We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture.
We believe that pressures toward conformity present the danger of limiting the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend.
We believe that every American community must jealously guard the freedom to publish and to circulate, in order to preserve its own freedom to read.
We believe that publishers and librarians have a profound responsibility to give validity to that freedom to read by making it possible for the readers to choose freely from a variety of offerings.
The freedom to read is guaranteed by the Constitution. Those with faith in free people will stand firm on these constitutional guarantees of essential rights and will exercise the responsibilities that accompany these rights.
The Freedom to Read and the Freedom to View as composed by the American Library Association can be found on the links to this page.
Cooperstown, North Dakota 