I hold certain assumptions, assertions, and beliefs about the library and information profession. One does for those matters that are important to us.
1. Librarians are intelligent, service-oriented people:
1. Librarians are intelligent, service-oriented people:
This is a belief I have held since I was a little girl. Librarians have often been the smartest, most helpful people I have known. I always knew they could find just the right book for me, or remind me where to find my favorite author. High school research papers would have been a disaster without the guidance of my high school librarian about proper notation. Resources that I had never even thought of were presented to me by my college librarian. My colleagues in the public library are always the first to step out from behind the circulation desk to help someone with their computer, research local ancestry, point out the latest biography, or lend an ear. This is an awesome legacy to try and follow.
2. Librarians must stand strong against those who would ban books and other materials:
We are, I believe, the gatekeepers of this freedom. We must continue to help maintain our patrons right to read as they so choose. Our greatest responsibility in this arena is to insure the availability of a variety of material for our patrons to access in our libraries. We are called to purchase and shelve both the classics under fire and the newcomers causing a stir. In this culture of a few trying to decide what is best for the whole, it is imperative we remain steadfast in this endeavor.
We are, I believe, the gatekeepers of this freedom. We must continue to help maintain our patrons right to read as they so choose. Our greatest responsibility in this arena is to insure the availability of a variety of material for our patrons to access in our libraries. We are called to purchase and shelve both the classics under fire and the newcomers causing a stir. In this culture of a few trying to decide what is best for the whole, it is imperative we remain steadfast in this endeavor.
3. Libraries are valuable community assets:
Libraries of all types are gathering places. They bring people together. Folks want to live near and meet in them. Libraries educate people, not just with their materials, but with the programs presented in them. Libraries equalize our communities. They provide materials, programs, news, technology, research, archives, and assistance for all. All of this is, more often that not, for free to its patrons and its visiting public.
"What is more important to a library than anything else-than everything else- is the fact that it exists."
Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982)
"What is more important to a library than anything else-than everything else- is the fact that it exists."
Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982)
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