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Please note: The Christian's Creed is the Bible, so consider this: God always allows a choice. Both trees were in the garden. "Then the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Gen. 2 17-18, NKJV. God allows us to choose, we shouldn't take choice away from others either!====== = = =__CHRISTIAN LIBRARIANS & THE RIGHT TO READ FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES - INTELLECTUAL AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM__=
 * "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peacably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." -The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution**

=Who are the enemies of Religious Freedom and Free Expression in the U.S.? Christian Librarians need to be careful about that it isn't us!=

This article, quoted in part may help your thinking on censorship in your library. Please click the link to read the entire article:

Lester Asheim in Cyberspace: A Tribute to Sound Reasoning
//For over 50 years,// //(Wilson Library Bulletin, Sept. 1953) by Lester Asheim (1914–1997) has remained the definitive statement on the distinction between these two aspects of library collection development.// //"The major characteristic which makes for the all-important difference seems to be this: that the selector's approach is positive, while that of the censor is negative," Asheim said. "The aim of the selector is to promote reading, not to inhibit it; to multiply the points of view which will find expression, not limit them; to be a channel for communication, not a bar against it. . . . Selection seeks to protect the right of the reader to read;// //seeks to protect—not the right—but the reader himself from the fancied effects of his reading. The selector has faith in the intelligence of the reader; the censor has faith only in his own."//

Articles: Dickinson, Gail. //"The Question...Do My Strong, Conservative Religious Beliefs Make Me Less of a School Librarian?"// Nov/Dec 2007. Vol 36. No.2. 22 Web. 22 Oct. 2009. []

Standish, James S. //“The Liberty Blog: NARLA Supports Fight Against Global Blasphemy Law at the UN in Geneva.”// North American Religious Liberty Association, 22 Oct. 2009. Web. 22 Oct. 2009. http://www.religiousliberty.info/blog/?p=105 =[|The Liberty Blog]= October 22, 2009
 * || Here is an intersting blog that I received this morning from the North American Religious Liberty Association. This is a first Amendment right just as is intellectual freedom...very important to all of us. Note that their position is not to support, but against making a law to suppress free speech.

[|NARLA Supports Fight Against Global Blasphemy Law at the UN in Geneva]
By James Standish The International Religious Liberty Association’s “Statement of Concern about Proposals Regarding Defamation of Religions” was distributed today at that the meeting of the UN Human Rights Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards, in Geneva. The Ad Hoc Committee has wide, if somewhat ambiguous, authority to “prepare complementary international standards to strengthen and update international instruments against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in all their aspects.” Among the items it is considering, are provisions designed to create a global ban on speech that offends religious sensibilities.

Attorney Barry Bussey, executive director of NARLA and a member of the panel that drafted the IRLA’s statement of concern, notes that “while we find much that is said about religion to be offensive, we cannot accept efforts to ban speech about religion. Such a ban will silent minority opinions and prevent honest and open discussions about the pros and cons of religious beliefs.”

“The push by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to create a global ban on free speech on matters of religion is dangerous,” states James Standish, Deputy Secretary General of the IRLA who is in Geneva this week representing the IRLA position. “We have seen the devastating impact of national equivalents of the provision, particularly in Pakistan where blasphemy laws are used to settle personal vendettas and relied upon as a pretext marginalize the Christian community. Exporting this failed national model to the rest of the world would be very problematic. The IRLA is dedicated to prevent this.”

Blasphemy laws have a long history of abuse in a variety of cultures. Citizens have suffered injustice under these laws, prophets have been persecuted for violating them, and Jesus Christ – the Messiah to Christians, a prophet to Muslims – was executed in retaliation for making statements that offended the sensibilities of religious leaders of His day.

Contact Kevin Gurubatham for interviews: gurubathamk@gc.adventist.org ||  ||

__**First Amendment Library Cites for Christian Librarians and All:**__

Adams, H. (2009). //Companion Website to Ensuring Intellectual Freedom by Helen Adams//. (L. Unlimited, Producer) Retrieved Oct. 12, 2009, from http://lu.com/intellectualfreedom_schoollibraries/index.cfm

Adams, H. R. (2008). //Ensuring Intelledtual Freedom and Access to Information in the School Library and Media Program.// Westport, CT, USA: Libraries Unlimited.

American Library Association. (2009). //State Privacy Laws Regarding Library Records.// Retrieved September 28, 2009, from American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/ifgroups/stateifcchairs/stateifcinaction/stateprivacy.cfm

Asheim, Lester. (2002, October). Not Censorship But Selection. //American Libraries//.

Board of Education v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (U.S. Supreme Court 1982).

Center, F. A. (n.d.). //Adult Entertainment, Pornography & Obscenity//. Retrieved Oct. 7, 2009, from http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/speech/adultent/topic_faqs.aspx?...

Constitutional Framers. (n.d.). U.S. Constitution: Amendments. //Amendments//.

Finan, C. (2008, Jan. 30). //A Librari: Jeanne Layton, 1930-2008an to Remember//. Retrieved October 21, 2009, from First Amendment Freaks: http://faf.groups.vox.com/library/post/6a00d09e7b270abe2b00e398d7e0770003.html

Freedom Forum. Org of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. (2009, Oct. 6). //The First Amendment Library//. Retrieved Oct. 6, 2009, from www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about/aspx?item+about_fac#history

Freedom, A. L. (1999, October). Workbook for Selection Policy Writing. mdifap.blogspot.com/2009/libraries-and-first-amendment_20.html

// Jones, L. (2007, March 6). //The In Season Christian Librarian//. Retrieved Oct. 21, 2009, from Blogger.com: http://inseasonchristianlibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/03/worth-reading-if-you-are-looking-for.html//

// Librarians, Association of Christian School. (2005, Novembver). //Book Selection Tools from a Christian Perspective//. (D. W. Bowling, Editor) Retrieved October 18, 2009, from http://www.eclalibraries.org/Selectiontools.pdf//

MILLER v.CALIFORNIA, 413 U.S. 15, No. 70-73 (U.S. Supreme Court 1973).

// Office of Intellectual Freedom: American Library Association. (1999, October). //Workbook for Selection Policy Writing//. Retrieved October 18, 2009, from American Libraries Association: www.ala.org/oif.html// Right to Read Defense Committee v. School Committee of the City of Chelsea, 454 F. Supp. 703 (District Court of Mass. 1978).

// Smith, G. A. (2002, September 11). //Paperback Book, Christian Librarianship: Essays on the Integration of Faith//. Retrieved Oct. 21, 2009, from Amazon.com: http://amazoncom/gp/product/0786413298//

// Staples, S. F. (1996, Winter). //What Johnny Can't Read//. (M. J. Weiss, Editor, & J. C. College, Producer) Retrieved Oct. 21, 2009, from The Alan Review: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/winter96/pubCONN.html//

The American Library Association. (1996, Jan. 24). Library Bill of Rights.// Retrieved September 27, 2009, from American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.cfm U.S. Cons. am. 1. (n.d.).

The Association of Christian Librarians. http://www.acl.org/

The Compass, Newsletter of the Emma Waters Sumar Libraray. "The Christian Librarian’s Unique Calling," Feb. 2001, http://www.uu.edu/library/compass/Feb01.pdf