Whereas, the Oshkosh Public Library Board has established a legacy of staunch support for principles that ensure every individual’s freedom to read, view and experience a diversity of library resources. It has done so by adopting and affirming as policy the American Library Association’s “Freedom to Read” statement (in 1963), ALA’s “Library Bill of Rights” (in 1984), and by adopting a “Collection Development Policy” for Oshkosh Public Library that embodies these principles; and
Whereas, the Oshkosh Public Library Board, with leadership provided by past Library Directors Leonard Archer (1958-1978) and John Nichols (1982-2005), has defended these principles by standing against censorship that would abridge free expression and free access to ideas; and
Whereas, the note of alarm that opens “The Freedom to Read” is as pertinent in 2022 as it was when first written in 1953: “Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries;” and
Whereas, the resources of the American Library Association and its Office for Intellectual Freedom are indispensable tools for the Oshkosh Public Library and other public libraries in the struggle to maintain the freedom to read and to defend against the impulse to censor.
Therefore, be it resolved the Oshkosh Public Library Board of Trustees reaffirms its support for the principles of freedom of access to library resources put forth in the American Library Association’s statement on “The Freedom to Read,” the “Library Bill of Rights,” and the “Interpretations to the Library Bill of Rights;” and
Be it further resolved the Oshkosh Public Library remains committed to upholding the principles of freedom of access in its policies and practices, and to opposing efforts to abridge free expression and free access to ideas.