Intellectual Freedom is Not Social Justice:ALA Accreditation, Symbolic Capital, and

LIS Curricula

Kyle Shockey

MLS Candidate, Indiana University – Bloomington

ktshocke@indiana.edu

@kshockey04

- Dr. Emily J.M. Knox (personal correspondence with author)

ALA’s Intellectual Freedom• Based in the 1st and 4th Amendments of the Bill of Rights

• Varies by institution, but shares common framework

• Centered around anti-censorship movements

Candace D. Morgan (2010): “Intellectual freedom accords to all library users the right to seek and receive information without having the

subject of one’s interest examined or scrutinized by others.”

That sounds great, right?Morgan, C. D. (2010). Intellectual freedom: An enduring and all-embracing concept. In American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom, Intellectual freedom manual (8th ed.). Chicago: American Library Association.

Krug and Morgan (2010): “Can a library committed to intellectual freedom and to

providing materials that represent all points of view also support one point of

view?”

Krug, J. F. and Morgan, C. D. (2010). ALA and intellectual freedom: A historical overview. In American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom, Intellectual freedom manual (8th ed.). Chicago: American Library Association.

Social JusticeBased on the first of Nieto and Bode’s (2008) outcomes for

social justice education, we should:

Challenge, confront, and disrupt ‘misconceptions, untruths, and stereotypes that lead to structural inequality and

discrimination based on race, social class, gender, and other social and human differences’

Gregory, L. and Higgins, S. (2013). Introduction. In Gregory L. and Higgins S. (eds) Information literacy and social justice: Radical professional praxis, 1-11. Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press.

Nieto, S. and Bode, P. (2008). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Where is Social Justice in the ALA?

• Social Responsibilities Round Table – the advocacy camp• Kagan, A. (2015). Progressive library organizations: A worldwide history.

Jefferson, NC: McFarland.• Samek, T. (2001). Intellectual freedom and social responsibility in American

librarianship, 1967-1974. Jefferson City, NC: McFarland.

• 1982: Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Roundtable (EMIERT)•GLBT Roundtable•ALA Spectrum Doctoral Cohort - SJ Collaboratorium

https://socialjusticecollaboratorium.wordpress.com/

But not in the core curriculum of library school.

Symbolic CapitalCodification

&Institutionalization

Bordieu, P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Knox, E.J.M. (2014). Supporting intellectual freedom: Symbolic capital and practical philosophy in librarianship. Library Quarterly, 84(1), 8-21.

Codification•1939: ALA Code of Ethics

•1939: Library Bill of Rights

•1946: Statement of Principles of Intellectual Freedom and Tenure for Librarians

•1953: Freedom to Read Statement

•1999: ACRL – Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Librarians

Institutionalization•1940: Intellectual Freedom Committee [IFC]

•1967: Office for Intellectual Freedom [OIF]

•1973: Intellectual Freedom Roundtable [IFRT]

•1975: Committee on Professional Ethics

Accreditation & Symbolic Capital

Codification + Institutionalization Library School

• ALA Office of Accreditation (OA)

• 1920/56: ALA Committee on Accreditation (COA)

• 2012: Accreditation Process, Polices, & Procedures (AP3), 3rd ed

• 2015: Revised Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Science (“Standards”)

Student outcomes [ergo, the curriculum via II.1] address:

• I.2.1 The essential character of the field of library and information studies;

• I.2.2 The philosophy, principles, and ethics of the field;

Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association. (2015). Revised standards for accreditation of master’s programs in library and information studies [PDF document]. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/accreditedprograms/sites/ala.org.accreditedprograms/files/content/COA-approved_Revised_Standards_23Jan2015_final.pdf.

“Should the library, as a social institution, serve as an advocate

for social justice?” (Samek 2001)

Samek, T. (2001). Intellectual freedom and social responsibility in American librarianship, 1967-1974. Jefferson City, NC: McFarland.

Questions?

ktshocke@indiana.edu

@kshockey04