Intellectual freedom is one of the cornerstones of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As formulated by the American Library Association (ALA), it is therefore the duty of the Government and LIASA to:

 

• promote continuous, lifelong learning for all people through library and information services of all types. This includes assisting children and adults to seek and effectively utilize information (information literacy)
• advocate funding and policies that support libraries as a great democratic institution, serving people of all ages, income level, location, or ethnicity, and providing the full range of information resources needed to live, learn, govern, and work.
• defend intellectual freedom as a basic right in a democratic society. The right of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely should be actively defended.

In a world of rapidly changing technology and where information is being increasingly provided through networks and the Internet, libraries should provide access to the widest range of information. Many libraries in South Africa do not have Internet connections and, even if they do, cannot provide users with Internet access because it is so expensive. Affordable bandwidth is important if South Africa libraries are to provide access to networked information.
Among the Guiding Principles of the ALA Legislation Agenda 1995 to 2000 are:

 

• That equal, ready, and equitable access to information and intellectual freedom must be protected for all.
• That libraries and librarians are committed to providing access to information in all formats to all people.
• That librarians' unique expertise in selecting, analyzing, organizing, preserving, and distributing information in all formats is a significant resource for making the emerging information environment meaningful and accessible to the public.
• That libraries are the most logical and effective mechanisms to provide the broadest range of government information, nationally and locally, in every community; and that government has an affirmative obligation to create and widely distribute government information as a necessary resource for full participation in a democratic society.
• The Government should support discounts on telecommunications services for libraries and schools (as is done in the USA and most major countries in the world), the safeguarding of intellectual freedom and fair use in the electronic information environment, and the creation and dissemination of easy-to-use government information.

This is a battle in which the library community engaged the apartheid government for many years, but without success. It is one which should, however, not be forsaken in view of the financial difficulties faced by all libraries. The high cost of books and journals, low exchange rates and budget cuts have made it very difficult for libraries to acquire new material. This has resulted in an little or no collection development in libraries.
 

Why is it vital so that the Government should support libraries and consult the library community? According to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Statement on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom issued on 25 March 1999 in The Hague, Netherlands:

 

• Libraries provide access to information, ideas and works of imagination. They serve as gateways to knowledge, thought and culture.
• Libraries provide essential support for lifelong learning, independent decision-making and cultural development for both individuals and groups.
• Libraries contribute to the development and maintenance of intellectual freedom and help to safeguard basic democratic values and universal civil rights.
• Libraries have a responsibility both to guarantee and to facilitate access to expressions of knowledge and intellectual activity. To this end, libraries shall acquire, preserve and make available the widest variety of materials, reflecting the plurality and diversity of society.
• Libraries shall ensure that the selection and availability of library materials and services is governed by professional considerations and not by political, moral and religious views.
• Libraries shall acquire, organize and disseminate information freely and oppose any form of censorship.
• Libraries shall make materials, facilities and services equally accessible to all users. There shall be no discrimination due to race, creed, gender, age or for any other reason.
• Libraries funded from public sources and to which the public have access shall uphold the principles of intellectual freedom.

For government initiatives to be successful, there should be wide-ranging consultation to ensure that there is support at all levels. Libraries of all kinds have a long history of successful community interaction, and this must not be eroded.

Since the racially-divisive split in 1961/2, South Africa once again has a united library and information services body under LIASA. Much work needs to be done to maintain and develop LIS in South Africa, particularly in the public and school library sectors where services have suffered from the lack of financial support despite increasing demand from users. A unified approach to the development of all types of libraries and literacy programmes is important if all sectors of the population are to be proper access to information by the government. The proposed NACLIS will provide a key focus for coordination and leadership in LIS development.