The Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) in Libraries is marking the 40th anniversary of Canada’s Freedom to Read Week by asking all writers, publishers, library workers, teachers and readers to acknowledge that pressure to suppress the availability of books can come from across the political spectrum, and that librarian activism restricts freedom to read by suppressing heterodox viewpoints.
FAIR in Libraries supports Freedom to Read Week principles:
- Intellectual freedom
- Freedom of expression
- Freedom to read
- Resistance to censorship
In addition, FAIR in Libraries supports pluralistic principles:
- Viewpoint diversity
- Library neutrality
- Human individuality and autonomy
As library professionals, we ask our colleagues to recognize their biases and recommit to striving for library neutrality and viewpoint diversity in collections. We ask our colleagues to ensure Freedom to Read Week does not become Freedom to Read What We Decide You Should Read Week.
We will only be truly free to read when authors are no longer afraid to write on any topic, publishers no longer prioritize an author’s identity over their work’s merit, teachers no longer present students with only one viewpoint on issues, and library workers ensure their collections are balanced to include a variety of perspectives on controversial topics.
