Tag Archives: freedom of expression

Sustaining and Celebrating a Free Press through Libraries: World Press Freedom Day 2018

Patrons reading newspapers in the State Library of Queensland, 1934 (Public Domain, Author Unknown)

Patrons reading newspapers in the State Library of Queensland, 1934 (Public Domain, Author Unknown) https://bit.ly/2JNv3KI

Since the invention of modern printing, newspapers, newssheets and pamphlets, and in the 20th century radio and television, have been the vehicles of free speech, open debate, and democracy. Editors and journalists have marked their times, popularising new ideas, shaping thinking, and uncovering wrong-doing.

 

Every effort to censor or block news only serves to underline this potential for sharing ideas and driving change. That such efforts continue is testimony to the power of free media, and underlines the continuing need to insist on the protection of journalists. Libraries, in taking a strong stance in favour of freedom of speech, are natural allies.

 

Press Under Pressure

There are other threats though. Changes in the advertising market, and competition for people’s attention, has undermined the business model of ‘traditional’ newspapers, forcing difficult decisions about charging for access. Many have simply closed, or been taken over.

 

Some have chosen to provide more ‘clickbait’ as a means of earning more from adverts, arguably contributing to the ‘fake news’ phenomenon. Others are seeking to change copyright laws to try and extract greater revenues from news aggregators sides such as Google News through ‘snippet taxes’, regardless of the harm this will do to libraries and Internet users in general.

 

There’s no lack of writing about fake news or snippet taxes. IFLA has also often underlined the risks posed by ‘right to be forgotten’ laws, which threaten to limit journalists’ freedom to write, and see their work maintained online and accessible long-term.

 

However, in addition to getting involved in these high-level discussions, there are also interesting initiatives taking place on the ground – libraries which are working to ensure that there is a demand for a free press, and supply of quality journalism.

 

Printing the Bain News Service Photos, Bain News Service (Library of Congress Collection, Public Domain) https://bit.ly/2w6l01y

Printing the Bain News Service Photos, Bain News Service (Library of Congress Collection, Public Domain) https://bit.ly/2w6l01y

Grass Roots: Libraries, Supply and Demand

A blog in January by David Beard on Poynter set out the potential, telling the story of Mike Sullivan, director of the public library in Weare, New Hampshire, United States. When the town newspaper closed down, he set up his own from the library, reporting on local events and activities. This has brought new interest in local events, reinvigorating the community.

 

This example is not unique – in Zákánsyszék in Hungary, the local librarian, Edina Paraginé Tóth, started to work for the local newspaper fifteen years ago, wanting to help improve its quality. From this, she moved on to writing a column, and ten years ago helped set up an association to take over the newspaper. She is now on the editorial board, helping shape the direction of the newspaper.

 

There is a degree of shared purpose between librarians and journalists. David Beard, in his article, highlights the sense of public service, as well as the focus on information as key areas where librarianship and journalism can come together.

 

This is more than just a convergence of values, but also of practice. David Beard cites Tom Huang, who has worked with the Dallas Morning News among others to organise classes which can get locals – and in particular the young – interested in journalism. The State Library of Queensland has run projects, and there are further examples from earlier this decade in a blog by Barbara Jones in American Libraries.

 

Making Change Happen?

David Beard does argue that this sort of collaboration is unlikely to be behind the next Watergate, but underlines the importance of developing local connections, and the fact that for many people, local information is what matters most. This includes, of course, information about what libraries themselves are doing, as a recent piece in Mediashift highlighted.

 

But maybe there is scope to go further?

 

In a further piece in The Atlantic, David Beard notes the video news site run by the main library in San Antonio whose video coverage of a mayoral debate recorded the comments that may have contributed to the incumbent mayor’s subsequent defeat. And there are examples of libraries are also helping people take advantage of open government data policies, a key way of holding those in power to account, for instance in California and Washington.

 

This last example perhaps highlights the fact that cooperation between libraries and journalists has a lot of potential. Practically, drawing on traditional skills and new technologies, libraries can facilitate new forms of journalism. As physical spaces, they can also help young people engage with journalism, whether the goal is to encourage more people to pick up their pens, or simply value newspapers more highly. Politically, there is strong potential to work together to build and preserve the healthy information environment needed for both to thrive.

Intellectual Freedom and Access to Information: Some Emerging Issues

In its internal structures, IFLA deals with copyright and other legal matters and freedom of access to information and freedom of expression through different committees. This does not mean that the two issues are not connected, or of course that the committees work in isolation. Indeed, the two work together on ongoing policy issues, and co-organise a session at World Library and Information Congresses.

