Libraries and the First Amendment

Megan Hamby
INFO 266
5/6/16

Klinefelter, A. (2010). First Amendment limits on library collection management. Law Library Journal. 102(3), 343-374. Retrieved from http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ofm&AN=502171368&site=ehost-live

This article discusses issues that arise between public and law libraries and the First Amendment. It addresses First Amendment boundaries with collection policies and management and presents cases in which problems regarding censorship and equal protection. Publicly funded libraries have a lot more freedom when it comes to their collection policy. The types of libraries discussed in the article tend to uphold the First Amendment because they are committed to providing full access of information and noncensorship.  In the case Board of Education v. Pico, one school board decided to remove books they deemed as inappropriate and anti-Semitic among other reasons. Some students in the school district ended up filing a suit citing a violation of free speech. The article points out that publicly funded libraries should not practice such policies of banning books in order to avoid issues with the First Amendment. According to the article, “intent to suppress access to ideas may be the same as invidious viewpoint discrimination” (371). I thought this was an interesting article because it made me wonder how libraries weed their collections to fit their collection policy but still uphold the United States First Amendment.