librarianship: Morality of books in higher education todayGreg Downeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09154543464555817869noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18504323.post-1140674961821043442006-02-23T00:09:00.000-06:002006-02-23T00:09:00.000-06:00I'd have some sympathy for high school kids who we...I'd have some sympathy for high school kids who were assigned to read something that really upset them, but at the college level students have the freedom to choose their own classes and drop the ones they don't like. If the reading list bothers them, well, no one's forcing them to take the class. I've known people to drop classes because the reading looked too difficult, so why not drop a class if the reading looks too "immoral"?Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09892934409758178223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18504323.post-1140664051015359402006-02-22T21:07:00.000-06:002006-02-22T21:07:00.000-06:00People of like minds band together. The ALA abhor...People of like minds band together. The ALA abhors censorship of any kind and should thus side with Arizona's academia. Libraries often support the college classes, both campus and non-campus (such as the public, since many students, esp. undergrads, use what they know, which many times is the public library). The ALA's Academic Freedom page includes the Academic Bill of Rights and other literature written by the American Association of University Professors, which shows ALA's obvious support. Issues of intellectual freedom overlap everywhere in our culture and an entity that values intellectual freedom should defend it in the academic setting.<BR/>I echo Kelly's comment. Whenever I hear about cases of censorship, I shake my head and wonder when the hell people will learn that everything has some element that will offend or disturb and no one will be "safe"? What is a college career that doesn't make the student think or make him/her face uncomfortable truths? But then I have to remind myself that censorship is about control, about maintaining the status quo and it will always exist. That's why organizations like ALA and AAUP and others have to band together and fight our first amendment rights.Liahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12641177587797720678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18504323.post-1140646166176457262006-02-22T16:09:00.000-06:002006-02-22T16:09:00.000-06:00Are there any books that don't "conflicts with the...Are there any books that don't "conflicts with the...beliefs or practices in sex, morality or religion" of SOMEBODY? Wouldn't almost any book fall into this category?Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09892934409758178223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18504323.post-1140620983539749142006-02-22T09:09:00.000-06:002006-02-22T09:09:00.000-06:00The ALA Code of Ethics states, "In a political sys...The ALA Code of Ethics states, "In a political system grounded in an informed citizenry, we are members of a profession explicitly committed to intellectual freedom and the freedom of access to information. We have a special obligation to ensure the free flow of information and ideas to present and future generations."<BR/><BR/>So the ALA and its librarian members would definitely side with the academics in Arizona, rather than the legislature. But the Code of Ethics is fairly specific to libraries. Isn't the Arizona bill outside the scope of the ALA? Of course, individual librarians and info professionals can protest such legislation and if they are, in fact, committed to the free flow of information and ideas, it would be in their best interests to oppose legislation like the Academic Bill of Rights.Deborahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13915642213887608118noreply@blogger.com