Aiani, C. W. (2015). International school librarians count: current issues with intellectual freedom and access to information. Knowledge Quest, 44(1), E5-E9.
1948 marked the turning point when United Nations declared intellectual freedom a basic human right. While school libraries all over the world and in the United States alike uphold and defend the right of access to information, there is a distinct difference in the fight. Candace Aiani, library coordinator and upper school librarian in Taipei describes her experiences in Taiwan and the experiences of her colleagues. She says the main difference is that each library is pretty much left to fend for itself and while that may seem lonely, Aiani argues it can sometimes be a good thing. She shows that librarians are charged with making all of the decisions for their community and for the most part they are trusted to do so with little complaint. On the other hand, there are few laws and professional organizations to uphold a strict standard, which can act as support and guidance when areas are gray. Aiani calls for more international collaboration and coalition building between school librarians world-wide.
J. Hasselberger
Spring 2016
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