Arthur Curley's 1994 article, "Libraries: an American Value," appeared in American Libraries in 1994. He was President of the American Library Association in 1994-1995
"My goal as ALA president is to affirm libraries as a basic American value with even greater
relevance and need for support in the Information Age."
- That each of us has "inalienable rights," among which the right to be educated and informed is basic, and that government has a constitutional duty to ensure that citizens are sufficiently well informed to make wise decisions about the issues before their communities and their nation.
• That the ability of all people to obtain free and equal access to the widest possible range of information sources in all forms is essential to this objective.
• That libraries are fundamental to a civilized society and that library informational services are a public good.
• That in our democracy, because government is not only of and for the people, but by the people, it follows that government information belongs to the people and should not be sold for profit.
• That government can secure the people's right to information and knowledge most effectively by tax-supported libraries--public, school, academic, and those of government itself--federal and state.
• That the public library has proven its efficiency and effectiveness as a means of securing the people's right to know, since it is used by a majority of the people but has never received as much as two percent of the cost of government.
• That school library media centers support the curriculum and enrich the educational experience of children.
• That the academic library is the cornerstone of learning and provides the base of research for students and faculty.
• That the effectiveness of these libraries has been seriously endangered by decades of austerity, loss of tax support, and retrench merit at the hands of federal, state, and local governments.
• That the emergence of two classes of Americans, the information rich and the information poor, will be the inevitable result of declining political and monetary support.
• That adequate libraries and library services are vital to support education and research, and to broaden the horizons and opportunities for our youth, for minorities, for recent immigrants, and for the growing number of older and retired people.
• That greater support of libraries is mandatory if they are to develop fully the resources and services that reflect the very diverse needs of our multicultural society.
• That we must seize this moment of potential change in government thinking and carry forward the message that libraries are an important part of America's infrastructure that needs rebuilding.
• That to persuade communities and their political leadership to value and support libraries as they have done at other critical points in our history, the American Library Association must broaden coalition-building efforts and help mobilize pressure from citizens to reinstate and increase this support.
• That to secure the right to know for this generation and generations of Americans yet to come, the dangerous neglect of libraries must come to an end.
-- Arthur Curley, A. (1994). "Libraries: an American Value." American Libraries, 1994.
This statement from Arthur Curley is included in his tribute at klmccook@gmail.com&encoded_url=aHR0cHM6Ly9saHJ0Lm5ld3MvbGlicmFyaWFucy13ZS1oYXZlLWxvc3Qtc2VzcXVpY2VudGVubmlhbC1tZW1vcmllcy0xOTc2LTIwMjYv&email_id=ec62a3b1252eb278b5d4048cdbb1349d" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://lhrt.news?action%3Duser_content_redirect%26uuid%3D3834d7e1ab100b38710002691611b032fb2b3c36f59445fcf220d4ec840f0f50%26blog_id%3D86707696%26post_id%3D13148%26user_id%3D11973124%26subs_id%3D9601726%26signature%3Df4247f8ab1192a56b93dac54d8c135ef%26email_name%3Dnew-post%26user_email%3Dklmccook@gmail.com%26encoded_url%3DaHR0cHM6Ly9saHJ0Lm5ld3MvbGlicmFyaWFucy13ZS1oYXZlLWxvc3Qtc2VzcXVpY2VudGVubmlhbC1tZW1vcmllcy0xOTc2LTIwMjYv%26email_id%3Dec62a3b1252eb278b5d4048cdbb1349d&source=gmail&ust=1771591149796000&usg=AOvVaw2VLart_Kr_xYNYAA1q5Oi4">Librarians We Have Lost, Sesquicentennial Memories -1976-2026 . His is the 150 tribute, a milestone number to match the 150th anniversary of ALA!
The origins and purpose of this project are here: klmccook@gmail.com&encoded_url=aHR0cHM6Ly9saHJ0Lm5ld3MvbGlicmFyaWFucy13ZS1oYXZlLWxvc3Qtc2VzcXVpY2VudGVubmlhbC1tZW1vcmllcy0xOTc2LTIwMjYtMi8&email_id=ec62a3b1252eb278b5d4048cdbb1349d" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://lhrt.news?action%3Duser_content_redirect%26uuid%3D0e28460b7a2d7f4bc15fde741458ef930d99ab3db2a4310b02c110554ab9a5e1%26blog_id%3D86707696%26post_id%3D13148%26user_id%3D11973124%26subs_id%3D9601726%26signature%3D1be3c191e5183e1ce10e65504d8001ba%26email_name%3Dnew-post%26user_email%3Dklmccook@gmail.com%26encoded_url%3DaHR0cHM6Ly9saHJ0Lm5ld3MvbGlicmFyaWFucy13ZS1oYXZlLWxvc3Qtc2VzcXVpY2VudGVubmlhbC1tZW1vcmllcy0xOTc2LTIwMjYtMi8%26email_id%3Dec62a3b1252eb278b5d4048cdbb1349d&source=gmail&ust=1771591149796000&usg=AOvVaw2Feo7EggMRpGBlehLHcdPs" rel="noopener">https://lhrt.news/librarians-we-have-lost-sesquicentennial-memories-1976-2026-2/
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Kathleen de la Peña McCook
Distinguished University Professor
School of Information
University of South Florida
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