April is National Library Month. Here are some important points to ponder as we celebrate the intellectual freedom that libraries provide.

Intellectual freedom, the very basis for our democracy, supports the right of every individual to both seek and access information from varied points of view without restriction.

Censorship, the suppression of ideas and information that certain individuals, groups or government officials find objectionable or dangerous, is basically someone saying, “Don’t let anyone read this book, or buy that magazine, or view that film, because I object to it!”

Censors want to prejudge materials for everyone, not just for their children, but also for yours. The problem is that if one person’s preferences are considered to ban a book, others will expect the same — making almost everything vulnerable to challenge. When books are kept from students, because of the personal or political beliefs of any person or group or placed on a special shelf, that’s censorship.

Professionals make the decision about which books will be used in classrooms and placed in the library. Policies exist in many school districts that permit concerned parents to decide what their own children read/view. No individual or group has the right to impose their beliefs on other parents’ children.

School boards have a First Amendment responsibility to ensure that all students have intellectual freedom.

Eileen Elicker

Washington Township, Westmoreland County

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