(This article reprinted from New England Libraries, Vol. 3, No. 2: February, 2007.)

Intellectual Freedom Award Nominations Sought

The Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) of the New England Library Association seeks nominations for the 2007 ProQuest/SIRS Intellectual Freedom Award of New England.

This biannual award, sponsored by ProQuest/SIRS, recognizes the contribution of a group or individual who has actively promoted intellectual freedom in New England. The IFC is responsible for selecting the recipient. The person or group chosen receives a plaque commemorating the award and a check for $500.

If a winner is selected, the award will be presented during the annual New England Library Association Conference. It will only be given in a year when an appropriate recipient has been nominated.

Criteria for Selection

Any individual or organization who is actively promoting intellectual freedom in New England is eligible for the New England Library Association Intellectual Freedom Award. Current individual IFC members will not be considered for this award.

Intellectual freedom is defined by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association for Education Communications and Technology (AECT) as the freedom to express one's beliefs or ideas through any mode of communication, and the right of unrestricted access to all information and ideas regardless of the medium of communication.

The Library Bill of Rights (ALA) and the AECT Intellectual Freedom Statement offer expanded explanations of practices which are supported by these professional associations to promote intellectual freedom. These documents will be considered very carefully as decisions are made concerning the New England Library Association Intellectual Freedom Award.

Nominees for the award will be judged on the role they have played in actively promoting intellectual freedom through their efforts to protect First Amendment rights, challenge censorship, or otherwise resist abridgement of free expression and free access to ideas.

Although the committee will accept even a small paragraph as a nomination, supporting documentation is encouraged. Examples of helpful supporting documentation include:

Anyone in New England may make a nomination regardless of their profession or affiliation. Please submit nominations by May 29, 2007 to:

Peter Spitzform
Collection Development Librarian
Bailey/Howe Library
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT 05405
(802) 656-2632 (phone)
(802) 656-4038 (fax)
peter.spitzform+NELAsecure+uvm.edu