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Endorsement of the Freedom to Read and View
Board of Trustees
Allegany County Library System
The Board of Trustees of the Allegany County Library System is charged with the responsibility to set policies and procedures that enable the library system to fulfill its mission “to enrich and improve the lives of those in the community we serve.”
With regard to library materials and events and programs, we believe that we cannot predetermine or specify which materials or events and programs will in fact enrich or improve the lives of those we serve. Therefore, our Collection Development Policy states that “books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people in the community we serve. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues”. We believe that our community should have the freedom to consider a broader range of ideas than those that may be held by any single individual, publisher, government or church.
We believe that it is every person’s responsibility to select materials and events and programs they wish to read or view as well as select what not to read or view. Parents and legal guardians are responsible for their children’s use of library materials and for selecting which events to attend. Parents and legal guardians are encouraged to define what material or information is consistent with their personal and family beliefs; only they can apply those values for themselves and their children.
This personal exercise of the freedom of choice of what to read or view is protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. The reliance on freedom of individual choice also allows the library system to fulfill our obligation to provide a wide array of materials to enrich and improve the lives of those in the community we serve.
The Board of Trustees of the Allegany County Library System believe that all citizens shall have the right to free inquiry and the right to form their own opinions. Censorship in any form is not only a threat to individual knowledge and growth, but to the foundation of our democracy.
In addition, we endorse and support the ALA Library Bill of Rights.
Approved by the
Board of Library Trustees
Allegany County Library System
January 10, 2023