Mission Statement and Policies

HOLLAND PUBLIC LIBRARY MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Holland Public Library is to serve the town of Holland as an intellectual and cultural center, to promote the sharing of ideas, to advocate for an informed community, and to encourage personal enrichment for people of all ages. To accomplish this mission, the Trustees have established the following objectives:

  • The Holland Public Library will provide a variety of ites available for check-out to patrons, including, but not limited to: adult fiction and non-fiction books, children’s materials, audio books, music CDs, graphic novels, passes to local attractions and museums, STEM and early learning kits for children, and a “Library of Things” collection.
  • The library will continue to be a member of CWMARS, which empowers member libraries to provide excellent services to their communities through resource sharing technology. Membership in CWMARS greatly expands our collection by providing Inter Library Loan service through all affiliate libraries and provides access to the CWMARS catalog system, Evergreen circulation system, cataloging records, WIFI service, grants, employee training and support, and more.
  • Public access computers, WIFI, FAX, and printing services are available for patron use.
  • Home-bound delivery service is available to home-bound patrons.

The Holland Public Library endorses the principals of the Freedom to Read Statement, the Library Bill of Rights, and the Freedom to View Statement adopted by the American Library Association.  

   Approved by the Holland Public Library Board of Trustees, April 21, 2022

 

PATRON LIBRARY USE POLICY

Anyone violating these policies, or any state or federal laws, will be asked to leave the library and the proper authorities will be contacted if necessary

  • Patrons may not engage in threatening behavior, including, but not limited to: violence, threats of violence and possession of weapons.
  • Causing damage to library materials or library property, including graffiti, is not allowed.
  • Using false identification to obtain a library card or using another person’s library card is not allowed.
  • No theft of library items or property.
  • No smoking or use of alcohol or drugs on library property.
  • Creating a disturbance by making noise, talking loudly, or engaging in other disruptive behavior is not allowed.
  • Patron’s may not Interfere with another person’s right to use the library or with the library staff’s performance of their duties. This includes anyone whose personal hygiene interferes with the ability of other patrons to use or enjoy the library.
  • Animals are not allowed in the library with the exception of registered personal service animals.
  • Headphones must be used when playing audio on the public computers or when listening to personal audio devices.
  • No gambling on library property.
  • Patrons may not misuse the restrooms, such as using them as a laundry, washing or bathing facility.
  • No soliciting or canvassing of any kind on library property.
  • No running, reckless behavior, wearing rollerblades, roller shoes, roller skates, or using skate boards on library property.
  • No sleeping in the library
  • Patrons without shoes or improperly attired will not be allowed in the library.
  • Open drink containers are not allowed near the computers.
  • Parents are responsible for the behavior and supervision of their children while in the library. Parents will be responsible for cleaning up after their children and will be liable for any damage caused by their children.
  • Please see Unattended Child Policy for more information.

Approved by the Holland Public Library Board of Trustees March 17, 2022

 

UNATTENDED CHILD POLICY

Parents/caregivers are responsible for the behavior and supervision of their children while at the library.  Parents/caregivers will be responsible for cleaning up after their children and will be liable for any damage caused by their children.  All patrons, including children, are expected to follow the guidelines for library use as stated in the Patron Library Use Policy.

Holland Public Library staff are here strictly to help you and your children with library needs.  The Holland Public Library is not responsible for the well-being of children left unattended in the library.  It is not the responsibility of library staff to serve as baby-sitters, teachers, or disciplinarians.  Parents/caregivers should be aware the library is a public building and is no safer than any other public place or building.

Children under the age of 11 may not be left unattended in the library.  A responsible person 14 years of age or older must accompany children under the age of 11 at all times while on library property.  This includes children participating in library programs.

If it is determined that a child is lost or left unattended at the library, a staff member will attempt to locate the parent/caregiver.  If a parent/caregiver cannot not be found, library staff will contact the Holland Police Department for assistance.

All children must be picked up by their parents/caregivers 15 minutes prior to library closing time.  Parents/caregivers are expected to know the opening and closing times of the library, bearing in mind the time can change in the case of inclement weather or emergencies.  Should it be determined that a child has been left at the library without a ride or assistance home at closing time, every attempt will be made to contact a parent/caregiver by phone.  If a parent/caregiver does not arrive within 15 minutes of closing time, the Holland Police Department will be contacted for assistance.  Under no circumstances is a library staff member allowed to drive a child home.

