Die IFLA in Deutschland

Intellectual Freedom and Libraries: International Perspectives

Susanne Seidelin

Susanne Seidelin has been the Director of the IFLA/FAIFE Office in Copenhagen, Denmark since February 2001. She worked for fourteen years at the Danish National Library for the Blind as head of audio production, as a senior consultant and as a liaison with international bodies such as IFLA section of Libraries for the Blind, and as a Board member of the DAISY Consortium, an international body on technological development of new media for the blind and visually impaired. She has worked as head of a Danish newspaper archive and with library services and international cooperation with regards to mentally disabled.
Contact details: IFLA/FAIFE Office, Birketinget 6, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark. Tel. +45 32 58 60 66, ext. 532. Fax: +45 32 84 02 01. E-mail: susanne.seidelin@ifla.org, or sus@db.dk. Website: www.faife.dk, www.ifla.org.

Introduction

IFLA/FAIFE was invited to the Berlin seminar on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries in the capacity of both co-organizer and lecturer.
Apart from generally raising the IFLA flag in regard to the IFLA conference in Berlin 2003, our main objective was to raise awareness of the importance for the international library community to engage in the issue of freedom of access to information and libraries worldwide. The Berlin seminar provided an excellent opportunity to meet with German colleagues, introduce our work and, with special attention to censorship and freedom of access to information in Germany, put the issue on the German agenda once more, so to speak.

The IFLA/FAIFE Mandate

To set the framework for the work group discussions later in the day, we started the morning's introductory session giving a short overview of the five-year history of IFLA/FAIFE, presenting our mission and the basic principles of our work. To put these issues further into perspective the current state of libraries and intellectual freedom was discussed.
The IFLA/FAIFE mandate is clearly drawn from Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Everyone has the right to freedom of expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. On this background, the IFLA Governing Board has defined our objectives as follows:

• FAIFE is an initiative within IFLA to defend and promote the basic human rights defined in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  
• The FAIFE Committee and Office further freedom of access to information and freedom of expression in all aspects, directly or indirectly, related to library and information services
  
• FAIFE monitors the state of intellectual freedom within the library and information community worldwide, supports IFLA policy development and cooperation with other international human rights organizations, and responds to violations of freedom of access to information and freedom of expression.

IFLA/FAIFE World Report and Summary Report Series

One of the tasks of IFLA/FAIFE is to collect information with regard to the global situation on freedom of access to information. Last year, the first IFLA/FAIFE World Report 2001. Libraries and Intellectual Freedom was published. The report was launched at the IFLA Conference in Boston. It represents a significant achievement but covers only 46 countries, around 30 percent of the countries represented in IFLA. The report should cover all those countries and present a reliable and authoritative summary of the state of intellectual freedom in regard to libraries around the globe. The World Report will be published every two years.
A shorter report, the IFLA/FAIFE Summary Report on the global status of intellectual freedom and freedom of access to information will be published in the alternate years. The Summary Report should also focus on the international political situation in terms of its impact on IFLA/FAIFE key areas and the development of the international library and information community.
Thus the Summary Report should identify areas of special interest and concern. In 2002 these are: libraries and conflicts; the Internet; and how to respond when the intellectual freedoms are at stake.

Current State Of Libraries and Intellectual Freedom

Using the first IFLA/FAIFE World Report and the PhD project cofinanced by IFLA/FAIFE and the Royal School of Library and Information Science in Copenhagen, Denmark as a background, we introduced the state of affairs in regard to freedom of access to information around the world.
The World Report confirms that all is not well. Though we have seen some progress and lifting of restrictions it is evident that more awareness of the problems, followed by a focus on actions to safeguard access, should be on the agenda of the international library community. We had been heartened to see the lifting of some restrictions in Indonesia.
There are other positive signs in the region with the reconstruction of libraries in Cambodia and Laos. But there is a long way to go, especially in Burma (Myanmar).
As we ended the IFLA conference in Bangkok, the people of East Timor voted in a plebiscite. In the ensuing wave of destruction, murder and rape, all the libraries were destroyed. The people of the new nation of Timor Lorosae need the assistance of the world's librarians to rebuild their libraries and to assist them in creating a civil society.
The Chair of the IFLA/FAIFE Committee has been in discussion with those involved with the redevelopment of the razed university library in East Timor, and with a support group which has been gathering funds and materials. It is clear that the needs of East Timor are extensive and include the development of a national model for library provision. However, there seems to be little coordination of the needs of national, university, polytechnic, school, public, law and medical libraries. Against this background we met UNESCO representatives in February to discuss how best to support the development in the country.
Trends in other parts of the world can be discerned from the World Report. In Eastern Europe, there have been positive moves towards protecting free access to information and freedom of expression.
However, inadequate funding prevents library services from meeting even the most basic needs of their clients and compromises professional standards. Eastern European professionals demonstrate their commitment to free access to information through many initiatives such as opening collections of banned books.
In Africa, censorship plays a key role in some countries and violation of human rights is a part of daily life. In others, we see the tentative development of free library services. In many countries around the world, censorship of the Internet is attempted.
In an increasingly globalized world, it is inevitable that the key issues facing libraries and librarians in offering freedom of access to information should be global. Many of them echo the big challenges facing the countries of the world: economic, political and cultural.
However, freedom of access to information, and its counterpart, freedom of expression, is a crucial element in seeking to solve the world's problems. Without ready access to information, it is impossible to understand, let alone address, problems such as the catastrophic HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.

