Balancing freedom of information principles with equality, diversity and inclusion principles and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
There is increasing awareness of items in library collections that present controversial opinions and include misinformation or disinformation about the history of Aotearoa and Māori. Some of these were written in the past with a colonial perspective that is now understood to be incomplete and inaccurate. Some are recently published promoting an ideological perspective harmful to Māori.
These items challenge librarians trying to balance commitment to freedom of information and responsibility to being exemplary Te Tiriti o Waitangi partners. These books are in library collections because many libraries try to select all or most books and other items by and about Māori. Given the volume and longevity of collecting, library staff may be unaware of controversial items in their collections until challenged. Publishers and authors may actively promote and campaign for their books to be purchased by libraries, as has been happening with Tross Publishing.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a guiding document for Aotearoa and a key principle is that Māori retainrangatiratanga over their resources and taonga. The right of Māori to protect their taonga, including their mātauranga and histories, is asserted through WAI262. This is the Waitangi Tribunal report addressing the "Restoration of 'Tino rangatiratanga' (Māori authority and self-determination) of the whānau, hapū and iwi of Aotearoa over our taonga" (those things and values which we treasure, both intangible and tangible)". You can read the Waitangi Tribunal Strategic Direction in 2020 on their website.
Librarians adhere to international principles around freedom of information. The IFLA/UNESCO Public Library Manifesto states that "Collections and services should not be subject to any form of ideological, political or religious censorship, nor commercial pressures". The first listed mission of the public library is expressed as "Providing access to a broad range of information and ideas free from censorship, supporting formal and informal education at all levels as well as lifelong learning enabling the ongoing, voluntary and self-conducted pursuit of knowledge for people at all stages of life".
Yet respected academic Moana Jackson wrote,"No one's exercise of free speech should make another feel less free." There is no even playing field in telling stories and histories. Power and privilege are not evenly distributed. Norms and rules, and 'principles', tend to reflect the values of those with power. The deliberate suppression of te reo Māori in the past also served to suppress contemporary accounts by Māori of the history of our country.
Furthermore, other legislation protecting freedom of information and protecting human rights do not adequately address indigenous world views. For example libraries are bound to follow the classification rulings decided by Te Mana Whakaatu Classification Office in guiding people's access to appropriate content. These organisations are governed by a western, euro-centric worldview and may not reflect the values that indigenous people have around access to information.
The New Zealand Government has defined these as follows:"Disinformation is false or modified information knowingly and deliberately shared to cause harm or achieve a broader aim. Misinformation is information that is false or misleading, though not created or shared with the direct intention of causing harm."
Dictionary.com adds propaganda to the mix. "Disinformation is the deliberately misleading or biased information, manipulated narrative or facts, propaganda."
Misinformation is often amistake, whiledisinformation is intentionallydishonest. These distinctions are often easier to apply to traditional and social media content than published books. Printed content about Māori published in the past for interest could be either.
Case study - Tross Publishing
Books from Tross Publishing have come to the attention of many libraries, library users, and the media in 2023. Advice has been sought from the LIANZA Standing Committee on Freedom of Information on books published by Tross Publishing covering the topics of the Treaty of Waitangi, Treaty settlements and Māori history from a perspective that the colonisation, discrimination and racism of the past has been overplayed, and that Māori are getting away with greater entitlements by using the Treaty settlements unfairly.
Not only are groups promoting social justice, Māori interests and historical societies challenging their local libraries for holding this content, but Tross Publishing and the authors of its titles are actively campaigning to have their books included in libraries - both public and school libraries.
One public library had one of the authors in their community who had influenced a local historical society to take an active approach. They have used the ability to add users' reviews on the library catalogue to promote the Tross publications in a racist way that has upset other library customers. Libraries may need to moderate user content.
A large library network has reviewed the titles challenged and moved any copies from Māori collections in branches into stack collections.
Many school libraries have decided not to include them in their collections.
A tertiary library has removed them on the grounds that they did not support the teaching aims of the institution.
Mackinlay, Rob. (2022, October 11). Controversial materials in libraries and what to do about them - CILIP: the library and information association. CILIP. https://www.cilip.org.uk/news/638160/google.com
