It was stated by a mid-western newspaper editor that, “Public libraries are the institution most
vital to the preservation of free speech and freedom of thought in the country.”The American Bar Association said, “Any fear that our people have become so soft-headed that they must be protected against an opportunity to examine the books of authors whose personal views or conduct are obnoxious is unfounded.”
President Eisenhower wrote, “Our libraries serve the precious liberties of our nation: freedom of inquiry, freedom of the spoken and the written word, freedom of exchange of ideas. Upon these clear principles, democracy depends for its very life, for they are the greatest sources of knowledge and enlightenment. And knowledge — full unfettered knowledge of its own heritage, of freedom’s enemies, of the whole world of men and ideas — this knowledge is a free people’s surest strength... The libraries of America are and must ever remain the homes of free, inquiring minds. To them, our citizens — of all ages and races, of all creeds and political persuasions — must ever be able to turn with clear confidence that there they can freely seek the whole truth, unwarped by fashion and uncompromised by expediency.”
Obstructing free thought contradicts the whole fabric of the American democratic way of life. The strength of a democracy lies in its diversity. The American Library Association truly has been a champion of our freedom of speech. Various groups of people have periodically tried to prevent libraries from making books available to the public which contained ideas they disapproved of. The American Library Association has had to take a strong stand because of their deep sense of responsibility to defend people’s freedom to read. Today, libraries have the right to display books that present all sides of an issue. The American Library Association has said, “There is no strength in ignorance.” It is very important for each of us to be aware of all sides of issues which affect us.
