Intellectual Freedom: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues) - Hardcover

Harer, a member of the American Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee, offers an overview of the issues encompassing intellectual freedom--the First Amendment rights that guarantee freedom of religion, speech, and press and the right to assembly. Summarizing the theories of intellectual freedom, including the historical foundations of the First Amendment, he discusses the rights under the amendment, intellectual freedom and censorship, and current issues. Harer also incorporates a chronology, tracing landmark events from 1215 (Magna Carta) through 1991; biographical sketches of people involved in intellectual freedom issues (such as Roger Baldwin, Norman Lear, Reverend Donald Wildmon, and Frank Zappa, as well as librarians who have been active on the intellectual freedom front); and an outline of laws and court cases. The legal materials are classed by topic and arranged chronologically. The most useful parts of the book are the directory of organizations and selected bibliographies of print and nonprint resources. Entries for organizations list the name, address, telephone number (including FAX, where available), and contact person (with title); they also include a brief description of the group and a note of their publications. The annotated bibliographies of print materials consist of reference works (bibliographies, indexes and abstracts, directories, yearbooks, and special issues of periodicals); general monographs, as well as those devoted to the "four freedoms"; and periodicals. Nonprint resources incorporate films, videos, and filmstrips; online databases; CD-ROM products; a listing of television programs where First Amendment issues are frequently discussed; and educational software and simulation games. Addresses, prices, and hardware requirements are provided for the nonprint sources. There are some problems with the work, though they do not detract from its usefulness. Harer has chosen to ignore the convention that calls for legal citations to both official and unofficial case reporters (he frequently refers to the unofficial Supreme Court Reporter , published by West Publishing, for most Supreme Court cases and lists U.S. Law Week , a publication not normally cited once the decisions have been published in one of the reporters). The most puzzling omission, however, is the lack of a complete citation to Mead Data Central's LEXIS/NEXIS database ( not a product of Lawyers Cooperative Publishing, as Harer erroneously states). Harer dismisses it as "a very competitive product" to Westlaw. Although the company at one time restricted access to LEXIS/NEXIS to attorneys and other members of the legal profession, the NEXIS service is available widely to all types of libraries. Notwithstanding the problems noted, Intellectual Freedom is highly recommended for academic, public, and high school libraries.
- Sue Kamm, Inglewood P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.