Checklist & Ideas for Library Staff Working with Community Leaders
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Local Library Board of Trustees
 Develop an educational session on intellectual freedom to orient new Board members as they are elected. Include:
Overview of the role of libraries in democracy
Discuss basic First Amendment principles
Highlight laws and legislation relevant to libraries and intellectual freedom
Explain the role of the Board, to:
Work with the Library Director to ensure that the necessary policies are in place and that they are reviewed regularly and thoroughly
Review and affirm the library's selection policy annually and make sure it is followed carefully
Be an effective advocate for the library. Use your contacts in the community to educate and mobilize others in support of the library
Bring what you hear back to the Library Director
Distribute copies of key documents:
Present an orientation to the Internet. Include:
What is the Internet?
How is it useful?
Explain your Internet use policy
Address Internet filters, what they are and how they work
Update the Board regularly with local and national news clippings, include Internet success stories, pending legislation, court cases, etc.
Distribute information on educational programs
Encourage personal/institutional membership in ALA and the Freedom to Read Foundation
Provide subscription to The Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom for the Board
Supply suggested reading lists on intellectual freedom issues from professional journals and books (e.g., Libraries, Access, and Intellectual Freedom by Barbara M. Jones; Libraries, The First Amendment and Cyberspace, by Robert S. Peck; Protecting the Right to Read by Ann K. Symons and Charles Harmon; bibliographies found in the Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom)
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Friends of the Library
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Elected/Appointed Officials and their Staffs/Administration of Academic Institutions and their Staffs
Provide Internet demonstrations, tailor examples to information that is relevant to their jobs and responsibilities
Build relationships by offering to train staff on topics of expertise (e.g., how to conduct a reference interview -and discover what your clients really want!)
Orient to legal issues pertaining to intellectual freedom, include national and local laws, and relevant legislation
Provide legal updates on intellectual freedom cases in other jurisdictions
Encourage institutional memberships in ALA, FTRF, state and regional library associations
Offer library support for their information needs
Prepare and distribute packets of library statistics that demonstrate the value of the library to the community (e.g., patrons per day, Internet sessions per day, reference counts, etc.)
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Local Media
Offer library support for information needs
Invite to Friends orientation sessions/Internet demonstrations
Provide updates on intellectual freedom legal issues
Provide updates on local events, role of library in community
Submit op-ed pieces
Invite to open houses/library tours
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Local Citizen Groups and Potential Allies (e.g., ministerial associations, civic groups, ACLU, local educators, university professors, service clubs)
Offer library support for information needs
Invite to Friends orientation sessions/Internet demonstrations
Offer to be or provide a speaker for club meetings
Update on local intellectual freedom issues, including Internet successes and pending legislation
Recruit potential members of the Board of Trustees of Friends Board from these groups
Permission is granted to libraries to reproduce this checklist.
ALA American Library Association �� 2003
Links to non-ALA sites have been provided because these sites may have information of interest. Neither the American Library Association nor the Office for Intellectual Freedom necessarily endorses the views expressed or the facts presented on these sites; and furthermore, ALA and OIF do not endorse any commercial products that may be advertised or available on these sites.
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