Abstract |
There are four parts in this article. The first part discusses The Mapplethorpe Event which raised the question of censorship and academic freedom in Britain. In addition, The FN Event in France is discussed, in which political ideology intervened into library collection development. The second part introduces the full contents of “The Statement on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom”. The definitions of intellectual freedom, information freedom and the freedom of expression are explained further. The third part describes the establishment and main duties of ALA and IFLA. Both are executive organizations that safeguard intellectual freedom in the library world. The fourth part suggests three possible approaches for improving the climate of intellectual freedom in the libraries of Taiwan: the distinction between the role of book selectors and supervisors, the importance of educating library school students in the basics of library information, and the leadership and administrative role of the association of librarians.
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