“You Got to Have FAIFE”: The Role of Free Access to Information and Freedom of Information
| Pages | 22-25 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07419050710874232 |
| Published date | 30 October 2007 |
| Date | 30 October 2007 |
| Author | Cobi Falconer |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
``You Got to Have FAIFE'': The Role of Free
Access to Information and Freedom of
Information
Cobi Falconer
22 LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 9/10 2007, pp. 22-25, #Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/07419050710874232
The following is a discussion about
the activities carried out to promote
intellectual freedom as a human right
by focusing on the work carried out by
the Freedom of Access to Information
and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE),
which is a vehicle for the International
Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions (IFLA) (McKee, 2007, p. 3).
IFLA was founded in 1927 as a neutral
body affiliated with the United Nations
Education, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO) in order to
``promote international understanding,
co-operation, discussion, research and
development in all fields of library
activity and information science, and to
provide a body through which
librarianship can be represented in
matters of international interest''
(IFLA, 2000). Within the IFLA/FAIFE
initiative, ``IFLA furthers intellectual
freedom in all aspects-related to
libraries and librarianship. FAIFE
monitors the state of intellectual
freedom within the library community
worldwide, supports IFLA policy
development, cooperates with other
international human rights
organizations, and responds to
violations of free access to information
and freedom of expression''
(IFLANET, 1999a). In other words,
FAIFE's principles are intended to
transcend politics and culture and are
only concerned with the well being of
humans. Therefore, this essay will
describe the role of FAIFE by tracing
back how it became a counterpart to
IFLA in order to hold up human rights
in the sphere of librarianship and the
information profession worldwide. The
discussion will then lead into
challenges and successes experienced
by FAIFE to provide a background in
which to discuss future endeavors and
assess whether FAIFE's initiatives in
the present will continue and succeed
long term.
FAIFE is an initiative that was
established in 1997 in Copenhagen to
support the basic human rights
principles of Article 19, United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948) (IFLANET, 20007a). The
earliest seeds of FAIFE were
unknowingly sown at an IFLA
conference in Munich in 1983, in which
a resolution was adopted for librarians
who were victims of human rights
issues (McKee, 2007, p. 3). The topic of
``intellectual freedom'' became a major
focus for IFLA in 1989 at the Paris
conference followed by the Istanbul
conference in 1995; whereby, the
Committee on Freedom of Access to
Information and Freedom of Expression
(CAIFE) was established to examine
these issues more closely (Byrne, 2000,
p. 61). This ad hoc committee
instructed IFLA to promote freedom of
expression and information with
attention to the effects this will have on
libraries, library professionals, and
information centers (Byrne, 2000,
p. 61). The CAIFE Report outlined the
following issues:
... to provide and protect the right of
every individual to have access to needed
information; the development of libraries
in order to bridge the information gap
between the information rich and the
information poor; intellectual freedom
including the protection of library mate-
rials and personnel from censorship
(Byrne, 2000, p. 62).
These issues were adopted by IFLA
through the creation of FAIFE at the
Copenhagen Council meeting in 1997
(Byrne, 2000, p. 62). The following
year an office was established for
FAIFE in Copenhagen and in 2000
FAIFE became a Core Activity of IFLA
(McKee, 2007, p. 3).
From Copenhagen, FAIFE works
with other international human rights
organizations to monitor the status of
intellectual freedom (freedom of
opinion and thought) in libraries
worldwide ± in sum, FAIFE ``collects
and disseminates relevant documentation
with the aim of stimulating dialog,
maintains internet pages, produces an
informative annual report, and
promotes intellectual freedom policies
within IFLA [and contributes to]
conferences, seminars'' (Sturges,
2005a, pp. 300-1). Within these
activities, FAIFE also works towards
the following: combating censorship;
promoting national and official
transparency in decision-making;
inquiring about private and corporate
secrecy; identifying and preventing
when information is prohibited
resulting in information poor people
and countries; and preventing libraries
from carrying out restrictive and
unproductive practices (Sturges, 2005a,
p. 301). In other words, the primary
goal of FAIFE is ``to raise awareness of
the essential correlation between the
library concept and the values of
intellectual freedom'' (IFLANET,
1999a).
The following are examples of
statements and resolutions created by
FAIFE through IFLA (1999): Statement
on libraries and intellectual freedom[1]
which outlines the roles and
responsibilities of librarians to promote
intellectual freedom through
unrestricted access to uncensored
information (IFLANET, 1999b);
Declaration on libraries, information
services, and intellectual freedom
(INFLANET, 2004a) states that
libraries and information professionals
are responsible for following practices
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