---
title: "Intellectual freedom"
chunk: 4/6
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_freedom"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:16:50.358602+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Freedom to Read Foundation ===
The Freedom to Read Foundation was incorporated in 1969 by members of the American Library Association. Although founded by ALA members, the FTRF is a separate organization from ALA with separate membership focused upon the legal defense of intellectual freedom for libraries, librarians, library staff, and library trustees. While the FTRF participates in intellectual freedom education efforts, the FTRF primarily aims to "support and defend librarians whose positions are jeopardized because of their resistance to abridgments of the First Amendment; and to set legal precedent for the freedom to read on behalf of all the people." In the foundation's commitment to "the principle that the solution to offensive speech is more speech, and the suppression of speech on the grounds that it gives offense to some infringes on the rights of all to a free, open and robust marketplace of ideas," the FTRF awards and distributes grants to aid intellectual freedom litigation, directly participates as a party to intellectual freedom litigation, and submits amicus curiae briefs in freedom of speech and freedom of the press cases. FTRF assistance to library staff whose jobs have been jeopardized due to their defense of intellectual freedom "attempts to obviate the choice between upholding intellectual freedom principles and" what lauded librarian and library-science scholar Lester Asheim called "three square meals a day." 
The organization's charter describes four purposes for the Foundation, including:

Promoting and protecting the freedom of speech and of the press;
Protecting the public's right of access to information and materials stored in the nation's libraries;
Safeguarding libraries' right to disseminate all materials contained in their collections; and
Supporting libraries and librarians in their defense of First Amendment rights by supplying them with legal counsel or the means to secure it.

=== LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund ===
The LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund provides financial assistance to librarians who are:

"Denied employment rights or discriminated against on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, religion, age, disability, or place of national origin; or
Denied employment rights because of defense of intellectual freedom; that is, threatened with loss of employment or discharged because of their stand for the cause of intellectual freedom, including promotion of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, the freedom of librarians to select items for their collections from all the world’s written and recorded information, and defense of privacy rights."
Originally established by the Freedom to Read Foundation in 1970, the Merritt Fund now functions independently, governed by three trustees elected by donors to the fund. The fund's namesake LeRoy C. Merritt participated in the defense and advocacy of intellectual freedom throughout his life in a variety of ways including authoring numerous intellectual freedom and anti-censorship books and articles, editing the ALA's Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom from 1962 to 1970, as the first recipient of the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award, and, donating the entirety of the Downs prize to the Freedom to Read Foundation, as the FTRF's first benefactor.

=== Intellectual Freedom Manual ===
The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom publishes the Intellectual Freedom Manual, now in its ninth edition. Considered an authoritative resource on intellectual freedom for library professionals, it is also of use to members of the public who wish to stay informed of the most recent policies and developments in the field. As well as providing an historical overview of the topic, it is divided into parts which cover key issues such as the Library Bill of Rights, protecting the freedom to read, intellectual freedom and the law, and preserving, protecting and working for intellectual freedom. Expanding on the new addition to the manual is the section on Privacy; an Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights 

=== Collaboration between associated organizations ===
Many of the entities listed above collaborate with one another and other organizations including:

Association of American Publishers
American Booksellers Association
American Booksellers Association for Free Expression
Center for Democracy and Technology
Internet Education Foundation
Media Coalition
National Coalition Against Censorship
PEN American Center
state and regional First Amendment organizations
state library association intellectual freedom committees
intellectual freedom coalitions

== Intellectual Freedom Awards ==

=== Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award ===
Since 1969, the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois annually awards the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award. GSLIS faculty named this award for Robert B. Downs on his 25th anniversary as director of the School in honor of his role as a champion for intellectual freedom. Downs, also a former president and vice-president of the ALA, focused his library career working against, and voicing opposition to, literary censorship and authored many books and publications on topics of censorship and intellectual freedom. Awarded to acknowledge individuals or groups who have furthered the cause of intellectual freedom in libraries, the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award is "[g]ranted to those who have resisted censorship or efforts to abridge the freedom of individuals to read or view materials of their choice, the award may be in recognition of a particular action or long-term interest in, and dedication to, the cause of intellectual freedom."

=== Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award ===
Since 1986, the American Library Association Intellectual Freedom Round Table biennially sponsors the Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award. Consisting of a $500 prize and certificate, the award acknowledges "the best published work in the area of intellectual freedom." The IFRT posthumously named this award for Eli M. Oboler, a former Idaho State University librarian known as a “champion of intellectual freedom who demanded the dismantling of all barriers to freedom of expression.” Oboler, also a former member and officer in numerous intellectual freedom organizations including the Intellectual Freedom Round Table, the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the Idaho Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee, authored over 200 publications, many on censorship and intellectual freedom, including: