Beacon for Freedom for Expression: Censorship and “Reference activism” in a Global Perspective

Abstract

In this paper I discuss the international censorship database Beacon for Freedom of Expression (www.beaconforfreedom.org) as a resource that combines reference librarianship and activism. I will examine the internet-based database as both a product of and a tool for reference librarianship by exploring examples of database content and international collaboration between librarianship and activism. The goals of the database are to document historic and current censorship in a global perspective, provide a collaborative learning resource, and facilitate dialogue about censorship and freedom of expression. Thus, I argue that with continued international collaboration and promotion, the database has the potential to help people to do something, make something, and change something. Reference librarianship illustrates one of the ways that the library delivers access to information, while reference services encompass many forms of information management. This interaction is not neutral but rather directly and indirectly mediated by the library staff and thus presents an opportunity to advocate implicit and explicit values. In this way, reference services are important not only to the flow of knowledge and information, but also the transfer of values. Reference tools designed specifically to preserve and give access to information of a political nature enhance the opportunity to advocate political values. This is particularly so when the highlighted values also reflect principles central to the...