Mission Statement

Library Bill of Rights

The American Library Association (ALA) 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 beliefsor affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

Adopted June 18, 1948, by the ALA Council; amended February 2, 1961; January 23, 1980; inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996.

The Library Board of Trustees is the library’s governing body with legal responsibility for library funding, property, policy, and service. The Board delegates to the library director. The library director is responsible for the staff, collection development, and other library operations conducted in accordance with the policies approved by the Board. Board meetings shall be held in compliance with the Open Meeting Law. The specific roles and responsibilities of the Trustees are contained in the Trustees Bylaws. Further, the Library Board of Trustees is the library’s governing body with legal responsibility for established library property (including books, videos, physical materials, equipment, furnishings, etc.). The Board delegates to the library director and the designated staff direct responsibilities for library operations conducted in accordance with the general policies approved by the Library Board of Trustees. The Board’s authority is derived from Chapter 78, Sections 10 and 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, Section 10 states, in part, that: “The Board shall have the custody and management of the library…and of all property owned by the Town relating thereto.” Responsibility for library management and provision of library services to the public is delegated by the Library Board of Trustees to the library director. The director is directly responsible to the Library Board of Trustees, and is an employee of the Town of Blackstone.

The mission of the Blackstone Public Library is to provide materials and services to the citizens of Blackstone in their pursuit of recreational, educational, and informational interests. The library shall continually adapt its collection to meet the changing needs of its community, and shall remain open to new formats in technology, including those available through the Internet.

The library endorses the American Library Association’s (ALA) Library Bill of Rights, ALA Freedom to Read Statement, and the ALA Freedom to View Statement. The library seeks to protect First Amendment rights and the principles of free expression by a commitment to open access to its collection, including access to the Internet. The library does not have any statutory authority to assure that only constitutionally protected content is available on the Internet. The authority to determine what is illegal (obscene) and harmful to minors rests with the Massachusetts Attorney General (G.L. c.272 §§ 28 and 31).

The Internet is a global electronic network that enables the library to provide information to patrons beyond the library’s collection. It contains a wide variety of material and opinions from various points of view. The library cannot control the information available over the Internet and is not responsible for its content. Not all sources provide information that is accurate, complete or current, and some may be controversial, offensive, or inappropriate to some users. If a patron encounters a site that he or she believes violates the law, that patron should report the URL to local law enforcement.