The Ultimate Role Model: Remembering Judith Krug

Like many of you, I became a librarian after the profession had been significantly shaped by Judith Krug. In fact, Krug, who died last month, had an influence on American librarianship that was so profound and far-reaching it was easy to take her contributions for granted, forgetting how much we owed this one woman.

Krug was director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom since its founding in 1967 and executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation since 1969. It was her leadership that established intellectual freedom as one of the defining principles of our work, and in the past 40 years, ALA has emerged as a champion in protecting citizens’ rights to freedom of expression, freedom of inquiry, and privacy in seeking information.

It’s especially appropriate to celebrate Krug’s life in the pages of School Library Journal, since her work directly touched the lives of so many children and teens, school librarians and teachers, and children’s and young adult librarians. From Where the Wild Things Are to the “Harry Potter” series to other highly contested books for children and teens, Krug provided the advice, information, and, yes, courage, that enabled countless librarians, teachers, and trustees to take on these challenges. Krug herself was involved in many First Amendment cases, some reaching the Supreme Court.

In 1982 she cofounded ALA’s Banned Books Week, which has emerged as one of the great teachable moments in schools and libraries across the country. Banned Books Week is an opportunity for students to explore how the First Amendment is alive within their communities, and especially in their libraries—and for librarians to get some terrific books into circulation.

Much of Krug’s last decade was spent battling Internet censorship. One of her most famous efforts was to convince ALA to oppose the 2003 Children’s Internet Protection Act, which required public libraries to install computer filters in order to receive federal E-rate funds. When it came to children and filters, Krug sensibly argued that communities should be free to develop their own, bottom-up solutions that reflect their values. Krug’s words in her 2002 testimony on the Child Online Protection Act are as true today as they were then:

“Librarians are concerned about 'quick fixes’ that fail to teach young people how to best use the Internet. Internet use policies combined with appropriate education are vital to the well-being of our nation’s children…. They need to be taught the skills to cope in the virtual world just as they are taught skills to cope in the physical world…. Children who are not taught these skills are not only in danger as children in a virtual world, they also will grow into young adults, college students, and an American workforce who are not capable of avoiding online fraud, Internet addictions, and online stalking. Education is our best way to avoid raising a generation of victims.”

Krug’s arguments against filtering for children were highly controversial. They attracted many enemies for her—and by extension for ALA. But as the Internet has morphed from a tool just to find content to a means for social networking and collaboration, it’s clearer than ever that Krug was right. Each school and library needs to find its own way online.

There’s a lot of discussion about who’ll replace Krug. Certainly the shifting digital landscape—with its potential for increased access and gatekeeping—demands that we have as strong a leader as ever before. But it’s not all about leadership.

The real legacy of Judith Krug must live on in every librarian. We must continue to order that book that we suspect some parent might find offensive. We must deal forthrightly with a book challenge—instead of quietly withdrawing materials. Most important, we must share and celebrate this proud heritage with children and students, parents and colleagues, and with the librarians of tomorrow.

bkenney@reedbusiness.com