Presentation to the CFLA-FCAB conference, May 2th 2018, in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada on intellectual freedom. Panel with Mary Cavanagh, Pilar Martinez, James Turk, Jeff Barber (moderator).

1. Marie D. Martel, Assistant Professor
EBSI, Montreal University
CFAB-FCAB Conference, Regina, 2018-05-02

2. How I got involved in these issues through blogging

3. __2007

4. « it is the world of politics that decides what
we can and cannot say, not the world of
abstract philosophy... Speech always takes
place in an environment of conviction,
assumptions and perceptions, i.e., within the
confines of a structured world.The thing to do,
… is get out there and argue for one position. »
(Stanley Fish)
Source : https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freedom-speech/
__2009

5. Libredelire.org
A collaborative blog, a
public platform for free
speech
__2010

6. § Digital book user’s
rights
§ Open access, open
educational content
§ Net Neutrality
§ Digital commons
(public domain,
GLAM,Wikipedia)
§ Diversity of voices on
the web
§ Artificial Intelligence

8. § THEORY OF
JUSTICE
-> EQUAL RIGHTS TO
INTELLECTUAL
FREEDOM
§ SOCIAL JUSTICE
-> EQUAL
POSSIBILITIES TO
INTELLECTUAL
FREEDOM
ie. fair opportunities or
capabilities
(Martha Nussbaum)

9. §The possibility to achieve intellectual freedom
today, from a digital social justice perspective,
depends on digital literacy.
§ Partnerships and codesign
Source : Lonial, Amita 2018. « Toward a Framework for Digital Justice in Public Libraries ».
Public Libraries 57 (1) : 14.

10. §to take into account the systemic barriers, institutional
biases, the “social distance” and to act critically on
diversity.
§since this is about the (fundamental) needs of users, they
should participate in the design of the solution. (Let’s apply
UX to IF, digital literacy and…democracy)
§it facilitates exploration of news ways to give access, use,
create, promote, and defend knowledge, culture and digital
commons.

11. BECAUSE WE
Why do we
need to pay
attention to IF?
CARE

12. CARE
1. Update our approach to intellectual freedom.
2. Clarify the ethical framework of libraries in terms of social justice.
3. Make digital literacy a strategic priority at every level.
4. « Represent the communauty voice in public discourse » on issue
of intellectual safety (R. David Lankes).
5. Codesign :
§ Work with organizations involved in the protection and defence of digital civil liberties: Mozilla,
OpenMedia, Open Knowledge Foundation, Electronic Frontier Foundation, la Quadrature du net, Free
Software Foundation, etc.
§ Organize citizen cafés to discuss about national and local digital strategies, and ask citizens what they
want and where they want us to fit in – with them.
§ Deepen our community-led approach and refine our community development/codesign tools for digital
literacy, and even for democratic participation.

13. … So let’s get out there and argue for one position !