Approved by the Holland Public Library Board of Trustees June 16, 2022

 

DISTRIBUTION AND POSTING OF MATERIALS POLICY

While the library serves as a community activity and information center, space is limited f

or the distribution and posting of print materials. Items may be left at the library for distribution or posting according to the following guidelines:

Individuals or organizations wishing to leave materials must obtain permission from the Library Director. Final distribution or posting is at the discretion of the Library Director.

Forms, flyers, newsletters, and newspapers may be left for events sponsored by local government, nonprofit and private sector educational, cultural and recreational organizations.

Display space may not be used by for-profit groups, companies, organizations or individuals. Commercial advertising, solicitation, business cards or items for sale may not be posted.

Soliciting is not allowed on library grounds. This includes the soliciting of signatures for petitions or other purposes, and the distributions or posting of petitions for signatures.

Due to limited bulletin board space, all postings will be made and removed by library staff.

Inquiries about events, programs, and activities described in distributed or posted materials must be directed to the sponsors of the event and not library staff.

The library is not responsible for materials left at the library and reserves the right to discard any items or publications left for distributions or display.

The fact that pamphlets, flyers or newsletters are available at the library does not constitute an endorsement of the content by the library.

Approved by the Holland Public Library Board of Trustees July 21, 2022

 

BORROWING POLICY

 

The Holland Public Library is a CWMARS member library and follows the general circulation and fine guidelines established by CWMARS.

 

Library Cards

All who live, work, or study in Massachusetts may apply for a CW MARS public library card by visiting their local library.

Patrons must have a valid CWMARS library card to check out items. If you do not have your CWMARS card with you, a valid form of ID may be used to temporarily access your account.

There is no charge to register for a library card. Library cards may be obtained by presenting a photo ID that lists your current address. Valid forms of identification include, but are not limited to: a driver’s license, state ID, school or college ID or passport. If your current address does not appear on your ID, you must present a piece of mail with your current local address in addition to a photo ID when obtaining an initial library card.

Library cards are good for two years from the date of registration and must be renewed in person at the library.

A valid card is one that:

  • has not expired
  • has less than $10.00 in fines, replacement costs, or fees
  • has no lost or billed charges
  • has less than 50 items currently checked out

 

Loan Periods

DVDs – 7 days, may be renewed once

WIFI Hotspots – 14 days, may be renewed once, and need to be returned for 24 hours before being checked out again

Museum passes – 3 days, no renewal

Periodicals – 7 days, may be renewed once

eBooks - 7, 14, or 21 days

Most other items – 21 days, may be renewed twice

 

Item Limits

Patrons can have 50 items checked out at one time.

DVDs - limit of 10

Series - limit of 3 items in a series

Subject - limit of 3 items per subject

Museum Passes - limit of 1 per family

STEM Kits - limit of 1

Library of Things - limit of 1 item from the collection

 

Returning Items

Most library items may be returned at any CWMARS member library.

STEM kits, Museum passes, WIFI Hotspots and Library of Things items must be returned to the Holland Public Library circulation desk and may NOT be left in the book drop or returned to another CWMARS library.

Items left in the book drop must be placed securely inside the book drop and may not be left outside the book drop or library. 

Patrons are responsible for all items checked out on their library card. Patrons will be charged replacement costs for Incomplete, damaged, lost, unreturned or stolen items.

Incomplete Returns are items that are returned with parts missing. Examples include: a DVD case without the DVD, a travel guide without the map in the back pocket, a CD without the liner notes, an audio book missing one of the discs, a game or STEM Kit with missing parts.

Damaged Returns are items that are physically damaged in a way that may or may not make them unusable. Examples include: a book with a corner chewed up by a pet, a badly scratched DVD, books with water damage, items melted by being left in a hot car, items with bad smells.

 

Fines

DVDs, Museum Passes, WIFI Hot Spots - $1.00 per day

All other items - .10 per day

 

Lost Items

Items that are kept out 28 days past their due date will be considered lost, and the borrower will be charged a lost item fee. The fine will vary depending on the original cost of the item. If the item is returned in usable condition, the lost item fine will be removed.

The library cannot offer refunds for lost materials that were found and returned after payment.

 

Blocking Thresholds

Patrons are blocked by the CWMARS system when:

Their registration expires

Patron owes $10.00 or more in fines, replacement costs, or fees

  • Patron has 50 or more items checked out
  • Patron has 1 Lost item
  • They have reached the maximum number of holds allowed

 

Holds and Inter Library Loans

Patrons may place holds for up to 20 items at one time on their library card, including Inter Library Loan requests.

Patrons will be contacted by email, text, or phone when an item is available for pick up.

