SRRT (Social Responsibilities Round Table)

Resolution being considered at ALA Midwinter 2011

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF WIKILEAKS

WHEREAS,    WikiLeaks is a non-profit organization that publishes submissions of secret documents from anonymous sources and news leaks;

WHEREAS,    WikiLeaks has recently made available thousands of important documents concerning United States foreign and military policy;

WHEREAS,    WikiLeaks is performing a vital watchdog role by expanding citizens' knowledge on matters of vital public concern following in the steps of Daniel Ellsberg who courageously made the Pentagon Papers available to the public;

WHEREAS,    Support for WikiLeaks should be a concern for all those who believe in the right to know and intellectual freedom, and most especially librarians;

WHEREAS,    WikiLeaks and its founder and volunteers are under tremendous pressure to stop publishing leaked documents by many governments, elected officials, and prominent personalities;

WHEREAS,    WikiLeaks spokesperson, Julian Assange, has not received equitable due process under the laws of the United Kingdom; having been briefly detained, and his movements are currently restricted due to supposedly unrelated matters; and

WHEREAS,    The American Library Association has signed a joint letter with many other organizations asking the United States government to reverse its order to US government agencies blocking access to WikiLeaks, in support of publishers’ and citizens’ first amendment rights, and against the possible application of the Espionage Act against WikiLeaks; therefore be it

RESOLVED that the American Library Association

1.         Supports the rights of WikiLeaks to publish leaked government documents;

2.         Commends WikiLeaks efforts to expunge from documents names and other material deemed harmful to U.S. national security;

3.         Commends WikiLeaks for performing a public service;

4.         Urges libraries to link their websites to the WikiLeaks website; and

5.         Condemns the harassment of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and other volunteers

Supporting document:

Policy Manual 53.1 Library Bill of Rights:

1. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

2. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

3. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.