---
title: "Intellectual freedom"
chunk: 3/6
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"
---

=== Intellectual Freedom Committee ===
The Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) is a council committee of the American Library Association (ALA), composed of 11 ALA members who are appointed by ALA's Council to serve 2-year terms. The Intellectual Freedom Committee functions as an advisory and educational arm of the ALA's commitment to intellectual freedom. The IFC recommends policies concerning intellectual freedom and censorship, drafts guidelines for library professionals to advocate and defend intellectual freedom including The Universal Right to Free Expression and Importance of Education to Intellectual Freedom, and drafts policy statements adopted by the ALA including several interpretation statements on the Library Bill of Rights such as:

Access to Electronic Information, Services, and Networks
Access to Library Resources and Services Regardless of Gender or Sexual Orientation
Free Access to Libraries for Minors
Prisoners' Right to Read
Statement on Library Use of Filtering Software
The IFC drafts and submits statements to the ALA as part of the committee's charge to "recommend such steps as may be necessary to safeguard the rights of library users, libraries, and librarians, in accordance with the first amendment to the united states constitution and the Library Bill of Rights as adopted by the ALA Council [and] work closely with the Office for Intellectual Freedom and with other units and officers of the association in matters touching intellectual freedom and censorship."
Formed in 1940 and originally titled 'Committee on Intellectual Freedom to Safeguard the Rights of Library Users to Freedom of Inquiry,' the committee has also been known as 'Committee on Intellectual Freedom' before the currently titled 'Intellectual Freedom Committee.' Following the ALA's formation of the IFC to promote intellectual freedom on a national level, many regional and state library associations have established additional intellectual freedom committees on the state level.

=== Office for Intellectual Freedom ===
The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) serves as an administrative arm of ALA committees such as the Intellectual Freedom Committee and the Committee on Professional Ethics. Principally charged with implementing ALA policies concerning intellectual freedom, the OIF focuses efforts on intellectual freedom education and coordination of intellectual freedom activities, events, and organizations and views the "responsibility of the office to recommend, develop, implement, and maintain a total intellectual freedom program for ALA.
OIF functions include:

Banned Books Week, an annual event that celebrates the freedom to read sponsored by publishing, bookselling, civil rights, teaching, and library organizations associated with intellectual freedom.
Choose Privacy Week, an annual event that promotes conversation and provides resources for individuals to think more critically about digital-age privacy rights. The OIF partners with many national coalitions focused upon digital rights and privacy such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Information Policy Research (CIPR), the Center For Democracy & Technology, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC).
Frequently Challenged Books List, a database of challenged materials collected from news reports and individuals (often through the OIF's electronic Challenge Reporting Form. Although the database provides information on banned books, challenged books, frequently challenged authors, and challenged classics since 1990, the OIF asserts that they "do not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges as research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five that go unreported."
Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom (NIF), a bimonthly digital publication serving as "the only journal that reports attempts to remove materials from school and library shelves across the country."
Intellectual Freedom Action Network (IFAN), an ad hoc, grassroots group of volunteers who liaison between the national efforts of the OIF and intellectual freedom issues within members' communities. IFAN members monitor censorship issues in their communities and lend support to anti-censorship and intellectual freedom instances through civic involvement such as letters to the editor or political representatives and/or attendance at public meetings and hearings concerning intellectual freedom.
IFACTION, an e-list education forum on intellectual freedom issues and concepts that replaced the OIF's former print newsletter, Intellectual Freedom News.
Webinars, including a sizable archive of webinars concerning intellectual freedom issues.

=== Intellectual Freedom Round Table ===
The ALA's Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) functions as a forum for ALA members to participate in intellectual freedom initiatives and efforts. The IFRT serves as a communication channel and promotional group for ALA members seeking increasing participation and knowledge in intellectual freedom concepts and issues. While the IFRT mirrors other intellectual freedom organizations through monitoring, support, and educational efforts, the IFRT provides more varied intellectual freedom discussion forums for librarians in two ways:

Organizing state and local level intellectual freedom discussion programs and activities
Planning and sponsoring conference programs on topics related to intellectual freedom
In addition to encouraging and fostering a community of librarians learning, promoting, and defending intellectual freedom principles, the IFRT administers three intellectual freedom awards (see below) and produces an Intellectual Freedom Report to members of the American Library Association four times per year.