Patrons must pick up their available hold items within 10 days of notification. If the item has not been checked out within 10 days, it will be returned to the public shelf or the loaning library.

 

Approved by the Holland Public Library Board of Trustees August 18, 2022

 

PATRON PRIVACY POLICY

 

For your protection and security, the Holland Public Library is dedicated to maintaining the privacy of patron library records and accounts.

Library cards are not transferable, and may only be used by the person named on the account.

The Holland Public Library adheres to the policy of the American Library Association, which states that friends or family members, including parents and their children, may not access each other’s library accounts and information without that patron’s consent. The Holland Public Library does not discriminate by age regarding this privacy policy.

In accordance with Massachusetts General Laws (Chapter 78 Section 7) all patrons are granted equal privacy rights. In the case of an issue on the record of a juvenile, the legal parent or guardian may request a list of items that have been billed or generated fines.

All patrons have the right to privacy regarding their library materials.

 

Approved by the Holland Public Library Board of Trustees August 18, 2022

 

 

 

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY

Scope of the Collection

An emphasis is made on maintaining, through selection and weeding, a collection of materials for which there is a frequent and continuing demand or need.

Except in the area of local history, no attempt is made to:

serve as a research library; to maintain a collection of older works that are not in demand; to provide materials of a scholarly, research, technical, or specialized nature; to provide older publications representing views of a past era; to provide items of primary interest to scholars and historians.

The library acknowledges a responsibility to provide works on local history and works by local authors.

The library is guided in its selection process by the fact the community is composed of individuals with differing tastes, views, interests, education, and abilities. Materials selected for inclusion in the collection represent varied points of view and different sides of controversial issues. In order to meet the diverse needs, interests, and views of all residents, the library provides materials on a wide range of subject matter in a variety of formats.

As a member of CWMARS, the library supplements its collection through interlibrary loan services provided by member libraries. Through this service, the library is able to enrich and extend its collection and offer a greater selection of materials. The library takes into account which materials are available through Interlibrary loan when selecting items for the collection.

 

In developing its collection, the library pays particular attention to providing:

          Information on community resources and services

          Materials for informal self-education and materials that supplement formal education

          Materials for enrichment

          Materials that entertain and provide creative and rewarding use of leisure time

 

The library will maintain a strong collection and ensure public access to library resources by providing:

          Careful selection, maintenance and organization of the collection

          Convenient public accessibility

          Supplemental services through MBLC and CWMARS, such as use of the Interlibrary Loan       network

 

Responsibility for Selection

Selection, development and maintenance of the collection is the responsibility of the Library Director in accordance with the Collection Development Policy.

                   

Selection Procedures

Materials are selected by the Library Director on the basis of judgment, professional reviews, quality, notability, relevance, authorship, importance in popular culture, and patron recommendations that meet collection development guidelines.                 

 

Selection Criteria

Selection and withdrawal of materials are based on the following:

         Popular demand, relevance, community need and interest, usefulness, importance and

         significance of an item.

          Quality of subject material and writing

          Quality of manufacture, condition, and durability

          Cost

          Availability through Interlibrary Loan

Items will not be limited by format and will include a variety of materials such as literature, audio materials, items for entertainment and education, passes to local attractions, and any items of interest to the community

Works that present an aspect of life or reflect views some may find controversial are not excluded due to subject matter, coarse language, frankness, or personal opinion.

 

Weeding and Withdrawal of Materials

In order to maintain a collection that is current, relevant, in good condition, and meets available space limitations, materials will be withdrawn on a continuing basis. Materials are deleted when they are judged to be dated or obsolete, inaccurate, seldom used, in poor condition, or otherwise no longer appropriate. The criteria used in selection also apply to the withdrawal of materials and will be at the discretion of the Library Director. Materials withdrawn from the collection will be sold for the benefit of the library or donated to a charitable organization.

 

Children’s and Young Adult Collection

Materials in the Children’s Collection are carefully selected for children of all ages with emphasis on quality items that entertain, educate, stimulate the imagination, develop reading skills in emergent readers, and encourage learning about the world at large.

The collection is comprehensive in scope and does not directly support the school curriculum or contain school related text books.

Abridged classics are generally not included due to the style and character of the original often being lost in simplification. These books are intended to be read at an age-appropriate level when the reader is able to understand and appreciate the style, vocabulary, plot and themes.

A collection of materials selected for Young Adults will be provided by the library. Materials in this collection are carefully selected with emphasis on items that help young adults understand and relate to the world around them, develop into mature adults, entertain and stimulate the imagination, educate, and provide special appeal to this age group based on subject matter and relevance.