The most recent such session – held in Wroclaw in August 2017 – focused on open access. This has an obvious importance from a freedom of access to information point of view – indeed, Article 27(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, underlines that ‘Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits’.

However, in recent weeks, there has been renewed attention on a number of lists and blogs about whether open access policies – and in particular an obligation on researchers receiving public funding to publish open access – are compatible with intellectual freedom. This blog raises four questions for libraries about the cross-over between issues relating to access to information, copyright and intellectual freedom.

 

Do Open Access Mandates Restrict Freedom to Publish?

This is a contentious topic at the moment. In Germany, a number of academics have challenged an open access mandate implemented by a regional government, arguing that this limited their choice of where to publish their works. Given that the career progression of researchers can depend on publishing in a journal with the best possible ‘impact factor’, it is understandable that in the short term, it is frustrating to have to publish in a journal that has a lower impact factor.

Nonetheless, others have questioned whether an obligation to publish open access is a restriction on academic freedom. A blog by Dr Danny Kingsley from Cambridge University’s Office for Scholarly Communications sets out the case against this argument. Others, such as Rick Anderson, have suggested that open access publishing limits the opportunity for an author to turn their works into (paid-for) books or other works in future.

  • Libraries have already expressed their support for open access, in particular for publicly funded research (Statement of 2011). What can we do to convince researchers of the value of open access?

 

Can We Have Freedom of Expression Without Freedom to Publish?

Arguably, no. Under the current dominant way of doing things, the publishing industry does invaluable work in supporting authors (i.e. through the advances that give them the time and freedom to write), and ensuring the quality that gets to the market. If publishers are subject to censorship, persecution or harassment, they are less able to fulfill this role.

The importance of freedom to publish has been highlighted by the success of the International Publishers Association’s Prix Voltaire, which honours publishers who have fought to defend this. Libraries have a strong interest in promoting freedom to publish, that this is a key factor in ensuring that libraries can acquire works for the benefit of their users. Keep an eye on the International Publishers Association website for details on when to nominate.

  • What can libraries do to support those who have the courage to exercise the freedom to publish in the face of restrictions and oppression?

 

Is Freedom to Publish the Same Thing as Intellectual Freedom?

Again, no. Intellectual freedom is broader. Freedom to publish is just one part – an essential part – of this broader freedom, in just the same way as formal publishing is just one form of expression.

For example, intellectual freedom relies on the possibility for quotation and criticism, without payments or requirements to seek permission over and above what is necessary to access a work in the first place. Nonetheless, only quotation is currently the subject of an obligatory limitation or exception to copyright under the Berne Convention, although not all countries or regions (such as the European Union) have implemented this properly. There is no obligation to allow for an exception for criticism, satire or parody – itself a serious concern.

Creators benefit from more flexible copyright exceptions and limitations. As the Authors’ Alliance has underlined, fair use – a flexible approach based on principles rather than rigid rules can empower writers. Clearly those who choose to live by their writing need to have the possibility to earn enough to do this. The need for a balance in copyright exceptions which both allows writers to exercise their rights, but then also have the possibility to be remunerated, is the goal.

  • How can libraries make the case for balanced exceptions and limitations as allowing both for intellectual freedom and enjoying the fruit of their work?

 

Electronic Access: Sacrificing Privacy for Convenience?

Intellectual freedom also depends on the confidence and safety of researchers. While the Internet and other digital tools have massively facilitated access to information, this is not without risks or costs.

In IFLA’s work on licensing, it has been clear that the shift to electronic resources has too often meant that exceptions and limitations to copyright in law have been made meaningless. In addition, electronic access makes it much easier to track user behaviour. As IFLA’s 2015 Statement on Privacy in the Library Environment underlines, excessive data collection can have a chilling effect on society. The challenge then is what constitutes ‘excessive’.

Will a potential shift to giving access to academic literature by individual user, rather than by IP address, mean that researchers can no longer benefit from privacy in what sources and works they are consulting (see this this piece by Lisa Hinchliffe, and this by Aaron Tay for more)? The same applies to potential obligations to use rightholder APIs to undertake text and data mining, rather than being able to use their own (see IFLA’s position on TDM in the ongoing EU copyright reforms). In both cases, the potential to build up a profile of the behaviour researchers grows, and with it the risks to privacy.

  • How can libraries understand the challenges posed to researcher privacy, and act to educate and protect their users?

 

One blog is certainly not enough to get into any depth on these points. But with discussions current on all of these themes, there is certainly plenty of cross-over where further reflection is valuable.