At our February meeting, the Board approved the BCLA Intellectual Freedom Statement. The final statement is the result of an extensive review done over 2 years, with the goal of creating a statement that supports library work and library workers in all the different types of libraries in BC. This statement draws heavily on the feedback we received from BCLA members and the broader library community, via surveys and focus groups, as well as the input from the BCLA Board and the BCLA Intellectual Freedom Committee.
We know this is a complex and important topic. We hope this statement will provide opportunities to engage in thoughtful conversations with colleagues and consider perspectives and beliefs that diverge from your own.
This statement is not the end of BCLA’s intellectual freedom work – it is the foundation we need so we can move forward in supporting libraries and library workers. We know that challenges to intellectual freedom are increasing and we heard clearly through the survey and focus groups that you want more opportunities for learning and conversation about intellectual freedom.
Please join us for a virtual townhall on Friday, March 27 from 9-10:30 am where we will review the process that we used to develop the statement and answer your questions. The townhall will be facilitated by Camille Dumond and Aslam Bulbulia, who bring expertise in Deep Democracy and have supported the Intellectual Freedom Committee and BCLA Board throughout the review process.
As President of BCLA, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this process: the Intellectual Freedom Committee, my fellow BCLA Board members (past and present), BCLA staff, and all of you who responded to the surveys or participated in the focus groups. The way everyone engaged with thoughtfulness and good intention was inspiring and is what I hope for all of us as we continue to address intellectual freedom and other difficult topics together.
Kind regards,
Suzanne Rackover, BCLA President 2025-2027
BCLA Intellectual Freedom Statement (web)
BCLA Intellectual Freedom Statement (pdf)
Register for the virtual townhall on Friday, March 27 from 9-10:30 am