Board Statement: A Sanctuary for Reading

 
 
 

The Maplewood Memorial Library celebrates and serves our diverse, dynamic, literate, library card-carrying town. We affirm the following democratic principles, adapted from the American Library Association’s historic Freedom to Read statement (1953):

  1. The Maplewood Memorial Library will serve the public interest by making available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those considered irreverent, dangerous and unpopular by the majority.

  2. The role of the library is to provide access to ideas and information to foster growth of the mind. These include ideas that may be provocative or controversial. We provide that access without endorsing or agreeing with every idea in circulation.

  3. It is contrary to a democratic spirit and the free exchange of ideas to bar access to writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.

  4. Likewise, it is contrary to a democratic spirit and the free exchange of ideas to label, judge, censor, and/or segregate works as subversive or dangerous and inhibit public access to controversial material.

We, the Maplewood Memorial Library Board of Trustees, embrace the freedom to read as a cornerstone of democracy. We affirm a diversity of experiences and perspectives, and recognize the equal humanity and dignity of all persons. As such, our programming and collections will embrace, include, and celebrate a full spectrum of the human experience. We proudly establish our library as a sanctuary for reading. 

  1. We reject book bans and will provide full access to any challenged book.

  2. We will host book talks, story times and other events that include and/or feature challenged books.

  3. We will educate the public about the history of book banning and censorship.

We acknowledge and amplify the leadership of the Hoboken Free Public Library in rejecting a growing national climate of repression, censorship and surveillance that targets, in particular, BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people of color) and LGBTQ+ themes and people.  As such, we encourage our community to extend our Book Sanctuary efforts and

  1. Host and join in-person or virtual banned book clubs.

  2. Read, borrow, share and purchase challenged books.

  3. Include challenged books in book clubs, story hours and Little Free Libraries.

  4. Share the good news about challenged books on social media with #TheBookSanctuary.


Katherine T. McCaffrey
President, Board of Trustees
Maplewood Memorial Library

Published 9/26/2023

 
NewsRobert Nealon