A STUDY OF COMMUNITY CENSORSHIP PRESSURES ON CANADIAN PUBLIC-LIBRARIES

In 1988, all autonomous Canadian public libraries were surveyed to gather information about community censorship pressures and the response of librarians. The survey elicited a 56-percent response rate and covered a three-year period. It found that censorship activity was pervasive and that age restrictions in Canadian public libraries were quite arbitrary. But it also found that public librarians exhibited an encouraging pattern of resistance to community censorship pressures, showing considerable courage, sensitivity, realism, and humour in striving to uphold their public trust.