Emily Drabinsky
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I'm Emily Drabinsky, president of the American Library Association and constituent of Council member, Hennice.
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American Library Association was founded in 1876 with the mission that continues to guide us today to provide leadership for the development promotion and improvement of library and information services, and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.
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As librarians, we take all very seriously.
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All includes you.
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All includes people who disagree with me, is a handful I'll admit, and people who are my kindred spirits, people who live in my neighborhood, and people who live at the other end of the g train.
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And people who live in world that I can only imagine.
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This is what makes our public library is great.
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The belief the public institute fusion and public goods belong to all of us, a belief made reality by the dedication and commitment of library workers.
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2 fundamental things are necessary to secure the right to read.
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First, the autonomy and authority of library workers must be protected, respected.
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We are trained professional grounded in commitments to intellectual freedom, equity of access, and respect for our patrons privacy.
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Since 2021, ALA has documented meant alarming and record setting increases in attempts to restrict access to books and programming that reflect the lives and experiences of black indigenous and people of color well as those about human sexuality and LGBTQ plus experience.
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Such efforts are antithetical to building broad collections for broad publics.
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This is what led variants do, and we must be protected and supported in these efforts.
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2nd, libraries must be funded such that they can fulfill this crucial Book banning is one way to limit access to the stuff of human imagination.
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Another is to cut public funding for public institutions in ways that eliminate evening weekend hours reduce the materials available to the public, prevent the basic maintenance and upkeep of public buildings, and undercut our capacity to offer a wide range of relevant programs and services to our communities.
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In 1953, ALA's governing council affirmed the freedom to read statement.
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Developed with the American Book Publishers Council in in response to the McCarthy hearings, proclaiming that the freedom to read is crucial to our democracy.
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Just as we did did then, ALA is on the front lines of the fight for the right to read.
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Our United Against Book Bands campaign invites partners to join our organized efforts to combat attempts to restrict access.
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We would welcome New York City's counsel as our partners.
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Our book resume is long last week put essential selection tools in the hands of librarians, educators, and parents, all of whom play a role in expanding access to reading.
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And last year, we reaffirmed the freedom to read statement, reminding all of us that, quote, there is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.
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Conditions on who people can be as readers or conditions on who they can be as people.
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Such restrictions are antithetical to the American project.
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Thank you for the opportunity to share with you today and to do our shared work together.
