“If the Intellectual Freedom Committee is the brains of the ALA and the Committee on Professional Ethics is the conscience, then we (the LeRoy C. Merritt Fund) are the righteous arm for the individual librarian,” declared Loriene Roy, past ALA president and current Merritt Fund trustee.
It became clear during the Intellectual Freedom 101 presentation, hosted by ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, that the panel speakers are passionate about what they do. Julius Jefferson, outgoing chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee, described his group as the “brains” of the ALA and explained to all of us intellectual freedom neophytes that his committee is a group of “individuals who dissect really important and controversial issues regarding the First Amendment.” That kicked off a theme for the rest of the panel and Martin Garnar, incoming chair for the Committee on Professional Ethics, announced that if the Intellectual Freedom Committee was the brains, then his committee was most certainly the conscience of the ALA.
Roy was the last panelist to speak and perhaps the most enthusiastic of them all. She gave a whirlwind presentation about what the Merritt Fund is—a special fund dedicated to the support, maintenance, medical care, and welfare of librarians whose intellectual freedom rights have been infringed upon in some way. She also managed to plug the OIF’s Sunday night “Reception for a Cause” awards ceremony at the L’Entrepot Gallery and encouraged everybody to purchase the $10 wristband for an endless supply of drinks and some appetizers.
Other panel speakers included Loida Garcia-Febo, chair of the Intellectual Freedom Roundtable and Kent Oliver of the Freedom to Read Foundation.
Jonathan Kelley, program coordinator for the OIF, wrapped up the panel by encouraging us newly informed attendees to visit the OIF’s other intellectual freedom sessions throughout the week. You can find a list of some of those sessions here.
