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Library Bill of Rights
LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS
The Council of the American Library Association reaffirms its belief in the following
basic policies which should govern the services of all libraries.
1. As a responsibility of library service, books and other library materials selected
should be chosen for values of interest, information and enlightenment of all the
people of the community. In no case should library materials be excluded
because of the race or nationality or the social, political, or religious views of the
authors.
2. Libraries should provide books and other materials presenting all points of view
concerning the problems and issues of our times; no library materials should be
proscribed or removed from libraries because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
3. Censorship should be challenged by libraries in the maintenance of their
responsibility to provide public information and enlightenment.
4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting
abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
5. The rights of an individual to the use of a library should not be denied or abridged
because of his age, race, religion, national origins or social or political views.
6. As an institution of education for democratic living, the library should welcome
the use of its meeting rooms for socially useful and cultural activities and
discussion of current public questions. Such meeting places should be available
on equal terms to all groups in the community regardless of the beliefs and
affiliations of their members, provided that the meetings be open to the public.
Adopted June 18, 1948
Amended February 2, 1961, and June 27, 1967, by the ALA Council.
The Council of the American Library Association reaffirms its belief in the following
basic policies which should govern the services of all libraries.
1. As a responsibility of library service, books and other library materials selected
should be chosen for values of interest, information and enlightenment of all the
people of the community. In no case should library materials be excluded
because of the race or nationality or the social, political, or religious views of the
authors.
2. Libraries should provide books and other materials presenting all points of view
concerning the problems and issues of our times; no library materials should be
proscribed or removed from libraries because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
3. Censorship should be challenged by libraries in the maintenance of their
responsibility to provide public information and enlightenment.
4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting
abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
5. The rights of an individual to the use of a library should not be denied or abridged
because of his age, race, religion, national origins or social or political views.
6. As an institution of education for democratic living, the library should welcome
the use of its meeting rooms for socially useful and cultural activities and
discussion of current public questions. Such meeting places should be available
on equal terms to all groups in the community regardless of the beliefs and
affiliations of their members, provided that the meetings be open to the public.
Adopted June 18, 1948
Amended February 2, 1961, and June 27, 1967, by the ALA Council.