Children and young adults are not limited to these collections and are allowed full use of the library as are all library users.  

 

Gifts and Donations to the Library

Gifts and donations of items are accepted with the understanding they may or may not be added to the collection. Gifts and donated items are added to the collection at the discretion of the Library Director and are subjected to the same selection criteria as purchased materials.

The library does not provide monetary evaluation of gifts or donations for tax or other purposes.

Items for the collection will not be purchased from private citizens.  

Every effort will be made to fulfill requests made for the spending of monetary donations; however, final judgement for use will be at the discretion of the Library Director.

 

Use of Materials and Access

The library does not approve, disapprove or endorse the views expressed in materials included in the collection.

Materials are not marked or identified to show approval or disapproval of content.  Materials are not sequestered due to content and are only sequestered due to space limitations or to protect valuable items from damage or theft.

Responsibility for materials used by children is determined by their parent, caregiver or legal guardian. Selections obtained for the collection, and access to them, is not restricted by the fact that children may obtain materials their parents might consider objectionable. 

Through a common mission, publicly supported libraries provide free, equal, and equitable access to information for all people. The library will not limit or deny access to the collection based on a person’s ethnicity, religion, beliefs, age, physical or mental ability, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. The library will not limit access to library services by imposing a fee for use of the collection or program attendance.

 

Holland Public Library

Intellectual Freedom Statement  

Freedom of expression, especially the right to publish diverse opinions, was proclaimed in the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution to be essential to a democratic form of government. As a public institution committed to the principals of Intellectual freedom, The library recognizes its obligation to provide as wide a spectrum of materials as possible. Selection will not be restricted by the possibility certain materials might be considered objectionable by some people on moral, political, personal, religious or other grounds.

Items for the collection are selected without regard to the personal history of the author. In no case is an item included or excluded from the collection because of the race, nationality, political, religious, or personal views of the author. Important works of major political, social, religious movements and their authors are included.

The library cannot exclude materials that could result in the mental or physical injury of any individual, since theoretically any material could be harmful if improperly used.

The library believes it is essential in a free society to provide access of all library materials to all individuals. No restrictions are placed on usage. Well-intentioned individuals or groups may occasionally question the inclusion of an item in the collection due to their own perceived effects of the material on another individual. It is the library’s position that no group or individual has a right to decide what others may or may not access, read or use in the library collection. 

The library is opposed to the removal of items at the request of any individual or group which have been selected in accordance with the Collection Development Policy. Additionally, the library will oppose coercion on the part of any individual or group seeking to add materials to the collection not in accordance with the Collection Development Policy.

The Holland Public Library endorses the principles of the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, and the Freedom to View Statement adopted and endorsed by the American Library Association. All three documents are incorporated as part of this Collection Development Policy.

 

Library Bill of Rights

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

 I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

VII. All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect people’s privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information.

 

Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; January 29, 2019.

Inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996.

 

The Freedom to Read Statement

The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. 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. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. We, as individuals devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read.

Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad. We trust Americans to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be "protected" against what others think may be bad for them. We believe they still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression.

These efforts at suppression are related to a larger pattern of pressures being brought against education, the press, art and images, films, broadcast media, and the Internet. The problem is not only one of actual censorship. The shadow of fear cast by these pressures leads, we suspect, to an even larger voluntary curtailment of expression by those who seek to avoid controversy or unwelcome scrutiny by government officials.

Such pressure toward conformity is perhaps natural to a time of accelerated change. And yet suppression is never more dangerous than in such a time of social tension. Freedom has given the United States the elasticity to endure strain. Freedom keeps open the path of novel and creative solutions, and enables change to come by choice. Every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of our society and leaves it the less able to deal with controversy and difference.

Now as always in our history, reading is among our greatest freedoms. The freedom to read and write is almost the only means for making generally available ideas or manners of expression that can initially command only a small audience. The written word is the natural medium for the new idea and the untried voice from which come the original contributions to social growth. It is essential to the extended discussion that serious thought requires, and to the accumulation of knowledge and ideas into organized collections.

We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. We believe that these 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.

We therefore affirm these propositions:

It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.

Creative thought is by definition new, and what is new is different. The bearer of every new thought is a rebel until that idea is refined and tested. Totalitarian systems attempt to maintain themselves in power by the ruthless suppression of any concept that challenges the established orthodoxy. The power of a democratic system to adapt to change is vastly strengthened by the freedom of its citizens to choose widely from among conflicting opinions offered freely to them. To stifle every nonconformist idea at birth would mark the end of the democratic process. Furthermore, only through the constant activity of weighing and selecting can the democratic mind attain the strength demanded by times like these. We need to know not only what we believe but why we believe it.

Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated.

Publishers and librarians serve the educational process by helping to make available knowledge and ideas required for the growth of the mind and the increase of learning. They do not foster education by imposing as mentors the patterns of their own thought. The people should have the freedom to read and consider a broader range of ideas than those that may be held by any single librarian or publisher or government or church. It is wrong that what one can read should be confined to what another thinks proper.

It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.

No art or literature can flourish if it is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators. No society of free people can flourish that draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may have to say.

There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.

To some, much of modern expression is shocking. But is not much of life itself shocking? We cut off literature at the source if we prevent writers from dealing with the stuff of life. Parents and teachers have a responsibility to prepare the young to meet the diversity of experiences in life to which they will be exposed, as they have a responsibility to help them learn to think critically for themselves. These are affirmative responsibilities, not to be discharged simply by preventing them from reading works for which they are not yet prepared. In these matters values differ, and values cannot be legislated; nor can machinery be devised that will suit the demands of one group without limiting the freedom of others.

It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of a label characterizing any expression or its author as subversive or dangerous.

The ideal of labeling presupposes the existence of individuals or groups with wisdom to determine by authority what is good or bad for others. It presupposes that individuals must be directed in making up their minds about the ideas they examine. But Americans do not need others to do their thinking for them.

It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people's freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large; and by the government whenever it seeks to reduce or deny public access to public information.

It is inevitable in the give and take of the democratic process that the political, the moral, or the aesthetic concepts of an individual or group will occasionally collide with those of another individual or group. In a free society individuals are free to determine for themselves what they wish to read, and each group is free to determine what it will recommend to its freely associated members. But no group has the right to take the law into its own hands, and to impose its own concept of politics or morality upon other members of a democratic society. Freedom is no freedom if it is accorded only to the accepted and the inoffensive. Further, democratic societies are more safe, free, and creative when the free flow of public information is not restricted by governmental prerogative or self-censorship.

It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression. By the exercise of this affirmative responsibility, they can demonstrate that the answer to a "bad" book is a good one, the answer to a "bad" idea is a good one.

The freedom to read is of little consequence when the reader cannot obtain matter fit for that reader's purpose. What is needed is not only the absence of restraint, but the positive provision of opportunity for the people to read the best that has been thought and said. Books are the major channel by which the intellectual inheritance is handed down, and the principal means of its testing and growth. The defense of the freedom to read requires of all publishers and librarians the utmost of their faculties, and deserves of all Americans the fullest of their support.

We state these propositions neither lightly nor as easy generalizations. We here stake out a lofty claim for the value of the written word. We do so because we believe that it is possessed of enormous variety and usefulness, worthy of cherishing and keeping free. We realize that the application of these propositions may mean the dissemination of ideas and manners of expression that are repugnant to many persons. We do not state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant. We believe rather that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.

This statement was originally issued in May of 1953 by the Westchester Conference of the American Library Association and the American Book Publishers Council, which in 1970 consolidated with the American Educational Publishers Institute to become the Association of American Publishers.

Adopted June 25, 1953, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee; amended January 28, 1972; January 16, 1991; July 12, 2000; June 30, 2004.

 

The Freedom to View Statement

The freedom to view, along with the freedom to speak, to hear, and to read, is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. In a free society, there is no place for censorship of any medium of expression. Therefore, these principles are affirmed:

To provide the broadest access to film, video, and other audiovisual materials because they are a means for the communication of ideas. Liberty of circulation is essential to insure the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.

To protect the confidentiality of all individuals and institutions using film, video, and other audiovisual materials.

To provide film, video, and other audiovisual materials which represent a diversity of views and expression. Selection of a work does not constitute or imply agreement with or approval of the content.

To provide a diversity of viewpoints without the constraint of labeling or prejudging film, video, or other audiovisual materials on the basis of the moral, religious, or political beliefs of the producer or filmmaker or on the basis of controversial content.

To contest vigorously, by all lawful means, every encroachment upon the public's freedom to view.

This statement was originally drafted by the Freedom to View Committee of the American Film and Video Association (formerly the Educational Film Library Association) and was adopted by the AFVA Board of Directors in February 1979. This statement was updated and approved by the AFVA Board of Directors in 1989.

Endorsed January 10, 1990, by the ALA Council

 

Approved by the Holland Public Library Board of Trustees February 16, 2023