The Intellectual Freedom Blog’s purpose is to educate and encourage discussions about intellectual freedom principles, and promote the value of libraries, librarians, and professional membership in the American Library Association. The blog is managed and edited by staff of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) for use within the library profession and the public to raise awareness of time-sensitive news, issues in the field, upcoming events, helpful resources, and the work of members that is related to intellectual freedom, professional ethics, or the mission of the Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.
The ALA Constitution states the purpose of ALA as, “The object of the American Library Association shall be to promote library service and librarianship.” The stated mission is, “To provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.”