Abstract

The United States was the first country to standardize intellectual freedom in libraries through the Declaration of Library Rights in 1939, and has since declared intellectual freedom a core value of library philosophy and ethics through various declarations and statements. Despite this long-standing normative tradition, the United States has recently seen a surge in challenges to, and censorship of, library materials and programs. This has led to greater control over information access, heightened pressure on librarians, and the enactment of legislation at the state level that either restricts or protects intellectual freedom. This study examines patterns of intellectual freedom violations in libraries, focusing on recent trends in the United States, and compares and analyzes state-level legislative trends related to intellectual freedom in order to identify regulatory types and their characteristics. Furthermore, by analyzing policy responses from professional organizations and the library community, the study explored the potential for institutional responses to protect intellectual freedom. Based on these findings, it proposed legal and policy alternatives to strengthen the institutional neutrality and public character of libraries in Korea, and to protect librarians’ professional judgment and ethical responsibilities, from the perspective of the constitutional right to know and the right of access to information guaranteed by the Library Act.