Responses

Though the morning's introduction did not result in a lively debate in plenary, it certainly led to a lot of questions and discussions in smaller groups during the first break.
Great interest was shown in the PhD topic and the censorship problems facing the Internet. Other questions concerned IFLA/FAIFE reports and our daily work: How do the IFLA/FAIFE Committee, Chair, Advisory Board and Office cooperate on the daily practical level when those involved are literary spread all over the world?
The short answer is that we mostly communicate by e-mail and over the telephone, and discuss directions and initiatives at the annual meetings in connections with the IFLA conferences.

Strategy and Action Plan

As the last input to the work group and plenary discussions in Berlin, the IFLA/FAIFE priorities, related actions and results were all presented.
The actions and initiatives especially highlighted will be presented below under the headings:
Seven priorities; How to respond when intellectual freedoms are at stake; and IFLA/FAIFE Network Centres. These initiatives could serve as examples of why international cooperation with regard to safeguarding intellectual freedoms globally is relevant for the development of library services and the roles of libraries around the world.
More importantly, they hopefully demonstrated the vulnerability of those freedoms and thus the role of the international library community in embracing mutual core values to defend and promote freedom of access to information.
The full wording of the plan is available at www.ifla.org.
Seven Priorities
At the IFLA Conference in Boston 2001, the IFLA/FAIFE Committee identified seven priorities to form the basis of the strategy and work plan for the period 2001-2003:

1. Concentrate our efforts on libraries and the safeguarding of free access to information for all individuals. (Relates to IFLA Professional Priority: Defending the principle of freedom of information.)
2. Make IFLA/FAIFE the authoritative source on libraries and intellectual freedom through the World Report and other communication initiatives.
   (Relates to IFLA Professional Priority: Defending the principle of freedom of information.)
3. Strengthen the process for responding to incidents, including the development of an IFLA/ FAIFE alert manual.
   (Relates to IFLA Professional Priority: Providing unrestricted access to information.)
4. Establish a Network of IFLA/ FAIFE Centres.
   (Relates to IFLA Professional Priority: Defending the principle of freedom of information.)
5. Heighten the importance of bridging the digital divide.
   (Relates to IFLA Professional Priority: Supporting the role of libraries in society.)
6. Free and equal access to digital information.
   (Relates to IFLA Professional Priority: Supporting the role of libraries in society.)
7. Build the funding base for IFLA/ FAIFE.
   (Relates to the IFLA policy for Core Activity funding.)

In short the objectives are:

• go global
• involve colleagues worldwide
• produce visible results

How Do We Respond when Intellectual Freedoms Are At Stake?

