What do Catch 22, To Kill a Mockingbird, Franny and Zooey, and Dr. Seuss's The Lorax have in common?  They ARE all noted as "favorite" books on the library's blackboard this week.  But also, at some point in time, someone has tried to ban them all from a library.

The second statement of the Librarians Code of Ethics reads:

We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.

No one in the library world was a greater resister of "efforts to censor library resources" than Judith Krug.   Judith died last week.  From her obituary, "Judith was the Executive Director of the Freedom to Read Foundation and Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association for over forty years.    She worked tirelessly to guarantee the rights of individuals to express ideas and read the ideas of others without governmental interference.  Through her unwavering support of writers, teachers, librarians, and above all, students, she has advised countless numbers of librarians and trustees in dealing with challenges to library material.  She has been involved in multiple First Amendment cases that have gone all the way to the United States Supreme Court.  In addition, she was the founder of Banned Books Week, an annual weeklong event that celebrates the freedom to choose and the freedom to express one's opinion."

We salute Judith and her work this Library Week.  May we all aspire to "unwavering support  of writers, teachers, librarians and above all students."  Happy Library Week!  Read Banned Books!

As I librarian, I've been to lots to library conferences.  I can tell you that all library conferences have keynote speakers.  Some of these speakers are better than others.  The ones that really make librarians groan are the ones who Introduce their speech by prattling on about how much they LOVE books.  Their apparent assumption:  Librarians = Books.   Why does this make Librarians groan?  Because we know that libraries are about so much MORE than books.  Libraries are places--where people come to seek out information, yes--but also places where thinking happens, where knowledge is discovered, where ideas are shared. 

Norman Cousins, (author of "The Celebration of Life: A Dialogue on Hope, Spirit, and the Immortality of the Soul") states it brilliantly when he wrote about libraries:

The Library is not a shrine for the worship of books.  It is not a temple where literary incense must be burned or where one's devotion to the bound book is expressed in ritual.  A library, to modify the famous metaphor of Socrates, should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas - a place where history comes to life.

Librarians are people who, at their best, work to serve you and your ideas.  We celebrate your ideas.  We're rooting for you.  It's National Library Week.  We're here when you need us.

The third statement of the American Library Association Code of Ethics Reads:

"We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted."

Librarians take this statement very seriously.  Whether  we are protecting  a young adult library patron trying to find "forbidden" information or, an elderly reader addicted to the "Twilight" series, we won't tell ANYONE what you're reading...

President Obama recognized that in past times, this commitment has always been part of the library "calling."  In a speech before the American Library Association in 1995, he said,

What some people may not remember is that for years, librarians have been on the frontlines of this fight for our privacy and our freedom. There have always been dark times in our history where America has strayed from our best ideas. The question has always been: Who will be there to stand up against those forces? One of the groups that has consistently stood up has been librarians. When political groups tried to censor great works of literature, you were the ones who put Huckleberry Finn and Catcher in the Rye back on the shelves, making sure that our access to free thought and free information was protected.

The American Library Association: standing up for your intellectual rights since 1876!!