2 ́other interested persons from every state and many countries of the world, the Association is the chief spokesman for the people of the United States in their search for the highest quality of library and information services. The Association works closely with more than 70 other library associations in the United States, Canada, and other countries, as well as with many other organizations concerned with education, research, cultural development, recreation, and public service. ALA is governed by its Council, comprised of 172 members. The Intellectual Freedom Committee was established in 1940 by the Council. The Committee's statement of responsibility reads, in part, "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 U.S. Constitution and the LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS (copy attached) as adopted by the ALA Council. THE ROLE OF LIBRARIES AND LIBRARIANS IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Ours is a constitutional republic a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. form of government to function effectively, its electorate must be able to inform itself the electorate must have information essential for our type of government and society, and must not be compromised. 3 Libraries are perhaps the greatest resource a free people can claim. They most definitely are the only places in our society where every person can find materials representing all points of view concerning the problems and issues confronting them as individuals and as a society. In addition, libraries make these materials available and accessible to anyone who desires or requires them, regardless of age, race, religion, national origins, social or political views, economic status, or any other characteristic. PRINCIPLES OF THE LIBRARY PROFESSION One of the guiding principles of the library profession in this country is intellectual freedom. To librarians, this concept involves two inseparable rights. The first is the First Amendment right to seek and obtain access to all publiclyavailable ideas and information. The second is the right to have what one has sought and what one has used kept private. The right to information cannot help but be inhibited if personal reading or research interests can and will become known to others without one's own consent. It was, in fact, not all that long ago that, for example, responsible U.S. scholars working in the areas of Eastern European history, economics, and political science were publicly branded as "communists" because it became known that they read extensively from communist bloc publications, notwithstanding the fact that such publications constitute the primary source of information on such subjects. 4 Even today, there are people in every community who believe that a person's interest in a subject must reflect not merely his intellectual interests, but his character and attitudes. Thus, in the view of some people, a person who reads the "underground press" is branded as a radical; a person who reads atheistic tracts is marked an atheist; a person who reads Such sexually oriented literature is identified as a libertine; a person who reads works on apartheid is characterized as a racist; a person who reads gay literature is homosexual; and one who reads about the occult and satanism is "into" witchcraft. characteristics are not justified or warranted by such literary pursuits but if charged, they can be personally and professionally damaging. The American Library Association has had a "Policy on Confidentiality of Library Records" (copy attached) since 1970. This formal policy was adopted at that time in response to attempts by U.S. Treasury agents to examine circulation records in a number of cities. Since 1970, thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia have enacted "Confidentiality of Library Records" statutes (list attached). In 1981, the Association adopted a "Statement on Professional Ethics (copy attached) including a Code of Ethics. Article II of this Code reads: Librarians must protect each user's right to privacy with respect to information sought or received, and materials consulted, borrowed, or acquired. 5 The basis of both the Policy on Confidentiality of Library Records and Article II in the Code of Ethics may be simply stated: ALA believes that the reading interests of library patrons are and should be private and that any attempt to invade such privacy without a showing of direct and legitimate need constitutes an unconscionable and unconstitutional invasion of the right of privacy of library patrons and the "right to read" implicitly guaranteed by the First Amendment. Perhaps some examples of the kinds of requests that librarians constantly receive will explicate our concern. ● In 1976, in New Mexico, police asked for circulation information on certain books to investigate a "Chicano guerilla movement" supposedly operating in the town. ● A divorced father in Illinois wanted access, in 1978, to the public library story hour registration records to make sure that his child was using his name and not that of the mother's current husband. ● Also in 1978, religious groups in Florida requested the names of persons who had read certain books. The purpose was to contact such readers and urge them to join a religious organization. In 1979, New York detectives asked for circulation records of a list of books on lie detectors because they suspected "somebody was trying to beat a lie detector test." ● That same year in Virginia, a husband requested circulation records of his wife to prove in their divorce trial 6 that she had been "exploring avenues of divorce" before he filed the papers. • In 1980, a hospital staff member in Illinois ordered sexually explicit films for use in therapy classes. The films were placed in the hospital library and the librarian was then requested by another staff member to provide him with the names of persons who had borrowed the films. ● In 1980, a local college student in Albany, New York, found a newborn infant abandoned in an alley. She took the infant immediately to proper authorities. Nevertheless, police investigating the abandonment went to her college librarian and asked to see the records of the books she had checked out. They wanted to ascertain if she had checked out books on infant care. In 1981, the Moral Majority in Washington State, demanded the Washington State Library release the names "of public schools and public school employees" who borrowed a 21-minute movie entitled ACHIEVING SEXUAL MATURITY. In 1985, law enforcement officials in Crawfordsville, Indiana, demanded public library circulation records on the grounds that these records were needed for research into "satanism." • In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in March of this year, the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office ordered the parish library director to turn over a list of people who had checked out books on the occult in the last year. The sheriff's office wanted this information because, "a lot of times" satanic beliefs are |