When intellectual freedoms are at stake in regard to library services, IFLA and IFLA/FAIFE can react in different ways according to the concrete matter at hand. Individual cases in various countries will often be addressed with letters to the authorities, whereas published statements, declarations, or manifestos address more general problems. In some cases special reports are published or special projects initiated, e.g. the Kosovo Report and reports on library services in Cuba, and the current focus on a possible project on the re-building and development of library services in Afghanistan in cooperation with UNESCO. In 2001 we responded to reported cases in e.g. East Timor, France, South Africa and Zimbabwe and we are currently investigating reports on the destruction of libraries in Palestine. To investigate and verify the reported cases, and to obtain additional information, we cooperate with IFLA Headquarters and the various IFLA bodies, library organizations and NGOs such as independent human rights and organizations of the press. It is should be mentioned that IFLA/ FAIFE does not take a political stand in conflicts. We act solely in the interest of promoting freedom of access to information as defined in our objectives. For the sake of our credibility when responding to violations this independent status is important to maintain. To further develop the professional approach we are currently developing an alert manual that will identify the nature of the cases we respond to and which cases we would direct to other organizations. The manual will also describe step by step the working process of IFLA/FAIFE in terms of responding to reported incidents. This summer we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of IFLA. To this end the IFLA/FAIFE Committee last year took the initiative of suggesting the development of an IFLA declaration for adoption at the Glasgow conference. The draft version has just been adopted by the Governing Board and subsequently translated into the official IFLA languages. The declaration proclaims its support for fundamental human rights and intellectual freedoms, among which is the right of freedom of access to information, and affirms the objectives of library and information services in this connection. Another example of an IFLA/ FAIFE initiative relating to IFLA policy development is the IFLA Internet Manifesto, recently adopted by the Governing Board and officially issued on 1 May 2002. Concern regarding the increase in Internet filtering, while the use of the Internet as an information source becomes more widespread, is the background for this initiative. The manifesto supports the principle of freedom of access to all Internet-accessible information and will be followed up by workshops in various regions of the world if we can find hosting sponsors. The workshops will address the implementation of the manifesto in the regions and recommendations will form the basis for the subsequently development of best practice guidelines. The decision to develop the manifesto was taken before 11 September 2001. In the wake of these terrible events, the so-called 'terrorist acts' have been passed by legislatures in several countries, underlining the relevance of this initiative. It should be mentioned that IFLA also issued a statement on 'Terrorism, the Internet and Free Access to Information' on 4 October 2001. These initiatives are good examples of how the international library community, through IFLA, can react collectively to help safeguard freedom of access to information for the sake of the worldwide development of libraries and professional services. Likewise, the documents are also meant as a practical tool for supporting the daily work in libraries. UNESCO adopted the Public Library Manifesto and the School Library Manifesto. It is our hope that UNESCO will adopt the Internet Manifesto as well. To further the IFLA/FAIFE initiatives on issues regarding the Internet and bridging the digital divide, the PhD scholarship, mentioned earlier, was initiated in November 2001. The project, taken on by Stuart Hamilton of the UK, is focusing on freedom of access to Internetaccessible information from a global perspective. Interim reports on the results will be issued regularly in connection with meetings, workshops and in written reports. IFLA/FAIFE Network Centres To support the work of IFLA/ FAIFE and engage more colleagues around the globe, we will develop a formal IFLA/FAIFE network consisting of small numbers of IFLA Centres for Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression around the world, operated by Association or Institutional members of IFLA. A proposal adopted by the Governing Board identifies the activities of Network members as:

• Centres may act as a rapporteur for the identified country or region, promote intellectual freedom in relation to libraries and translate documents to or from relevant languages. They will be expected to develop documented policies and procedures for the approval of the FAIFE Advisory
  
• Board, to maintain records of their activities and submit reports at least twice a year.
  
• Centres will not normally be authorized to take action on any incidents or to make announcements in the name of IFLA. Incidents must be promptly reported to the Office, which will coordinate investigation and the development of responses. Action on incidents may only be taken with approval from the FAIFE Chair or IFLA Secretary General in accordance with established practice. Where possible, Committee members will be polled for quick response prior to any actions in case they should have relevant specialized knowledge or contacts.

Network members must make a formal commitment to:

1. support fully the IFLA Statement on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom
2. be active in a specified nation or region, and
3. be self-supporting.
   At present, the Library of Foreign Literature in Moscow and the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom in Chicago have expressed their interest in establishing centres as pilot projects. After an evaluation period, we hope to find interested hosts for centres in Asia, Africa and South America as well.

Conclusion of the Berlin Workshop

From the perspective of IFLA/ FAIFE the overall structure of the workshop proved very useful and rewarding. The combination of introduction and background papers combined with the questionnaire, followed up by discussions in groups and plenary turned the whole day into a process of contemplation and growing awareness of the important role of libraries in safeguarding freedom of access to information nationally as well as globally.
Though some participants felt that libraries should hold back materials, or place them in closed shelves to protect children and young people, thus touching upon the very difficult question of accepting selfcensorship, it seems more relevant to highlight the interest and engagement of the thirty-eight participants. Their mutual understanding of the workshop as yet another step in a process to clarify the standpoint of the German library community became evident during the day and in the discussions following the seminar.
The introduction to Dr Robert Vaagan's book The Ethics of Librarianship: An International Survey, which will be published in the autumn in cooperation with IFLA, may have been the inspiration behind the follow-up seminar on librarians' ethics. The IFLA conference in Berlin next year will hopefully help keep attention alive and inspire further initiatives and results. IFLA/FAIFE has been encouraged by the interest and debate shown in Berlin and hopes to incorporate some of the experience gained in future workshops. Ideally, we would like to take the message around the world through similar seminars and meetings. However, our resources are limited and do not enable us to spread the word as widely and effectively as we would like. We are therefore constantly looking for sponsors interested in supporting IFLA/FAIFE activities on a global scale.