美国图书馆社会责任之争的缘起、发展及其职业遗产

Genesis,Development of Library Social Responsibility Debate in America and Its Professional Legacy

20世纪60年代末,美国图书馆界开始了一场以图书馆职业是否应当参与解决战争、种族或性别歧视、环境污染等社会问题的激烈争论,争论围绕承担社会责任是否偏离职业使命、是否颠覆职业客观中立立场、是否违背信息自由原则等方面展开。这场争论引导图书馆职业重新思考职业的传统价值观,它与社会责任圆桌会议开展的活动一起为世界图书馆职业积累了宝贵的职业遗产。

Since the late 1960s,American librarians have engaged in a continuous debate about whether they should take responsibilities for social issues,such as war,racial or sex discrimination,environment pollution,and so on.The central concern of the debate focuses on if undertake social responsibility will make librarians deviate from their professional missions,subvert their neutral position or violate the principle of intellectual freedom.The debate provokes librarians to rethink their traditional values,and has left notable professional heritages for present library profession with activities conducted by Social Responsibility Round Table.