SLA Affirms Commitment to Intellectual Freedom and Stands in Support of ALA President Emily Drabinsk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Special Libraries Association

John J. DiGilio, President

president@sla.org

SLA Affirms Commitment to Intellectual Freedom and Stands in Support of ALA President Emily Drabinski

Mt. Laurel, New Jersey (14 March 2024) - The Special Libraries Association (SLA) stands with other library organizations in opposing any efforts to curtail the intellectual freedom of the people to create, access, and read materials in public or academic libraries that present the diverse and sometimes divergent experiences of minority communities and exploited peoples globally.

With growing frequency over the last two years, we have seen continued efforts of various political organizations to restrict access to books and publications that depict the diversity of the United States and the complex struggles for acceptance and equality that diverse communities have historically faced here. While the push towards state-sanctioned censorship is not new, the rhetoric employed, and actions taken to drive this divisiveness have reached new heights.

In July 2023, for example, members of the leadership of the Montana State Library Commission voted to end the chapter’s membership to the American Library Association (see https://ftpaspen.msl.mt.gov/EventResources/20230731135605_23718.pdf). This action was made by one motion and the affirmative vote of five members of the Commission’s leadership.  There was no indication that the Commission sought advice from any number of standing advisory councils or ad hoc task forces on this issue.  Those members of the Commission who did not vote or even get an opportunity to debate this decision made on their behalf were left disenfranchised and without voice.

The groups who supported the action in Montana and others like them appear to be agitating other state associations to also withdraw from ALA, using similarly divisive campaigns in a push to censor publicly accessible reading materials.  While it has been limited, these special interest groups are finding success in these disturbing and anti-democratic tactics (see https://yellowhammernews.com/rep-dubose-bring-libraries-back-from-toxic-nationalgroup/).

Particularly egregious have been the homophobic and anti-democratic nature of the attacks on the democratically elected president of ALA, Emily Drabinski, based on her personal life and political affiliations. Drabinski ran an open campaign for office pledging, “I will prioritize advocacy for what we need most: reinvestment in schools, libraries, and communities; economic and racial justice for library workers and for their communities; environmental sustainability; and collaboration and cooperation beyond US borders” (see https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2022/03/01/meet-thecandidates-

for-ala-president-emily-drabinski/).  She won election by a majority of the voting members of ALA based on this campaign and her history of progressive activism within the library profession.

These attacks on libraries and librarians, and the censorship of the materials they deem appropriate for their constituencies, imperils the very democratic foundation of the country itself.

The Board of Director of the Special Libraries Association (SLA)

The SLA Diversity Inclusion Community Equity [DICE] Community

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About SLA: The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit international organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves information professionals in more than 60 countries and in a range of working environments, including business, academia and government agencies. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy and networking initiatives. For more information, visit sla.org.