1.1 Intellectual Freedom

To outline the commitment of Thunder Bay Public Library (TBPL) to intellectual freedom.

This policy applies to all TBPL staff and members.

TBPL affirms that all persons in Canada have a fundamental right, subject only to the Constitution and the law, to have access to the full range of knowledge, ideas, and opinions, and to express their thoughts publicly. Only the courts may abridge free expression rights in Canada.

TBPL holds that libraries are a key institution in Canada for rendering expressive content accessible and affordable to all. Libraries are essential gateways for all persons living in Canada to advance themselves through literacy, lifelong learning, social engagement, and cultural enrichment.

Libraries have a responsibility to safeguard and facilitate access to constitutionally protected expressions of knowledge, imagination, ideas, and opinion, including those which some individuals and groups consider unconventional, unpopular or unacceptable. To this end, libraries provide, defend and promote equitable access to a variety of expressive content and resist calls for censorship and/or the adoption of systems that deny or restrict access to resources.