I ntellectual Freedom in the United States is based fundamentally on principles and rights articulated primarily in the Constitution and in First Amendment jurisprudence. In various decisions, the United States Supreme Court has amplified these ideas concerning free expression. L ibraries can play a significant role in fostering Intellectual Freedom by making information easily available for all members of society. In practice, a library fulfills this role by collecting, organizing and making available a balanced collection of materials, resources and information representative of a virtually comprehensive variety of views and issues.
Libraries additionally support literacy and the right to read.
Ethical standards in the field of librarianship, moreover, obligate all professional librarians to challenge censorship. I ntellectual Freedom in librarianship places primary emphasis on the availability of information and views . It follows that the medium employed to convey the information and views is secondary in importance. T he Internet is one of the more recent of the various media available for communicating information and views. Although the implementation of Internet technology in a library requires different considerations than, for example, the process of making a book available, essentially, of primary consideration for the librarian is that each is a means of conveying information and views.