This collection consists mainly of articles prepared on the basis of papers presented at the fourth conference on the history of censorship and topical issues of freedom of information "Censorship and access to information: history and modernity" (St. Petersburg, March 16-18, 2005). The collection examines the problems associated with the current state and history of control over the dissemination and availability of information, the problems of social responsibility of participants in the information process, the role of libraries in the formation of the "information society." Along with studies on the history of censorship in pre-revolutionary Russia, the Soviet Union and other countries, the collection presents significant material on current issues of today, including the restriction of freedom of speech in the electronic environment.