Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress

Frederick Douglass famously said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” This powerful and inspiring idea continues to resonate more than a century later, at a time when the essential services that libraries provide are more vital than ever.

As librarians, you are asked to do so much with limited resources and often facing daunting challenges. Meeting the complex and diverse needs of your communities is difficult—sometimes impossible—and yet you persevere in the services you provide.

I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to meet librarians across the country and understand their experiences navigating these challenges. From California to New York, from school librarians to public library staff, many of your concerns are similar and significant.

In current debates about access to books and library resources, our profession is at the center of controversy, with some library staff even facing threats to their workplaces and personal safety for standing firm in the commitment to serve the public with access to all books and information sources at our disposal.

While the challenges we face are substantial, the opportunities we have to engage, inspire, and inform people in libraries are just as important.

Librarians have been called the “original search engine,” but we do much more than return a laundry list of sources that contain keywords. We can offer trustworthy resources at a time when misinformation abounds. This places our profession in a central role of protecting civil liberty in our country when people need reliable sources, from historical context to current events, more than ever.

It is our job to ensure that our communities have broad access to books and other resources, not just the sources that we like or agree with. While we may offer suggestions or guide our patrons, they ultimately decide what to choose for themselves and their families.

The free and open access to information that we supply is a fundamental element of our democracy. In A History of Reading, Alberto Manguel writes, “As centuries of dictators have known, an illiterate crowd is the easiest to rule.” Democracy cannot thrive without the free flow of ideas and information.

Despite the challenges we face, when I visit libraries across the nation, I cannot help but feel hopeful. In your daily work, you nurture the kind of wonder and curiosity about the world that books can open for us. Even now, we can connect more children than ever with books that ignite their imaginations and reflect their cultures and experiences, from authors like Jason Reynolds, Meg Medina, Jacqueline Woodson, Gene Yang, John Green, and many more.

There is no greater joy than connecting the right child with the right book. As a young girl, that book for me was Bright April, where I saw myself in those pages.

Back then, I never could have imagined that I would have the honor to serve as the first woman and the first African American Librarian of Congress. Not so long ago, people of my race were punished with lashes and worse for learning to read.

As a descendent of people who were denied the right to read, now leading the largest library in the world and our national symbol of knowledge, I know we must continue to serve our communities with knowledge and inspiration.

As we navigate these turbulent times, join me in renewing our commitment to the important work we do and the people we serve. America is watching, and we are grateful for your service.

Dr. Carla Hayden Is the 14th Librarian of Congress.

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