EXPLORING INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN SCHOOL LIBRARIES: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE UNITED STATES AND KENYA

Abstract

Intellectual freedom is essential for the intellectual development of children. One of the actions for enhancing intellectual freedom involves developing and providing access to diverse library collections, but this has been a challenge especially in school libraries due to book challenge attempts as evidenced by statistics from the American Library Association (ALA) and the implementation of laws and policies which are deemed to promote censorship. In school libraries, collection development policies are essential as they serve as the blueprint for the library’s collection management tasks and therefore, they should protect and advocate for intellectual freedom. This qualitative research used semi structured interviews to understand school librarian’s experiences and the perceived influences on intellectual freedom, their perceptions on existing collection development policies and recommendations for effective collection development policies that support intellectual freedom. Several school library collection development policies were also analyzed to identify whether they support intellectual freedom. The study identified several differences and similarities between the two contexts i.e. Kenya and the United States in terms of understanding the concepts of intellectual freedom and censorship, the approaches used by school librarians to navigate and advocate for intellectual freedom in an environment where censorship remains a challenge. The study also provides practical recommendations for school librarians facing book challenges and developing policies that advocate for intellectual freedom.