[OLA-IF-News] IFC's February Tuesday Topic - Announcing Oregon Intellectual Freedom Toolkit!

[Emily O'Neal]

February 2022


Welcome to Tuesday Topics, a monthly series covering topics with intellectual freedom implications for libraries of all types. Each message is prepared by a member of OLA's Intellectual Freedom Committee or a guest writer. Questions can be directed to the author of the topic or to the IFC Committee.


[https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/8aq8IHL6Ax0tDulC0Sqpw9FH72ja7VSuqulOPNyec-VE7BJAzVEc9OgpN2aQ69WmfqhNWcu1iH6NjnXLs1T6vq05sSEghjm7EmOOvgyAE_f2Nid6q4iWHig73bGjLHRYsakNl8KG]


Introducing the Oregon Intellectual Freedom Toolkit!


The OLA Intellectual Freedom Committee is committed to helping all Oregon libraries feel prepared and supported when it comes to aspects of Intellectual Freedom within their institutions.  As noted in the December 13th Statement on Materials Challenges and Intellectual Freedom<https://ola.memberclicks.net/assets/Communications/2021-22_communications/OLA-OIFC_Statement.pdf>, the Intellectual Freedom Committee deemed it particularly important in our current atmosphere of extreme challenges<https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/category/intellectual-freedom-news/> to help Oregon libraries with the resources they may need to combat these challenging situations.


For these reasons, the OIFC would like to welcome the library community to our newly adopted Oregon Intellectual Freedom Toolkit!<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/iftoolkit/home>  To help acquaint you, this tool is broken up into three focuses: Respond to a Challenge, Prepare for a Challenge, and Learn about Intellectual Freedom, as well as a printable infographic, each of which have an overview below.


Respond to a Challenge and the Library Challenge Infographic


Understanding that Oregon Libraries are not immune from intellectual Freedom challenges, and often these situations come with a need for the most immediate information, the toolkit offers the

Library Challenge Infographic<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/ld.php?content_id=65029750> as the first step to the toolkit.  The infographic is both printable and downloadable; however, the digital version is also embedded with links to resources depending on the Intellectual Freedom information need.  As the reader navigates through infographic steps, the boxes direct the user to the resources they may need based off their current situation - similar to a "choose your own adventure", just not quite as fun as the fictional books of our youth.<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure> This section of the toolkit should help the user find the resources and support in the most critical of needs, responding to a challenge<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/iftoolkit/respond>.  A reminder, at any point should a library experience a challenge and need more support, please feel free to contact the IFC<https://www.olaweb.org/contact-ifc>.


Prepare for a Challenge


The second most important and common need for Intellectual Freedom support comes from the need to be prepared for future challenges<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/iftoolkit/prepare>.  In this section of the toolkit, there are a number of resources provided.  These resources include helping libraries in identifying the types of policies they should have in place, resources for drafting those policies, as well as example policies from peer libraries.  A baseline to protect a library when it comes to challenges is to have proper and updated policies in place before a challenge arises.  This section is intended to provide libraries with the resources necessary to be prepared for future Intellectual Freedom confrontations.


Learn More about Intellectual Freedom


The third section of the toolkit was created for the purposes of education and development, allowing our libraries to learn more about intellectual freedom<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/iftoolkit/learn>. Intellectual Freedom has a number of concepts and applications that directly affect our library practices.  One of the best ways to know how to respond to challenges is to feel knowledgeable and informed about various aspects of Intellectual Freedom.  This section provides a glossary of terms, foundational documents, laws as they apply to libraries (both State and Federal) and related issues.  This is a great section to use for training library staff, users and Boards on Intellectual Freedom.


Contact the IFC

The Oregon Intellectual Freedom Committee is here to support Oregon libraries with their Intellectual Freedom needs.  As a reminder, if you need additional help, we are always available for one on one assistance, and our contact the IFC<https://www.olaweb.org/contact-ifc> information is available on the toolkit site. The Committee hopes that you find this resource both user friendly and helpful as we navigate these challenging times (pun intended).


A special thanks to the IFC members for devoting extra time, effort and energy to creating this resource.  The most valuable thing you can give someone is your time, so genuine thanks for volunteering your personal resources to the Oregon library community.

Emily O'Neal, M.L.S.
Technical Services Manager
Deschutes Public Library
(541) 617-7061
emilyo at deschuteslibrary.org<mailto:emilyo at deschuteslibrary.org>
http://www.deschuteslibrary.org<http://www.deschuteslibrary.org/>
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