Print Page | Sign In | Register
Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award

About the award | Current award recipient | Past award recipients

Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award

CLA's Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award recognizes Californians, groups, and organizations that have significantly contributed to intellectual freedom. Awardees are selected based on recent or important lifetime contributions.

The award honors the memory of California librarian Zoia Horn (1918-2014), who, in 1972, chose to serve time in jail rather than betray confidential information. Ms. Horn's experience sets an example of integrity over personal comfort and has been a model discussed in library literature and shared with generations of library students everywhere. The Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award aims to celebrate and honor other selfless examples of commitment to intellectual freedom that help preserve free speech in an open society.

Submissions for the 2025 Award

The 2025 award nomination period is now closed.

Eligibility

  • Nominees are not required to be CLA members.
  • Nominators do have to be CLA members. Non-CLA members must have their nomination endorsed by a member. If needed, contact the CLA Office for endorsement help two weeks prior to the award deadline.

How to Nominate

Nominations should be submitted using the form below.

To nominate, please submit the following:

  • A statement (maximum 1,000 words) affirming the nominee’s qualifications, with supporting evidence. The statement may include
    • Information related to intellectual freedom about policies or procedures drafted, approved, and/or implemented by the nominee
    • A description of programming activities
    • Documented reports of the role the nominee has played in promoting intellectual freedom
    • Or any other relevant information that demonstrates the nominee’s role in actively promoting intellectual freedom.
  • A minimum of two letters of support and/or items of supporting documentation such as newspaper, newsletter, or journal articles.
    • Files should be labeled: Zoia_nominee’s last name_document (e.g. Zoia_smith_newspaper article)
  • Late material is not accepted, all items must be turned in by the submission deadline.

Current Committee Members

The CLA Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award Committee

  • Chair
    • Daisy Flores, Ontario City Library

Further Information

  • CLA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee coordinates CLA’s Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award.
  • A maximum of one award is given each year. The committee reserves the right not to give an award if a qualified candidate is not found.
  • The award recipient will be asked to submit a photograph for award publicity and will be honored at the annual CLA conference.
  • If you have questions, please contact committee chair Daisy Flores.

2025 Award Recipient

  • Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, California 66th Assembly District

California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi represents the 66th Assembly District, located in the Los Angeles South Bay. An educator, former Torrance School Board president, and champion for public education, Muratsuchi serves as Chair of the Assembly Education Committee and previously served as Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education. He is fighting to transform public schools to promote student achievement and the well-being of every child, regardless of who they are and where they live. Muratsuchi is the lead author of Proposition 2, the $10 billion statewide school bond measure approved in the November 2024 election. He also authored the California Freedom to Read Act to fight book bans at public libraries.


The son of immigrants, Muratsuchi was born and raised on U.S. military bases overseas before arriving in California in 1982. The product of public schools and a first-generation college graduate, he attended the University of California, Berkeley, and received a Juris Doctor degree from UCLA before settling in the South Bay. Muratsuchi has taught at El Camino Community College and UCLA, and he is a proud member of the American Federation of Teachers, Local 1388. He has served on the Torrance Unified School District Board of Education, Southern California Regional Occupational Center Board of Trustees, and the State Allocation Board, which distributes state funding for school construction and repairs. Muratsuchi lives in the South Bay with his wife Hiroko Higuchi, Ph.D., his daughter, who attends a local public school, and their dog Teddy.