Freedom or Safety: Where Do Librarians Stand?
Ben Johnson’s article “Archiving Al Qaeda” notes that libraries are one of the last free and open accessible internet access points, yet he doesn’t suspect this will last long (2018). Working in schools that are governed by a district or private rules and regulations and would not dare have access to taboo information like terrorist group propaganda or child pornography, I never thought about libraries being a bastion of freedom. To my surprise though, Internet Archive , a non-profit digital library which features the ALA logo, is the most used website by the Islamic State (Johnson, 2018). This is a rude awakening for me as I’ve always felt free speech and information access is important, however, an ALA sponsored website being popular with terrorist groups is both unfathomable and alarming.
Though Internet Archive is trying to protect reader’s privacy and recognise America’s first amendment, it is an increasingly “lonely and contentious position to take” in a world that is concerned with hate crime. (Johnson, 2018). Those supporting freedom of information are often labeled as facilitating racism or other hurtful ideologies, however Johnson recognises hate speech is defined differently amongst cultures and censorship can become a “weapon for despots that despise openness” (2018). Furthermore, over 50% of the news accessed by people under twenty five is from social media outlets (Social Media College, 2018), which can be directed towards your cognitive biases and not give you balanced information on sensitive topics. Hence why our students need an open place to discuss controversial topics without fear of being labeled hateful. Schools can be this place.
A recent classroom discussion highlighted the dangers of classifying “hate speech” as a student examined how tennis legend and gay rights activist Martina Navratilova was dismissed from her spokesperson role with an LGBT group for not supporting trans women athletes competing against “biological women”. Proponents of allowing trans female athletes to compete, labelled Navratilova as transphobic, in an attempt to undermine her concerns. This was a key teaching moment for me. Regardless of your stance on the issue, many in the LGBT community had defined what “hate” was, however Navratilova, and her backers, would argue that you are “hating” on female athletes by allowing biological men to compete against women. It is an example of complex situation and it needs an open and safe place for discussion. Hence why I’m proud that libraries are taking the stand to offer secure and open systems that protect free speech and privacy (Johnson, 2018).
References
Johnson, B. (2018). Archiving Al Qaeda: The role of libraries in protecting free speech and open systems. Computers in Libraries, 38(7), 22-25.
Social Media College (2018, May 30). Social Media Revolution. [Video File] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=1qpcdywb6Hw
Image References: Thanks to Flickr Creative Commons images attribution
“Fortune the Most Powerful Women in the World” Fortune Live Media. Photograph by Stuart Isett. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2HKYb73